NEEDHAM, Mass. – Recent TowerGroup research suggests thatnon-traditional distribution outlets such as wirehouses, banks oreven insurance CUSOs may revitalize the life insurance market.“It's imperative that insurers approach this market with a freshperspective relative to products, distribution and operations,”said Cindy Saccocia, senior analyst in the Insurance practice atTowerGroup and author of the research. “The distribution of lifeinsurance through nontraditional channels is an area of growth forthose insurers willing to invest in long-term opportunities.” TheTowerGroup report, Life Insurance Distribution: Turn Up the Volume,Turn Down the Costs, also finds that to promote sales and growthinsurers must concentrate on education, wholesaling and salessupport. In addition, financial institutions looking to expandtheir product suite to meet consumer demands for asset protectionand retirement income should consider forging partnerships withinsurers to offer insurance products such as life, income annuitiesand traditional property insurance. “Current U.S. demographicsindicate pent-up demand for insurance products,” said Saccocia. “Aninvestment today by carriers in technology to streamline andfurther automate operations will pay hefty dividends in terms ofcompetitive differentiation.”