Getting Insurance Sales Right

Life insurance is starting to see some success in banks, but it remains a difficult sale compared with conventional investment products for bank reps, primarily because it takes longer to wrap up and involves probing into people's health issues. But the effort may be worthwhile for programs that want to expand their product mix and increase revenue. "Life insurance is the final frontier for bank investment programs," says Bruce Stava, who runs a successful life insurance sales program at First Bank, based in Creve Coeur, Mo. "It's an untapped opportunity, but most bank programs haven't figured out how to get enough out of it."

Some banks have cracked the code, though. Here are six bank-based life insurance programs ranked highest by Kehrer-LIMRA, based on the amount of insurance revenue generated per bank customer household...

BIC: Getting Insurance Sales Right