Long Term Care and Disability Insurance

Disability Income Protection – Good for Both the Client…

Presented by Tim Dreher There are many good reasons for making the effort to start talking to your clients about Disability Income protection. Two very important ones are protecting your clients from the financial consequences of a debilitating accident/injury or serious sickness/illness, and the potential significant increase in your income from writing a new line of business. It’s a natural win-win. Disability Income protection is a great product. It protects what many consider to be your client’s greatest asset…their ability to earn a living. With someone becoming disabled in this country every 1.2 seconds, the disabled have become the largest minority is the US. And yet, 69% of America’s workforce has no long term disability coverage at all. The market for Income protection insurance is wide open. It should be your mission in 2016 to talk to as many people as possible about this affordable coverage. Don’t feel shy about bringing up the subject of a disability. Let your client know that you care enough about them and their financial well-being that they at least need to have the conversation with you and explore their options. Be proud of the fact that no one else can protect them like you can. Their employer, their accountant, their attorney, and the government can’t protect them like you can. Only you, as their insurance professional and financial advisor, can protect them from a devastating financial disaster should they become unable to earn a paycheck due to a disability. Nearly 60% of all home foreclosures are due to a disability and you are in the best position to help your clients make sure that it doesn’t happen to them. Don’t let your clients, friends or family have to rely on a bake sale or a spaghetti feed to help pay their bills if they should ever find themselves in a position of being unable to work and make a living. In a recent survey, only 18% of consumers remember their insurance agent ever mentioning Disability Income protection to them. Make talking about Income Protection a part of every conversation that you have with your clients and prospects in 2016 and you will reap the rewards. Grab a brochure and get out and see the people. Let’s make it a great new year in protecting people’s income & assets.  
Long Term Care and Disability Insurance

As a Producer, it Might be a Good Time…

Presented by Leonard Berthelsen There has been a fair amount of concern and frustration in recent years among producers and consumers towards long term care insurance and what seemed like never-ending rate increases.  The amount of uncertainty related to increased rates are concerning to both existing clients and new prospects. Rate increases in previously written blocks of business probably will have some additional adjustments in years to come as the carriers grapple with trying to keep those plans above water and still profitable, especially in this low interest rate environment.  We certainly want them to pay their claims and fulfill their commitment to their policyholders, so rate adjustments become a necessary evil. Carriers today now possess more experience with this product which provides an opportunity to better understand the claims process, persistency and mortality which all bode well in the pricing of new plan designs that carriers are implementing.  Carriers are concerned with having to raise rates on clients after they purchase the insurance and are looking for ways to mitigate that issue as much as possible. Some carriers have introduced plans that have small automatic increases in premiums at set intervals throughout the plan’s lifetime.  These plans are still competitive and affordable and this design could potentially prevent rate increases later down the line. Others have brought out plans that have a credit account built into their product that allows the credits, accumulated over time, to be used to offset any rate increase that the carrier may need.  Again, this is another attempt to find a way to minimize the need for rate adjustments later on. Additionally, the hybrid and linked benefit products could be the right product for some clients. If the client is investing money into an annuity, and long term care needs are even a mild concern to them, then having an annuity with long term care benefits might just make sense.  Even if long term care issues never present themselves, the annuity value is still there to provide income or a means of funding their legacy.  There are linked benefit products that give life insurance and long term care equal footing in the plan.  If the long term care benefit is never used then the life insurance is paid out at time of death.  If long term care is needed, then the life insurance amount available for payout at death would be reduced.  The benefits are paid out one way or another. Another option carriers are looking at is pricing for high deductible long term care plans.  A consumer would select a high deductible ($50,000 -$300,000) plan and the insurance benefits would start after the deductible is met. We are seeing a different thought process as well as a different mindset from carriers regarding new innovative product designs.  They realize that their products have to offer the benefits wanted by today’s consumer at a price that is affordable. Long term care insurance products are changing but their importance is not.  There are many different ways to protect your client and their assets from a long term care issue.  The important thing is that you’re having the conversation with your clients about their long term care needs and showing them the many different solutions you can provide.
Sales & Marketing

Silver, Gold or Platinum – where will you be?

Presented by David Corwin   When it comes to perks, you want a program that gives you that little extra that you deserve and rewards you for your efforts and gives you money to put back into your business.  Financial Brokerage has pulled out all the stops as we’ve just announced the Elite Producer Group (EPG).  Here’s the skinny . . .   SILVER – If you are able to attain a 50,000 Success Share level then you will receive $500 to be used for your business expenses and an all expense paid trip to the EPG meeting.  I will tell you that if you get to this level then you’re 5,000 shares away from the Costa Rica trip so you might as well shoot to get the trip too. GOLD – This level requires 75,000 Success Shares.  You will receive $1,000 from our pockets to yours for business expenses and you also get the trip to the EPG meeting on us.  The one additional reward that you’d receive is that you get an extra day on our Shared Success incentive trip. PLATINUM – This is the highest level with EPG and it requires 100,000 shares.  $1,500 is the amount you would receive to put back into your business.  With this level, you would also receive a free trip to the EPG meeting and two (2) extra days of fun in the sun at our Shared Success incentive trip.  Oh and by the way, you’d also receive a Men’s Tag Heuer or a Women’s Movado Stainless Steel TC Bracelet Watch and you’d be recognized at the award ceremony.