Understanding the needs of your clients is the first step to better serving them.
The next step is understanding their fears.
Why did your client choose now to obtain life insurance?
What obstacles stand in the way of them making the decision to get coverage?
What are their desired outcomes from their plan?
The answers to these questions could put you on the road to providing the best service possible for your clients.
Income Replacement
In general, when a client is obtaining a new life insurance policy or trying to change their current coverage, you’ll use their current income as the starting point to decide the right amount of coverage for them.
However, there is often a serious disconnect between reality and perception when it comes to client benefits.
For example, according to LIMRA’s 2016 Insurance Barometer Study about 60 percent of life insurance clients see their policy as a potential replacement for lost income when they pass away (see page 20 of the study).
These consumers are often under the impression that their benefits will be paid out in a lump sum upon death.
Thus, they may see a lump sum payment as a deterrent, especially if they have a family that will need payments in regular intervals.
Let these consumers know that most policies can be arranged to pay out at regular intervals, thus quelling your clients’ fears about lost income.
Given the prevalence of the assumption that policies only pay in lump sums, you can attract and keep more clients if you offer options that pay at regular intervals after they’ve passed.
Flexibility Over Time
Another deterrent for consumers acquiring a policy is the fear that they will be locked in to the same policy for years, even if their needs change.
Flexibility will win.
A younger family getting coverage might be better served by being over-covered rather than being under-covered, given the possibility that their net worth and income might increase before they reach retirement age. (Plus, they might prefer this option as opposed to coming into your office every 5 years to change their coverage.)
Over-coverage is not a problem as long as you are flexible with your clients and communicate openly.
According to that same LIMRA study, about 30 percent of consumers are interested in changing their policies over time.
By being open about your flexibility, and by offering products that have many possibilities, you are more likely to retain clients.
Remember: you’re trying to provide for these people for the long term—you want clients for life. The more willing you are to meet them in the middle and be open and honest with them, the better served they will be and the more business you’ll attract.
To sign up for LarsonEd insurance courses, visit our website, LarsonEd.com, or give us a call at 239-344-7510.
About Larson Educational Services:
Utilizing 40 years of real estate training and professional education experience, Florida real estate school Larson Educational Services is the premier provider of Florida real estate licensing, exam preparation, post-licensing, CAM licensing, mortgage loan originator licensing, and continuing education in Southwest Florida. Classes are available in Fort Myers, Naples, Sarasota, and online. We are an approved Florida Real Estate School (License #ZH1002299), Florida CAM School (License #PRE31), Florida Insurance School (License # 370501) and NMLS Approved Course Provider.
Brad Larson
Larson Educational Services
13040 Livingston Rd. #12
Naples, FL 34105
239-344-7510
Naples Real Estate School 