Sell More Life Insurance by Promoting Disability and Long Term Care Insurance Planning

The financial consequences of a disability can be greater than those of a premature death. The disabled person is still a consumer, and, in many cases, medical and living expenses increase. If care is required, then an even greater financial and emotional burden is placed on the family of the disabled person. Long term care insurance is simply disability insurance for those near or in retirement. Of course long term care insurance could benefit anyone needing care at any age.  Also keep in mind that disabilities are 5 times more likely than death prior to age 65¹.

Now let’s talk about the benefits to the producer of marketing individual disability and long term care insurance. Would you prefer clients with high incomes and assets, or clients without high incomes and no assets? If you plan on making your career selling insurance, would you prefer to sell products like term life insurance, which pay no renewals, or products like disability and long term care insurance, which pay lifetime vested renewals? Disability and long term care policies stay on the books into your retirement with no agent of record commission transfers allowed.  A consistent disability and long term care producer can build a six-figure renewal income!

Here is another reason why selling and promoting  disability and long term care is smart and I have never heard or read this one before; I have only experienced it. Do you know anyone who has ever collected on their own life insurance death benefit? Of course not, they’re dead! People buy life insurance for someone else. That in itself is difficult to do. They do not really want to do it, but they have to. When you are selling disability or long term care insurance, your prospects know that they will be receiving the money. You are helping them, and they appreciate it.  When we deliver disability policies, I witness many times the clients getting out their life insurance policies and saying, “What can you do with these?” You have fulfilled a very important personal need, and your clients will be more than happy to allow to you to review their life insurance and most any other insurance topic that you want to discuss.

Have you ever thought what you will do when one of your clients suffers a stroke or is involved in a serious accident? Will you 1) send a sympathy card and say that you are so sorry, or 2) say, “Here is your first monthly check for $5,000”?

Set yourself apart from the other life insurance agents by discussing disability and long term care planning. This will upscale your clientele. Contact people with high incomes, those with assets, business owners and professionals. Talk about their income, their ability to work and protecting their loved ones. That is what matters. This discussion will also lead you to business applications for disability and business succession planning. For each disability insurance need, there is an equally important life insurance need. These needs are for income replacement, overhead expense, key person and buy/sell insurance planning. And let’s not forget that most large estate tax life insurance policies are sold to business owners!

You do not have to be an expert to be successful in this market. All you need is passion, a couple of true stories and the ability to identify good prospects. Network among these people, and ask for some referrals after each sale. Professionals are busy and isolated; they gravitate toward warm referrals.

And don’t accept that they already have disability insurance. Demand to see it! You will find that they do not have enough or adequate disability insurance.

Business owners are nice to work with because they are more accessible and make decisions quickly. Once you have identified a good prospect, find a good independent BGA that understands the disability and long term care marketplace and represents multiple carriers. Then get the product training that you need to present the case. Remember, before people care about what you know, they want to know that you care. You can be taught very quickly what disability or long term care product is best for your client. Don’t think you must wait to be an expert before you get started, or you may never get started. All you need to know is that if this person became disabled and could not work, or if this person became sick and needed long term care, their family would be in serious trouble. That is it, nothing more–just your sincere desire to help them protect their family and their business.

Now I can hear you saying, “But disability and long term care insurance is so expensive! I have trouble selling it.”  Then I recommend always starting by showing half a plan with a 2-year benefit period. Everyone can afford that, and something is always better than nothing. Try this, and here is what you will see: your prospect will say, “Yes I can afford that, but what if I need this for more than 2 years?” Then they end up selling themselves on a 5-year or longer plan!

Last is landing the big case. It comes from multiple lives. If this client has a problem, how about the other doctors, attorneys, executives, partners, salesman or other management-level employees in the company? Why not offer this plan to them also? Explain that discounts are available if your client can get others at work to purchase also. Multi-life cases offer the greatest opportunity for income because these are the cases that keep on giving. You can even get guaranteed-issue underwriting offers. Each year, new hires are added to the plan; and, as incomes increase, benefits increase, and so do your commissions–new first year commissions each year and increasing renewals year after year, plus no agent of record commission transfers allowed!

Now that is working smart! So which individuals or companies do you know that you can approach about the need for disability insurance or long term care insurance planning?

1. Social Security Administration, Fact Sheet March 18, 2011