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SECURIAN SURVEY REVEALS CREDIT UNION SUCCESS WITH DEBT PROTECTION
Contact: David C. Frankil
703-842-2226
dfrankil@nafcu.org
Maggie Jensen
651-665-7558
margaret.jensen@securian.com
WASHINGTON —NAFCU Services Corporation and its Preferred Partner, Securian Financial Group, are offering credit unions a blueprint for success in debt protection and credit insurance programs in a new survey.
An executive summary and informative podcast are now available at www.nafcu.org/securian.
Of those NAFCU members offering debt protection that participated in the survey, 91 percent of credit union executives who responded described their programs as “successful.” 64 percent of those executives said their protected loan volume increased when they implemented debt protection, and 55 percent indicated an increase in fee income.
“We are pleased to see this level of success with debt protection products at credit unions. We hope this information will help others that are considering the addition of one of these products to their product line-ups,” said John Gibbons, national sales director, Securian Financial Group. “20 percent of the survey respondents have a debt protection program. We hope their success will prompt others to take a closer look at this valuable member service.”
Debt protection is a lending product that protects the member’s ability to make loan payments. Survey responses indicated that the most commonly covered loans are consumer loans, home equity loans and credit cards. The most commonly protected events include death, disability and involuntary unemployment.
Of the 80 percent of credit unions that do not have a debt protection program, 83 percent indicated they would consider offering it in the future.
“The results of the survey point to a continued interest in debt protection programs among credit unions,” said David Frankil, NAFCU Services president. “Given what many credit union members have gone through in the last two years of economic disruption, solutions like debt protection that provide increased financial security are only going to gain more traction.”
81 percent of credit unions with a debt protection program said they are satisfied with the program, compared to only 45 percent of credit unions that are satisfied with their credit insurance program. “We are definitely seeing movement from credit insurance to debt protection,” said Gibbons.
Credit unions with debt protection were asked what influenced their decision to move to debt protection. The top five influencers were:
- Credit union asset protection – 96 percent
- Meeting member needs – 88 percent
- Variety of benefit options – 86 percent
- Affordability to members – 79 percent
- Credit union income generation – 74 percent
Regardless of whether the credit union offered debt protection or credit insurance, the following were identified as being important considerations for offering one of the two programs:
- Delivering effective employee training programs, including periodic training updates
- Designing a product that meets members’ needs
- Developing pricing that is affordable
- Understanding the importance of employee motivation and incentives
About Securian Financial Group, Inc.
Securian Financial Group has served financial institutions for over 50 years, providing insurance, debt protection, loan documents, and marketing services to more than 4,000 financial institutions across the United States. Since 1880, Securian and its affiliates have provided financial security for individuals and businesses in the form of insurance, investments and retirement plans. Now one of the nation’s largest financial services providers, it is the holding company parent of a group of companies that offer a broad range of financial services. Learn more at www.securian.com.
About NAFCU Services Corporation
NAFCU Services Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU). Since 1975, NAFCU Services has partnered with the industry’s leading solutions providers to offer value-added products and services at a discount to credit unions. Currently, it offers 28 Preferred Partner programs to the credit union community and maintains the credit union locator website CULookup.com. For more information about NAFCU Services Corporation, please visit www.nafcu.org/nafcuservices.