I’m a film buff.

In the course of the latest Writers Guild strike, I revisited basic motion pictures to fill the hole and was impressed by the American Movie Institute’s 100 Best Film Quotes of All Time.

Right here’s the story of the annuity business in seven scenes, every launched by a well-known line from a film.

Seize a bowl of popcorn, sit and benefit from the present.

1. “The stuff that desires are fabricated from.”

“The Maltese Falcon” (1941)

Present demographics are the annuity business’s dream.

The child boomer technology is growing old, and we’ll quickly expertise Peak 65, when extra Individuals flip the standard retirement age of 65 than any time in historical past.

The viewers for annuity services is at an all-time excessive.

The rebound in rates of interest is one other issue.

Trade suppose tank LIMRA forecasts that annuity gross sales will surpass $300 billion as soon as once more in 2023, with continued progress for the following 4 to 5 years.

It doesn’t take Sam Spade to detect that issues are very promising.

2. “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night time.”

“All About Eve” (1950)

Regardless of the promising forecast, the business can’t relaxation on its laurels.

Carriers and distributors should be ready to face obstacles like market volatility, potential industrial actual property foreclosures and the growing old agent inhabitants.

The rise in rates of interest that’s fueling the multiyear assured annuities momentum and the numerous enchancment in mounted index annuity phrases additionally means a resurgence in protected cash alternate options, like certificates of deposit and cash market accounts.

Because the aggressive benefit of annuity charges narrows or disappears, some insurance coverage gross sales professionals must study or refresh their presentation and comparability methods.

3. “They’re right here!”

“Poltergeist” (1982)

Personal fairness is the specter in our business — on each the provider and distribution facet.

Whereas some dread personal fairness, its foothold has been a supply of product innovation and technological development. And it’s prompting the business to up its sport.

Does it matter to policyholders if their provider is owned by personal fairness? Maybe not.

The principles and laws on provider conduct are common no matter possession sort.

However to some, the “ghost within the machine” is personal fairness’s dedication to the long-term nature of the insurance coverage enterprise.

That is in distinction to the extra widespread demand for short-term outcomes.

The larger difficulty is the influence of personal fairness on distribution.

Mergers and consolidations are rampant, and that impacts product growth, acquisition prices and agent entry.

All carriers — personal equity-controlled or not — must rigorously think about the foundations of engagement right here.

4. “Toto, I’ve a sense we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

“The Wizard of Oz” (1939)

The insurance coverage business was identified for its geographical epicenters.

Hartford, Connecticut, and Des Moines, Iowa, come to thoughts.

That’s modified.

Product design and innovation is as more likely to come from Silicon Valley as Kansas, Iowa or Connecticut.

Distribution is remarkably decentralized at each the retail and wholesale degree.

And video conferencing, together with gross sales and annuity order entry, makes distant gross sales simpler than ever.

5. “I really feel the necessity — the necessity for pace!”

“Prime Gun” (1986)

And the aggressive benefit goes to … carriers that tackle pace to difficulty and disbursement.