CI: not just Critical Illness Insurance- It's COMFORT INSURANCE.

My sister has bladder cancer.  It appears curable.  She does not have critical illness insurance.  I wish she did.  She was not able to purchase coverage because of her age.

 She does not have it as tough as many of those being treated for cancer.  Once every two weeks she must go through a "bladder wash."  It involves radioactive material being introduced to the organ via a catheter.  She must keep the catheter in for two days following. 

This makes for an uncomfortable couple of days.  The family will provide her meals and do some light house work.

If she had critical illness coverage, a claim would have been paid.  She could have taken that money to provide her with some "comfort items."  She could have hired a maid to clean her house rather than having to rely on her daughter who is raising her own family as a single parent.  She could have hired someone to get her groceries, not because she's incapacitated, but because "she just doesn't want to go."   Heck, she could have hired someone to give her a manicure or pedicure while convalescing to make her feel at least a little better about herself.

She doesn't do that now.  She's on short-term disability when the "wash" is administered and for the days she's recovering.  She's afraid to spend the money.  First, it's not there as it was as if she was fully working - the DI only pays a percentage of her income.  And, she's so scared that she will not recover and have to dip into savings in order to make ends meet.

Think of someone you know who has had cancer.  Perhaps a more invasive kind than my sister is dealing with.  Think of how having extra funds to provide comfort would have been for them.   Something to take off a burden; something to provide a little frivolity.  Think of how much more at ease they would feel with the lump sum being in the bank than just their savings.

National Healthcare may lead to more purchases of Critical Illness coverage.  It has in other countries.  But with or without it, you owe it to yourself to consider offering this insurance to your clients; your friends... and your sister.

It's That Time of Year Again: Life Insurance Awareness Month

I don't sell life insurance.  I market it to people who do.  So why didn't they offer it to my friend Tony?  On a Sunday night he laid down on his couch in the living room to watch the Steeler game.  He never woke up.  Sometime during the night he died of a massive heart attack.  He was 42. 

He and his wife Paula, did not have children,  but he did have a thriving small business as a landscaper.  Paula had a tough few months not only dealing with the loss of her husband, but having to disperse of various pieces of equipment, vehicles, etc that had been owned in the business' name.  Worst of all, she had to sell those as quickly as possible to make financial ends meet without Tony's income.

I felt very guilty.  I could have offered up my services to help them buy life insurance.   I now make everyone who knows me that I can sell them life insurance.  I won't allow the families of my friends not know that I can help, or at least point them to an agent that they might be comfortable working with. 

Sell your friends some life insurance during this Life Insurance Awareness Month.  Or, any month.  Do it, not for the money  (who wants to make money off of their friends?),  do it because it's what you would want a friend to do for your family. 

It's that time of year again - May is DI Awareness Month.

As always, May is DI Awareness Month.  I thought it might be useful to throw out some ideas that I've addressed before in this blog, as well as add a couple new bullet points that I've picked up over my many years in that market:

• The most expensive DI plan is the one that doesn't pay at claim time.  There are often reasons one plan is more expensive than another.  It won't be apparent as to "'why" until a client has a claim.  Know why one carrier is more expensive.  Tough to have a claim denied or a situation not covered.
• Don't just protect a client's paycheck, protect their Lifestyle.  A client has a big house, a big car and a vacation home because they like that lifestyle.  DI helps make sure they don't have to downsize car, housing or leisure access.   
• Have a small biz owner?  Make sure they have residual.  Business owners will do their darndest to "get to the office".  I had an accountant tell me once that her business owners would crawl into work "on their elbows" to make sure things were sound.  But will they be able to give their all?  Will they be clicking on all cylinders.  Might they have to bring a part-time worker in to help with their shortfalls?  DI can help save them from accessing corporate assets during times of a partial disability situation.
• The biggest concern with "Association DI Plans"?  It might be the fact that Residual often only starts AFTER a period of total disability.  So, that person who has chemotherapy during a cancer situation and slowly erodes under the strain of the treatment probably wouldn't get a paid under residual definitions for an Association plan (see bullett point one above).
• Sell DI to Health Insurance clients for the amount of their health insurance premium.  It assures there will be money to pay for their health insurance when they need it most - whey they're disabled!
• Remember the premium dynamics:  studies have shown that a person just won't pay for a DI plan that has a premium of more than 2-3% of their gross income.  Fit the parameters of the plan design with that premium reality, especially in the blue collar market.  Often times a client understands the need but just doesn't have the money to pay for a "perfect" plan of insurance.
• Offer BOE to your small business owners, doctors, and dentists.  DI pays for their groceries, and mortgage - BOE pays for their office lease and rent.  Two wholly different needs and exposures. 
• Funding a Buy-Sell with life insurance is commonplace.  Why then is funding a Buy-Sell for Disability so uncommon?  Built in prospects are those who have purchased life insurance to fund - get them covered for disability!  Any such document worth a darn covers 3 triggers retirement, death AND DISABILITY! 
• Life Insurance pays a beneficiary.  Long Term Care pays a facility or home care agency.  DI pays a client!

They just keep coming.  I think we should just bag the concept and instead of having "DI Awareness Month", have DI Awareness YEAR or DECADE.  I know I've had a DI Awareness Career and hope to continue to let producers and clients know that the foundation to all their other purchases is Disability Income Insurance. 

Old Ideas That Still Work

I gave a talk to the Erie NAIFA Chapter a couple weeks ago - "Old Sales Ideas That Still Work".  It was fun.  I've learned so much over the years by my involvement in NAIFA, NAHU, SFSP and NAILBA, and by wading among many very successful financial advisers.  I loved the old "Sales Caravans" and Sales Congresses. 

Here are some of the items I shared:

• See the people.  Isn't it funny how you can have the best selling system in the world; or be the most technically savvy adviser on earth and if you don't see people it's all for naught?  Isn't it funny how all the marketing gurus strategies, and programs, when you synthesize to the foundation really are cloaked ways of "seeing the people" (or maybe at least communicating with them?)
• Emphasize benefits not features.  Features are on a car or a television set.  We market benefits to the client.
• Buy what you sell/Sell what you buy.  1. you'll just plain "know how it works"  2.  You need to plan for yourself and your family, not just your clients (amazing how many advisers seem to miss this) 3. It's a powerful  image when you can show the client you're selling something to, your own policy.
• When Selling Life Insurance.  Don't call if "face amount".  And, don't just refer to it as "death benefit", call it "Income Tax Free Death Benefit".  That's a powerful thing that life insurance provides.  It is a built in strengh and feature that a purchaser needs to be reminded of.
• Ask "lifestyle" questions.  Life - "How would your family maintain their lifestyle if you died tomorrow?" DI - "How would you maintain your lifestyle if you were sick or hurt and couldn't work?" LTCI - "How will your caregiver maintin their lifestyle if you can't help yourself or have to go to a nursing home?".    We get focused on the dollars and cents too often sometime.  Often a proposed insured loses sight of the fact, we're protecting their family's or their own quality of life in an abstract term. 

As the old Vegas lounge act comedians used to say, "I gotta thousand of 'em".  If you'd like to hear more, give me a call.