An insurer sells life insurance through the mail, telephone, and its website, soliciting consumers directly without using producers to meet with them. This distribution method is called:

Why B is correct

Direct response marketing distributes insurance without producers — the insurer communicates with consumers by mail, telephone, internet, or other media, and the consumer applies directly. It lowers distribution costs and is convenient, but there is no agent to provide personalized advice and field underwriting. The sale must still comply with disclosure, advertising, and licensing rules applicable to the insurer's direct sales operations.

Why the other options are wrong

• A) A captive agency uses exclusive agents employed or contracted by one insurer; direct response uses no producers.
• C) Independent agencies represent multiple insurers through agents; direct response eliminates the agent layer.
• D) Surplus lines marketing places hard-to-find risks with nonadmitted insurers through specialized brokers, not direct consumer sales.

Memory hook

Direct response = no middle person. Mail, phone, web — the insurer talks straight to the buyer.