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