Although the dire medical situation and mounting economic toll of covid-19 is of immediate and first-order importance, the virus has also prompted many to ponder their own mortality. Whether it’s doctors in emergency rooms who quickly redrafted codicils or nursing home attendants pondering their own DNR instructions, the randomness or mortality is being imprinted on our susceptible behavioral minds. Interestingly, preliminary and anecdotal evidence suggests a spike in the acquisition of life insurance policies over the last few months, perhaps as people learn to appreciate the value of this unique risk management instrument. On a historical note this is precisely what happened in the aftermath of the Spanish Flu in 1918, when the American life insurance industry began a flourishing period of remarkable growth.

Do I need Longevity Insurance?

Unfortunately – and the launching point for this blog post is that — one of the behavioral byproducts of excess anchoring on death, is that longevity or the prospects of becoming a centenarian now appear somewhat farfetched. This is especially the case as the public continues to hear that covid-19 disproportionately impacts the elderly. One doesn’t require an MBA in marketing to know that it’s more difficult to advocate for annuities and the value of insuring (or better yet, pooling) longevity risk when the public dialogue and focus of attention is on the exact opposite: sickness and death.

Read more @Moshe Milevsky.