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A new LIMRA survey found that 60 percent of insurance companies that sell their products through financial professionals use e-signatures and an additional 20 percent plan to add this tool within a year. E-applications are used with e-signatures by 58 percent of the companies.

In a survey of 55 U.S. and Canadian companies, the survey looked at several technology sales tools such as website capabilities, e-applications and e-signatures to see if they are working as intended to increase efficiency and ultimately sales.

Prior LIMRA research has shown that consumers increasingly expect more of the process to be digital, especially Gen X and Gen Y consumers. Tools such as e-signatures and e-applications allow companies to process more business, in less time, and with more accuracy.  

The most common e-signature in use at 52 percent is "click wrap" or what we know as "I Accept" or "I Agree" buttons that are clicked in the presence of a financial professional. The second most common e-signature is a click wrap sent by email to the customer, which is used 49 percent of the time.

In terms of effectiveness, 78 percent of the companies said their use of e-signatures was very or somewhat successful.

Even so, companies often struggle to encourage adoption among financial professionals, but point to training, ease of use, and increasing comfort level with the technology as factors in encouraging adoption.