The middle market should not be approached as a homogenous group. Members have very different priorities and varying opinions about the role life insurance plays in financial planning.The Life Insurance Marketing Research Association (LIMRA) and Epsilon released its Demystifying the Middle Market report on June 25. In this survey of nearly 4000 consumers, researchers identified five segments within the middle market that hold significantly different attitudes and beliefs about financial decisions.

In the first segment, which consists primarily of younger families with children under 18, people firmly agreed that life insurance was important and they were also likely to have incurred debt that affected their financial decisions. The study suggests that low-cost products like term life insurance would resonate best with this group. The fifth segment, however, was made up of very young or older consumers who were risk takers and expressed little desire for insurance products.  Researchers say that investment products such as mutual funds or annuities would have a greater appeal to these consumers.

“Companies should understand that not all middle market households are equally interested in purchasing life insurance,” comments Todd A. Silverhart, Ph.D., corporate vice president at LIMRA Insurance Research.