Individual Medical Insurance.

The market is growing & so are consumer expectations. Recent developments are likely to spur continuing growth in consumer demand for individual medical insurance. While the health reform debate has quieted since the new bills were signed in to law, all the attention this issue received

in the work of the earlier year raised public awareness of the necessity for affordable health coverage.

Simultaneously, unemployment figures have climbed & are holding steady at around 10%. While job losses have been mounting, the number of Americans enrolled in employer-based insurance continues to decline. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust's 2009 Employer Health Benefits Survey, only 46% of employers with fewer than nine workers offered health benefits.

These & other trends are driving increasingly consumers to buy individual medical (IM) insurance. According to the consulting firm McKinsey & Co., the number of people purchasing their own coverage is expected to grow to 20 million this year.

This rising tide of new customers will lift the boats of everyone who sells IM. The agents cresting the highest waves, however, will be those who recognize that consumer expectations are also on the rise. Consumers today require more from both their agents & their health designs. Agents who are nimble & skilful in responding to these changing conditions will be well-positioned to significantly grow their books of business.