Starting this January, Vantis Life Insurance Company will roll out a new digital platform for customers and agents. The Velocity initiative will roll out in two parts, starting with an agent version. The company originally planned to launch term life insurance on the platform last March. However, the company chose to delay the project in order to go live with online platforms for both consumers and agents in four lines of business: term life, whole life, final expense and wealth-transfer products. Though this added months to the buildout of the system, the company decided that it was better to launch with a full suite of products in order to serve more customers. “The life insurance industry has progressed slowly when it comes to moving into the dynamic of the digital direction for consumers,” says Craig Simms, head of marketing for the company since 2001. “The goal is to focus on direct consumer interaction and control the company’s future destiny.” Velocity, which uses LexisNexis data on lifestyle, pharmaceutical and motor vehicle records, will simplify the process of getting membership. In addition, though most life insurance companies traditionally have required medical records, it is not required for Vantis for certain ages. “Life Insurance was slower to respond to insurtech for a couple of reasons, but our current competition now is where you can buy things fast,” shared Simms. According to LIMRA, price is the biggest setback for consumer purchasing life insurance. So, along with the launch, Vantis is looking to provide savings to customers. So, along with the launch, Vantis is looking to keep the cost of insurance down. No-medical test decisions will be available for healthier people up to age 55 for term and whole life coverage up to $1 million. For customers over age 50 who want to pass money along to the next generation, the digital platform supports a wealth transfer product that also does not require medical test at all. The tone of marketing will also reflect the need for customers to buy the products. “We are so scared to talk about death that it stops us from being creative, so we’re going to push that barrier and use this opportunity to do different things for consumers,” Simms says. Vantis’s new approach will exemplify to members and new customers that “though we cannot stop grieving, we can help get through a loss financially,” he adds.
Vantis Life Insurance’s digital platform is launching in January in two parts, first for agents and then for customers. Term life insurance had been set to roll out on the platform in March 2018, but was delayed to give agents and consumers access to final expense, whole life and wealth-transfer products, in addition to term life. The company said it will offer a range of products including term life, entire life and wealth transfer, with an emphasis on helping clients manage their finances while they are still alive.