Agent’s Sales Journal November 01, 2006
Short Takes
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What Should Your Clients Know About Identity Theft?
Identity theft continues to be the leading cause of U.S. consumer fraud. The victims are getting younger, and the scams are getting bolder. And although the marketplace is filled with identity theft insurance products, most are limited to covering
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The Value of Article Reprints
Agents who have had their articles published often leave it at that, hoping their phones will ring with congratulations and new business. That's a huge mistake. Having a story published is half the crusade. What is missed by some agents is th
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Association Profile: NAILBA
Founded in 1981, the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA) was created as a request that was rejected by a small group of wholesale brokerage agencies to form a council in another trade organization. So, the group
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Taking the Steps Toward the Right Marketing Organization
Whether you are new to the insurance industry or an experienced career agent, your success will largely be driven by the kind of relationship you have with your insurance marketing organization. To ensure your success and that of your clients, take
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2006 Brokerage Study
Profile of producers and their relationships with brokerage agencies Insurance agents, like most working professionals, face unique obstacles everyday. There?s the perennial prospecting challenge. Asking for referrals and working leads can
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Learning the Ins and Outs of IUL
Variable life insurance used to be the shining star of the life insurance industry. It was a product that agents loved to sell and clients loved to buy. As a routine part of the variable sale, each client was asked to complete a risk-tolerance
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How the Secondary Annuity Market Can Help Build Your Business
One of the leading theories for the malaise that has hit some economies is that the notion of "employment for life" keeps workers from migrating into industries that could generate real growth and wealth, creating a type of stagnation.
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Fitting 401(k) Plans into the New Pension Act
President Bush signed the Pension Protection Act of 2006 into law on Aug. 17, 2006. While the 907-page document covers a broad range of new provisions, it presented a few opportunities that will impact 401(k) plans. The first
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Selling Today's LTCI Combination Products
Explaining insurance products to a client can be confusing and challenging. This is particularly true of long term care products. Just when the agent who occasionally writes a long term care policy thinks they have a basic understanding of their
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Substandard Annuities: Providing Guaranteed Income for More Clients
The oldest of the baby boom generation turns 60 this year. It is also the last year that there are fewer than 3 million 60-year-olds. This number will grow at such a rate that there will be more than 4.5 million new 60-year-olds when the younger
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Searching for Untapped Markets Where to look, what to sell, and to whom
The allure of new, emerging, and untapped markets is understandable largely because they easily maximize growth in an otherwise mature, flat-growth industry. Most often what makes these markets untapped is that nobody's found the right way to
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House, Senate Pass Life Insurance Awareness Month Resolutions
Recognizing the alarming number of Americans who lack the life insurance needed to ensure their families' financial security, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed separate resolutions recently recognizing September as National
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Report Reveals At Least $1.5 Billion Held in HSAs
Financial firms that administer health savings accounts say they have opened more than 1.17 million accounts and manage about $1.5 billion in assets -- up more than 50 percent since the beginning of the year. Based on financial data
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U.S. Census Bureau: Number of Uninsured Americans on the Rise
According to the most recent fig-ures from the U.S. Census Current Population Survey released in August, the number of U.S. residents without health insurance jumped from 45.3 million in 2004 to a record 46.6 mil- lion in 2005, an increase of 1.3
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Warrick Dunn Teams Up with Guardian to Promote Benefits of Life Insurance
The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian) teamed up with Atlanta Falcons running back Warrick Dunn in September to educate Americans about the importance of life insurance and financial planning. Dunn's partnership with
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Bush Signs Pension Protection Act
President George W. Bush in August signed into law the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (H.R. 2830), aimed at strengthening retirement security for American workers and addressing outdated federal pension laws. The new legislation prohibits
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Insurers Forced to Manage Newer, More Complex Annuities
An increase in product features and guarantees has driven variable annuity growth in recent years, but a new study from Conning Research & Consulting Inc. sug-gests that this strategy has also greatly increased the complexity of both the
Sales From The Darkside
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Say Hello to Handcuffs?
Here's Doug's story: "I went to a senior's home in response to a card she'd filled out requesting a review of her financial situation. She was a widow, so I suggested that she have one of her sons present. She did not
Front Page News
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5 Ways to Attract More Affluent Clients
Across the country, one of the most critical issues that agents worry about is how to attract more affluent clients. They want to work with higher-quality clients and tap into the 76 million baby boomers who will be soon facing retirement.
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Integrating Disability and FMLA: A Selling Opportunity for Small-Business Clients
For companies with 50 or more employees, the family and medical leave act (FMLA) can become a costly administrative burden. The act requires employers to provide job protection when workers take time off to care for a newborn child, an ill relative,
From The Agents Desk
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BROKERBUSTERS The Agent's Partner and Very Best Friend
This is an Important Announcement for: JOE DOKES CLU Are you tired of low commissions? Are you tired of high term rates? Are you tired of declined cases? Are you tired of no real marketing support? Are you tired of prom
Sales Review
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Bringing Your Business to the Table
There's no such thing as too much advice when it comes to managing an insurance or financial services practice. Whether you are opening a new office or trying to expand your current practice, the most constructive guidance typically comes f
Perspectives
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The Revolution of Evolution
We all know that times change. The issue is not the changing times, because we can't change that. Rather the question is how we change with the times. The changes I've witnessed since my first days as a life insurance agent in 1965 truly
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Are All Agents the Same on the Inside?
This year, we teamed up with NAILBA (National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies) to present our first-ever BGA Study (which starts on page 36). It sheds a lot of light on agents' experience in the marketplace and focuses on
Marketing
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Retirement Planning for the Ages
As millions of Americans transition from full-time work into retirement, they move from the life stage of asset accumulation to a new stage: distribution planning -- repositioning their assets to provide an income they will rely on for the res
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5 Steps to Creating Passionate Clients
Everyone wants powerful word-of-mouth advertising for their business. When your satisfied clients refer new business to you because you've done your job and done it well, you increase your revenue and need to spend less time and money on marke
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Do You Know Which Marketing Campaigns Are Working for Your Competitors?
Do you know which marketing efforts other insurance agents use? Out-marketing your competition takes some research. You have to find out what they are doing. What are their strengths and weaknesses? What major marketing efforts are they involved in
Hot Products
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Demonstrating IA Performance
Index annuities (IAs) are not designed to beat the stock indexes but are designed to create higher performance than fixed-rate savings vehicles. This fact must be demonstrated when presenting an IA to a client. Financial advisors who compare only
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Two Easy Ways Set up An Art Succession Plan
As an insurance professional, you can be an indispensable member of the advisory team of an art or antiques collector. An art succession planner, in many situations, cannot properly serve their clients without your involvement. If your clientele in
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4 Myths About Group Retiree Health Insurance
People are living longer today, and many want to retire earlier than the traditional age of 65. That means that many of America's 79 million baby boomers could spend up to 40 more years in retirement.
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Subtle Changes, Big Opportunities in Dental Benefits
To an outsider, things don't seem to change much from year to year in the dental benefits industry. But take a closer look, and you'll see that its relative stability is the driving force behind some of the market's biggest opport
Objection of the Month
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Objection of the Month November 2006
How would you respond to a prospect who says.... "I have my own attorney and CPA. They take care of my financial affairs and they do a pretty good job for me." "How much money did you gain or lose since you have been using
