Give Them Something to Talk About

How did it get to be November already? (Or finally?) …It has been a strange year! Here in the Midwest, it is time for hunting, colder weather and the full color of fall. In our industry it is time to talk about long-term care (LTC) insurance. 

Nine out of ten consumers believe that their advisors should talk about LTC planning with them. It is a good idea to have these conversations when clients are generally in good health and especially before they need care. Advisors mostly agree that it’s a good idea to begin LTC discussions at age 50 and make LTC a component of retirement planning. Early planning, ensures that clients are cared for according to their wishes. Discussing LTC as a family when planning for retirement enables everyone to get on the same page before care is needed. And it’s an excellent way for advisors to build a relationship with the next generation of wealth.

Take advantage of Long-Term Care Awareness month to talk to your clients about their plans for handling an LTC event. Many people wait too long before discussing their LTC preferences and options and risk having to make decisions quickly and under the duress of an immediate need. Show them how an LTC rider can help them alleviate the potential financial, emotional, and physical burden that they and their loved ones could face if such need arises.

Get the conversation started here. Join one of our LTC Webinars here. 

Rethink the Life Insurance Request for Its Purpose

The most requested type of life insurance is term because it is less expensive, but it is not always the right type of life insurance for every client. Advisors who only take the request and make the sale of term insurance without proper evaluation for the appropriate need are doing a disservice to their clients.  

In the event of an unexpected death, life insurance is more than standalone protection for family members; it is a valuable planning tool that should be part of an overall financial strategy for personal and business preparations. 

Definitely consider term insurance when it comes to limited budgets, short-term needs or supplementation for existing life insurance coverage. Young families with children are a great example of fulfilling the essential need of income replacement and mortgage protection. Meanwhile, term insurance has no cash value, renewal premiums are expensive beyond the level term period and extending or converting a policy may require additional medical or underwriting requirements, it's also important to take into consideration that each stage of life has different needs to protect.

Permanent insurance is less expensive than most people think, and it provides flexibility, lifelong coverage that can protect in sickness, early death and even living too long. Contemplate permanent insurance for its ability to accumulate value and complete a strategy. 

Trying to sell one life insurance policy that will cover all needs for their entire lifetime would probably exceed most budgets. So addressing the needs in a cost-effective and budget-friendly way may be a combination of term and permanent life insurance policies. 

Working with your clients to determine what type of life insurance is desirable and developing a plan tailored to their specific needs is important. Help them create a strategy that is best for them now and looking into the future. 

Get solutions to tailored life insurance here.

Flip the Script on Life Insurance

Many people think of buying life insurance as a reluctant task. Selling life insurance under "normal" circumstances can be difficult. The pandemic has added another dimension to that struggle. It's time to flip the script to help your clients and prospects see that life insurance is a needed investment in their family's protection, and Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM) is the perfect time to get started. 

Life insurance protects by providing a means to:

1. Pay for funeral expenses
2. Pay the on-going monthly bills
3. Pay off outstanding debts
4. Continue a family business
5. Finance the children's education
6. Protect a spouse's retirement

Life Happens, the official sponsor of LIAM, conducted a survey in late May of this year: 66% of the participants said the pandemic has increased their understanding for the value of life insurance. Nearly 25% of the survey participants said they had purchased life insurance for the first time because of the pandemic. Nevertheless, 43% of people are not protecting their loved ones with life insurance yet.

Many life insurance carriers have perfected online applications and electronic policy delivery, so social distancing in the sales processes is accomplished. And with the accelerated underwriting possibilities, your clients may not need to meet with a paramed examiner either!

The bottom line is that life insurance is one of the only products available that can meet the need to financially protect your clients. Your clients and prospects are more open to purchasing life insurance, and carriers are making the transaction easy and painless as ever. So, what are you waiting for? If you’re not talking with them about it, someone else probably is! 

Virtual Technology: Oof!

Social distancing may be our new way of life and meeting clients where they are doesn't mean driving to their house to sit with them at their kitchen table anymore. Now it means scheduling Zoom meetings and completing applications with electronic signatures. It seems virtual technology is here to stay. The Corona-virus has changed the way we do business and we need to embrace it or fizzle out. 

Tips for working with clients virtually:

• Get comfortable with video conferencing tools like Skype, Zoom and FaceTime. Practice! 
• Be cognizant of your appearance, what's behind you and background noise. Choose a non-distracting background and turn off radios, TVs, etc. 
• Make sure your internet connection is strong and your equipment is working, fully charged or plugged in.
• Only open necessary meeting documents on your computer. This will avoid distractions and accidental sharing of another client's information. 
• Work with carriers that have drop ticket systems and electronic application and delivery platforms.
• Partner with a reputable brokerage agency with strong carrier relationships, proven experience, diverse and competitive life insurance products. 

A pandemic causes people to think about their mortality. COVID-19 has reinforced the reality that illness and death can occur at anytime. Americans are seriously thinking about life insurance, and according to Forbes, they are shopping for it. Many quoting agencies are reporting as much as a 50% increase in life insurance applications since mid-February. 

At MVP Financial, we have seen a similar increase in life insurance applications with a rise in the electronic process as the preferred method of submission. While more Americans are working from home and taking care of their families, now is the time to reach out to clients and prospects about checking life insurance shopping off of their to-do list. 

Get more tips for working virtually with clients

No More Waiting on Health Records

We have all been there... Waiting weeks and sometimes months for the receipt of medical information by the carrier, so the underwriter can make a final decision to an offer for a life insurance application.

Imagine, being able to speed up that process to less than 24 hours or even minutes! Unique to our partnership with AIMCOR, we now have the ability to obtain abbreviated health records in minutes. The Human API platform allows insurance applicants to connect and share medical data electronically from over 90 percent of US healthcare providers (health systems, hospitals, clinics and physician offices). With instant access to medical information such as lab results, medications, vital measurements and conditions, MVP Financial can optimize the life insurance distribution process and deliver an experience that meets modern consumer expectations.

Keep in mind that these records are abbreviated so they don't include a thorough history of chronic medical conditions like heart ailments, diabetes, cancers, lung diseases, etc. This method of record sharing does not entirely negate the full medical record details, but it does give an underwriter a quick view of an applicant's medical history. In some cases, it can provide enough information for a decision without the wait and sometimes without the need for lab collection from a paramedical examiner.

Learn more about helping your clients share their medical record instantly with Human API here.

Who Buys Annuities and Why Should They?

As the industry promotes annuity awareness, June is the perfect time for you to talk to your clients and prospects about annuities as a long-term investment that delivers guaranteed income they can count on.

Who buys annuities?*

  • The average age (at first purchase) is 51
  • Gender is 50/50 (females at 51%) 
  • The median household income is $64,000
  • 59% of annuity owners are married

Many people underestimate how long they will live which puts a strain on personal savings and increases the likelihood of outliving personal assets. Retirees are living longer, healthier, and more active lives than generations before. Add the decreasing reliability of government and employer programs to provide sufficient income, and you have a retirement income gap that continues to grow for many Americans. 

According to recent research, 40% of investors say that they are very interested in income products like annuities. Fixed annuities are a good fit for many consumers and a valuable addition to retirement planning because they offer safety, growth potential, tax advantages and lifetime income.

Saving for retirement is important, but it’s only half the battle. It’s important to talk to your clients about annuities as a strategy to help them maintain their standard of living in retirement. 

 

 *From the Gallup 2013 Survey of Owners of Individual Annuity Contracts this is the demographic make-up of an annuity owner

Disability Insurance Replaces Income

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it's that our income is extremely important! We all need our income to pay bills. Many Americans would tap their savings or investment accounts to pay their bills if they couldn't work. According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, around half of those people would only have enough money to pay bills for six months or less.*

Are you asking your clients what they would do if they lost their income due to an illness or accident? If you are not, you should be! Disability insurance (DI) is often an overlooked part of a sound financial plan. One-third of working adults say that they would consider obtaining income protection if they knew more about it.*

Whether you primarily sell health or life insurance, your clients depend on their income to pay their bills, and that includes premium payments. Help them keep their financial life in balance with disability income insurance. And if helping your clients isn't enough incentive, advisors who offer DI to their existing clients earn 30% more income than advisors who don't.

May is Disability Insurance Awareness Month. Make sure you take advantage of this time to offer this important insurance to your clients and prospects. An income sustains a lifestyle and supports all financial assets, so it makes sense to protect it.

*U.S. Social Security Administration, Basic Facts, June 2016

Specialized Planning Needs an Ideal Solution

Families who have loved ones with disabilities require specialized planning and should consider a properly funded Special Needs Trust with life insurance as an effective way to address their unique and specific needs.

When dealing with a disabled child, the two most important goals are to provide for the child’s needs and simultaneously provide financial protection for the assets that are set up to meet those needs. Basically, a trust is a legal entity through which the legal ownership of property is separated from the right to benefit from the property. The legal title to property that is placed in trust belongs to the trustee but the trustee is legally obligated to use the trust property only for the benefit of the trust’s beneficiary.

Life insurance is an ideal vehicle to fund a special needs trust. This is because the death proceeds become immediately available at the deaths of the parents. So the policy selected should provide level premiums, increasing cash values and contain provisions that will sustain the policy in the face of the parents’ inability to pay premiums due to old age or disability. A whole life or universal life type policy can provide increasing cash values to maintain the policy during the parents’ old age and a waiver of premium provision can cover the parent’s disability.

Daily life brings unique challenges and joys for families with special needs. Caring for disabled loved ones may leave little time for anything else, and creating a long-term strategy can seem like a daunting task. By creating a properly funded Special Needs Trust with life insurance, you can help your clients create a source of funds to provide essential care in an unexpected event.

Get Solutions for Special Needs Planning here

Panic Shopping for Life Insurance Amid Coronavirus

According to Forbes, not only are Americans panic shopping for food, water and toilet paper during the pandemic; some are also panic shopping for Life Insurance. Many quoting agencies are reporting as much as a 50% increase in life insurance applications since mid-February. 

At MVP Financial, we have seen a similar increase in life insurance applications. While more Americans are working from home and taking care of their families, reaching out to clients and prospects for a "well check" could lead to a conversation about concerns to move life insurance shopping to the top of their to-do list. 

For obvious reasons right now, electronic application submission with e-policy delivery is the quickest process. With our Quick App solutions, you don’t need to meet face-to-face with your clients to take an application or deliver the policy.

And with the accelerated underwriting possibilities, your clients may not need to meet with a paramed examiner either!

Since the coronavirus outbreak, many of our carriers and service providers are experiencing a slow down in service. We have received notices from paramedical services, APS retrieval services, contracting personnel, phone interview providers, and carriers regarding their processing lag times. Consequently, it might take an extra day or two for each step of application underwriting to be completed. If you work with us, you can be assured that we are doing everything possible to keep your cases on track for timely submission to commission!

We are committed to supporting your needs as you service your clients and are ready to assist you with solutions for peace of mind, income protection, gifting options, wealth transfer, succession plan funding, and portfolio risk mitigation. The partnership values that drive us every day will carry us through this pandemic.

Insurance Planning for Women

There is a significant opportunity in the financial planning marketplace... Women are highly educated and more financially empowered than ever before, and evidence suggests that their financial needs are not being met. 

Female economic growth represents the biggest emerging market in the history of the planet -- more than twice the size of the emerging markets of India and China, combined!

However, even with significant purchasing power, this segment of the market remains largely uninsured or under-insured. Women have a huge influence over their family's financial decisions and their strong desire for financial health and wellness, present a huge opportunity for financial advisors. 

Get the Tools for Success in this Market

The Ultimate Way to Say, "I love you"

Life Insurance is Love Insurance, which makes February a perfect time to remind clients and prospects of their need for life insurance. People want to protect their loved ones, and one of the best ways to do that financially is with life insurance. Life insurance is a promise to loved ones that they'll be protected financially even if the unexpected happens.

Since LOVE is the underlying theme, it's easy to reach out to your clients and prospects. Don’t miss this opportunity to help them understand that protecting those who matter most with life insurance is a great way to say “I LOVE YOU.”

Get LOVE Resources

Big Legislative Changes: The SECURE Act

Ensure you know how new laws and regulations may impact your clients' retirement and legacy planning. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act delivered some of the biggest legislative changes to America’s retirement system in over a decade. Its purpose

has two primary goals: 1) make it easier for individuals to save for retirement and 2) encourage businesses to offer retirement plans.

What You Need to Know

The SECURE Act is making sweeping changes to federal retirement law and taxation that will likely impact all American retirement savers in some way. It provides greater opportunity for Americans to save for a more secure retirement. 

The SECURE Act makes several new policy changes impacting everything from small business access to retirement plans to RMD rules for individuals to modifications of beneficiary distribution options, such as “Stretch IRAs.” 

Many of the impacts of the SECURE Act are still being reviewed and may also be subject to interpretations by the Internal Revenue Service or other government authorities as they are fully implemented. While more time will be needed to fully understand the complete impact of the SECURE Act, we’ve taken a moment to make some resources available that highlight the opportunities, and potential challenges, brought forth under the new Act.

Please take a moment to review these resources by clicking the link below, and contact MVP if we can be of any assistance.

The SECURE Act: What You Need to Know