With a tightening economy, consumers are cutting corners on everything from shopping trips to new home purchases -- and insurance, sometimes considered a luxury, is no exception.
When asked for the top challenges in specific markets, agents routinely note that cost is a factor for many clients, whether the product is long term care or health insurance, disability, or employee benefits. In this year's Life Insurance Study, in fact, cost was the fourth biggest challenge, with 35 percent of agents indicating that clients think life insurance is too expensive.
As an advisor, it's your responsibility to help clients purchase the best coverage to meet their budgets. Higher face amounts may mean higher commissions, but if you're pushing the Cadillac of insurance policies, you likely won't get very far.
To that end, Best Syndication recently published a primer for consumers looking to stretch their dollar when it comes to life insurance protection. By paying close attention to these tips, which the mass media regularly offers consumers, you can help improve your life insurance practice and help more clients purchase the right coverage for their situations.
First, they recommend consumers shop around -- but that doesn't have to mean they look at different producers. By having a well-diversified portfolio of products from several insurers, you're providing clients with an array of options without tying their hands. The article then suggests consumers look carefully at term policies -- and according to the LIFE Foundation, term life insurance rates are less expensive than they were 10 years ago, largely due to rising life expectancies.
Consumers are urged to keep themselves healthy -- the better off they are physically, the more likely they'll be approved at a higher class, and the more likely it is that you'll make a sale. Therefore, field underwriting is especially important in highlighting the positive aspects of your clients' health in order to help them fit the bill.
The good news is that it's suggested consumers consult an insurance advisor -- and the Internet is named as a great resource. This shows the importance of getting your name out there, as more and more consumers are turning to the Web to locate a life insurance agent.
Finally, the article tells consumers to obtain insurance as soon as possible -- the younger they are, the lower risk they are, hence the premiums will tend to be less expensive. Prospecting for younger clients can pay off in this way, and highlighting the benefits of purchasing coverage at an early age may help attract more business.
While insurance sales may be suffering, there's no reason why your business -- and your clients' loved ones -- need suffer as well. By offering more products, considering term insurance as a viable option, conducting proper field underwriting, creating a Web presence, and marketing to the younger set in addition to the middle-aged bracket, your life sales can have more buoyancy in a struggling environment.
Learn more about the life insurance industry, including the findings of our 2008 Life Insurance Study and information on beating challenges and selling products, on page 14.
Premium financing
Let's say you land a client who's holding onto a large-face-amount life insurance policy and finds themselves in need of liquidity, most commonly for estate
planning purchases. What are their options? Well, premium financing, which has recently been gaining much attention in the insurance industry, can certainly help matters.
Upcoming issues
The Agent's Sales Journal has several special selling guides and features lined up for the next few months -- and we're always looking for story ideas and submissions. In October, we'll explore estate planning, as well as seminar marketing. November's issue features the results of our groundbreaking Brokerage Study along with a guide to new and untapped markets, and December will cover the technology front and diversity marketing.
While our most immediate issues are closed for editorial submissions, we hope you'll check us out next month, when we delve into the employee benefits market, the opportunities that mentoring -- and being mentored -- offer agents, and disability insurance. And in September, long term care insurance will be our special focus, along with a prospecting kit every agent will want to read and hang onto.
Have ideas for other topics? We're searching for cutting-edge editorial content on marketing, product sales, and practice management, as well as op-ed columns and department ideas.
Until next month -- happy selling!
Sincerely,
Christina Pellett
Managing Editor
