AARP gives distribution deal to online annuity seller Blueprint Income

AARP recently gave a valuable distribution deal to online annuity provider Blueprint Income, which has replaced New York Life as the exclusive fixed-annuity marketplace for the association’s members.

Blueprint Income, which launched in 2014, caters to do-it-yourself shoppers looking for fixed and income annuities. Within the AARP marketplace, the company will sell annuities direct to consumers from more than half a dozen insurers: New York Life, The Guardian Life Insurance Company, Western & Southern Financial Group, Pacific Life, Lincoln Financial Group, Principal Financial Group and Mutual of Omaha.

“This will be a significant source of growth,” said Matthew Carey, co-founder and CEO of Blueprint.

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While less than 10% of fixed annuity sales are made online, direct to consumers, that proportion is likely to increase, Carey said. The firm, which on average sells contracts of about $100,000, is projecting about $100 million in sales this year, he said.

AARP, which has about 38 million members, exists in part to market insurance products to people over 50.

“The coolest thing about this is AARP went with a platform that lets consumers choose insurers,” Carey said. “We really believe that annuities should be more accessible than they are.”

Last year, the firm developed a subscription-style deferred income annuity with Pacific Life. That product, which caters to Gen Xers, allows initial contributions of $100 or more, with contract holders adding to their accounts over time. The payments correspond to a predetermined amount of monthly income, the companies said.

“Our view all along … is that a digital experience is not a way to sell the same products, but a way to create different products,” Carey said. As an industry, “insurance has generally been a laggard in digital innovation … The opportunities to make things drastically better are significant.”