Life Insurance

Six Questions for Six Life Insurance Sales to Seniors…

Presented by Brian Leising Do you have senior clients?  Did they purchase only one product from you?  Was it a Medicare supplement, annuity, long term care or final expense policy?  If you were able to uncover the need for one insurance product, could you uncover another?  What if you had six simple questions to ask your clients that would uncover additional sales? When you meet with a person who is a grandparent, what photos do you see on their walls? The photos of their children are long gone and the walls are now adorned by their adorable grandchildren. Just try to ask a question about their grandchildren and see if you can get a word in edgewise for the next hour. They love to talk about their grandchildren and would do just about anything for them. Did you ever think to ask “Who handles your grandchildren’s life insurance and college funds?”  Parents may not have thought about these topics and if they did, may not have the funds to pay for them.  Chances are your senior clients have more disposable income than their children and are in a better position to help.  They are at a stage of their lives where their primary concern is leaving a legacy.  Two gifts their grandchildren will always remember will be their first life insurance policy and their college tuition paid for by Grandma and Grandpa. If you have been following my “Six Questions for Six Life Insurance Sales to Seniors” posts, you now have six easy conversation-starting questions to ask your senior clients.  You know what direction the conversations should take and what sales they will lead to.  For resources to implement these ideas, send me an e-mail (bleising@fb-inc.com) and we can discuss further.
Life Insurance

Six Questions for Six Life Insurance Sales to Seniors…

Presented by Brian Leising Do you have senior clients?  Did they purchase only one product from you?  Was it a Medicare supplement, annuity, long term care or final expense policy?  If you were able to uncover the need for one insurance product, could you uncover another?  What if you had six simple questions to ask your clients that would uncover additional sales? Do you need a good way to open up an estate planning conversation with a prospect you think may have a problem?  Maybe a business owner?  Why not ask, “What steps have you taken to minimize your taxable estate to your heirs?”  This is an easy way to lead into the conversation.  You are assuming they have already done some planning.  Most people have not, or if they have it was never completed.  Keep in mind with the higher exclusion amounts that went into effect recently, the Federal estate tax may not apply in as many situations as it did in the past.  Your state may impose its own state estate taxes at much lower thresholds. On top of that, income or capital gains taxes may also apply.  Make sure you are working with an attorney who specializes in estate planning to minimize your client’s taxable estate first.  If needed, life insurance can provide immediate funds to pay any remaining tax without liquidating assets. In part six I will discuss two opportunities that will open the door to your next generation of clients.
Life Insurance

Six Questions for Six Life Insurance Sales to Seniors…

Presented by Brian Leising Do you have senior clients?  Did they purchase only one product from you?  Was it a Medicare supplement, annuity, long term care or final expense policy?  If you were able to uncover the need for one insurance product, could you uncover another?  What if you had six simple questions to ask your clients that would uncover additional sales? Once you have determined your client has the proper life insurance coverage, you should be asking them: “Have you protected yourself from the high costs of extended care should you become ill or frail as you age?”  The high cost of long term care is the greatest threat to a client’s retirement funds by far.  After a fall, the stock market bounces back, the elderly do not.  Long term care insurance has traditionally been used in this situation but is not a good fit for everyone.  Linked benefit/life insurance based long term care policies offer protection with guarantees not found in traditional policies.  The life insurance based solutions guarantee the client’s premiums will never change.  They also guarantee a benefit will be paid out.  If the long term care benefit is never used, the death benefit will pass to the insured’s heirs.  Your clients are not really protected until they have some form of extended care coverage in place. In part four, I will review a question to ask seniors who have their protection in place and have extra funds to leave to following generations.
Life Insurance

Six Questions for Six Life Insurance Sales to Seniors…

Presented by Brian Leising Do you have senior clients?  Did they purchase only one product from you?  Was it a Medicare supplement, annuity, long term care or final expense policy?  If you were able to uncover the need for one insurance product, could you uncover another?  What if you had six simple questions to ask your clients that would uncover additional sales? “When did you last review your life insurance policies?”  You should ask this question of everyone, whether you think they have a life insurance policy or not.  Many people have never reviewed their old life insurance policies.  They may be paying too much or not enough.  Their coverage could be too low or missing key features.  I often see older universal life policies that have not been funded properly to keep them in force for the client’s full life expectancy.  I have also seen cash rich whole life policies that do not offer enough leverage for the client’s dollars.  Newer universal life plans with a no-lapse guarantee can help in both cases.  Find an annual review fact finder you like and start filling it out at every appointment.  You will help your clients and uncover more new business than you have in the past. In part three, I will review an added feature that can give your clients more than just death benefit protection.
Life Insurance

Six Questions for Six Life Insurance Sales to Seniors…

Presented by Brian Leising Do you have senior clients?  Did they purchase only one product from you?  Was it a Medicare supplement, annuity, long term care or final expense policy?  If you were able to uncover the need for one insurance product, could you uncover another?  What if you had six simple questions to ask your clients that would uncover additional sales? Let’s start with the first, most basic question: “What planning have you done for your funeral?”  Listen to your clients speak.  They may discuss their will, preferred cemetery, music to be played, what funeral home to use.  When they finish, follow up with “How will your family pay for all that?  Do they really want to pay full price?”  This conversation could lead to a fully underwritten life insurance sale, but don’t neglect basic final expense policies.  Some people don’t need anything more than a basic burial plan.  In lower income households, that may be the only sale possible.  Premiums are guaranteed to remain level and underwriting is simple and fast.  You should know whether your client qualifies for coverage before you walk out the door.  People still purchase pre-paid funerals from funeral homes, you can offer them greater leverage on their dollars. Next week I will review question number two, for use with people who already have life insurance policies in force.