Life changes set up a great opportunity to talk with your clients about coverage changes, and it’s not just life insurance that we can apply this strategy to.
Our ASG Podcast Producer and Host, Sarah J. Rueppel, sat down with Bobby Nerem, Vice President of Life Sales at Integrity Life and Annuities, and Danica Stover, Direct of Product Sales at Ritter Insurance Marketing, to talk about life stages and how agents can cross-sell through every stage of life.
What are the rules around how we enroll people in life products or how we enroll them in annuity products?
Life insurance and annuities can be sold anytime. There really is no period where it starts or stops … for the most part, your average agent is selling 24/7, 365 days out of the year.
How can agents find people who are in a stage of life where they are having a qualifying life event?
I think it does take a more holistic approach, not just looking at their health needs in that life change.
There might be financial implications. You’re having a baby, you have a family that you might be looking for income protection or replacement for…
From the health side of things, what I would say with that is, in terms of identifying those people … Many of these opportunities may already exist in your book of business.
How do clients’ life insurance needs change as they’re moving through different life stages?
Life insurance is the protection, and that’s always consistent … The motivation behind it is always different…
I think it’s important to frame life insurance around life stages, instead of taking just that one-size-fits-all approach, because people see value in life insurance at different stages in their life. If you’re young and married, you’re going to have needs for life insurance. You’re going to have certain motivations or things you want to protect, and that might be different when you have grandbabies…
So, all these life stages are constantly going on, and there’s always going to be a need and motivation, but life insurance always solves that need at its core.
Can we dive in a little bit deeper there with an example? Say, clients are married, and now, they’re expecting their first child. What are some life insurance opportunities that could naturally come up when you’re talking with this couple?
As far as different ideas or concepts or solutions, there are some pretty consistent needs in that type of situation.
I think it’s important for us as agents, with our clients’ best interest at hand, to have conversations and to probe our clients about situations that may occur. What I mean here is … if one of the parents were to pass away, have you considered the consequences of that?
Utilizing life insurance in this type of situation, first and foremost is income protection…
Not everybody has an extensive network of support and help … So, income protection is more than just the dollars and cents behind the insurance, but it’s really allowing the surviving spouse and children to maintain their current lifestyle…
I love permanent life insurance because, you prepare for the worst days and you plan for the best. So, you take out a permanent life insurance policy, and it gives you that peace of mind that your surviving family is protected from an income standpoint, a liability standpoint. And then, it gives you that peace of mind that, we’re moving towards something in the future as well, in accumulating cash in this policy that’s going to give protection, as well, down the road.
Is it possible for an agent to talk about and sell both life and health insurance in the same appointment?
This is actually going to be a big advantage in the Under-65 market. So unlike Medicare, where you do have restrictions around discussing health and life products within that same appointment, those limitations don’t apply here…
With that said, you do still need to follow marketplace compliance requirements, so if you’re doing an individual health plan enrollment, you need to have proper consent and documentation before…
But truly from a product standpoint, you can absolutely combine those conversations, and I think it makes a lot of sense to do that.
Interested in what you’ve read and want to know more? Listen to the full podcast episode now!
Life stage and circumstance changes can uncover both life and health insurance needs. Make sure you are accurately fact-finding with all of your clients, especially those in the Under-65 market.
A key resource to utilize is the Life and Annuities Resource Center (LARC), which includes on-demand trainings, contracting support, electronic enrollment tool access. Also, if you haven’t already, complete your free registration to become a Ritter agent today!
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare or any government agency.
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