“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
-Mark Twain
The old adage, “life happens when you’re making other plans,” has a special meaning not only for financial planners in general, but for me in particular. I didn’t always plan on being a financial advisor, though I did major in business and insurance in college, with the intention of taking over my family’s supermarket business. Unfortunately, our family’s supermarket was sold abruptly because my father was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Building on my education, I focused on financial planning and developed my skill set to become a life insurance expert.
Unlike my decision to turn to life insurance during an unexpected time in my life, our profession has turned away from life insurance. When I first started, all the major life insurers were represented in the heart of the city I lived in. Today, most are gone. The trend in today’s financial planning industry is to avoid talking about life insurance and, instead, focus on investments. Yet talking only about investing assets leaves out a major aspect of planning — how do you grow and protect those assets? The answer is still life insurance.
Fewer have life insurance expertise
Due to this new trend, fewer and fewer advisors have life insurance expertise. This is not an evolution of the business; instead, it does our clients a disservice. Our economic climate is challenging. Investments are unreliable because of a volatile market, and many people have lost sizable amounts of money on their investments. Some have lost much of their retirement savings. People need asset protection and income-generating solutions now more than ever before. What product can virtually create money where there was none before? Again, the answer is life insurance.
Get reacquainted with the product
Despite ever-changing industry trends and an unfortunate stigma associated with insurance sales, it still serves an irreplaceable purpose. Not only has the product grown and developed over the years, consumer need for it has evolved.
Financial advisors must rejuvenate their commitment to life insurance. Some planners may even need to reacquaint themselves with the product. But the fact remains, your success — and your clients’ — very well might depend on life insurance.
