LIFE INSURANCE DO’S & DON’TS

When discussing life insurance with your client, always remember to ask the simple questions….

• Who needs the life insurance death benefit if the insured passes away?
• 2) How long does the beneficiary need the death benefit if the insured were to pass away?
• 3) What situation is the client trying to solve? What is the purpose of the insurance? Keep in mind that there must be an insurable interest among the insured, the owner, and the beneficiary.

Asking these simple questions can immediately provide information on the coverage purpose, structure (owner/beneficiary), and the type of product you should quote.

• Don’t make the mistake of not asking field underwriting questions BEFORE you show the client any quotes.   A client will never forget the lower premium, so ensure that any premiums you quote on the front end are as accurate as possible.

• In addition to the above statement, don’t assume your client’s rate class from a previous file, or based on a quote your client received from another agent/broker.  

• Don’t be afraid to discuss personal or even awkward situations with your client.  Being honest, transparent, and realistic with your client when quoting life insurance will make underwriting faster and easier and will increase your placement ratio.   Many factors can affect a client’s rating beyond their health, including avocations, foreign travel, criminal history, and financial history.  The more information you can get on the front end, the less time you’ll spend on the back end getting a policy issued and placed.

• Licensing is required and must be completed at a minimum when the application is submitted.   If you are not sure you are already licensed with the carrier you are writing (through our BGA), please ask our office to confirm.   Completing the licensing process before submitting the application can help avoid many potential problems.

• No more asking the question, “Do you smoke?”   Times have changed, and asking that question alone can come back to bite you and your client.   You need to drill down on that question……1) Do you use tobacco or nicotine in any form?  2) Do you use cigarettes, chew, snuff, Nicorette gum/patch, Hooka, E-cigarettes, vape, etc?   3) Do you use Marijuana in any form?  If so, how is it ingested (smoke, vape, edibles), and how many times per month?

• When you are in doubt about a medical condition that your client has, please stop and reach out to our office for guidance.   Some medical conditions can be complex, and we can help you not only with the questions you need to ask the client but also with communicating with multiple carriers to determine the appropriate rate class for quoting. 

• When completing the application for a client who has some significant health history, please make sure to get accurate doctor information, to include the full name, address, and phone number of the doctor or facility.   Securing medical records is often the most time-consuming part of the underwriting process, and it can greatly reduce the time by allowing us to order the records from the appropriate doctor(s) on the same day the application is received.

• Submitting a drop ticket for term insurance has become increasingly popular over the last few years, but please discuss the process with your client before submitting the application.  Completing a drop ticket is fast and easy for the agent, but it requires the client to take additional steps, often via email and/or phone calls.   If your client is not a good fit for this process, they will get frustrated, and the case will get delayed, resulting in a coin flip on whether the case will end up getting placed.  Even though it seems like more work and time-consuming to do a paper application, it can save you a lot of time and headaches in the long run.

• If you run your own term quotes on our website, please be sure to input your client’s actual date of birth…. not just their age.   Our website will calculate both the “actual age” and “age nearest”, and the difference between the two can have a big impact on the premiums that are being quoted.  Some carriers use age-based rates, and some use actual age; either option could benefit your client.

• Before you submit an application, whether paper or electronic, please ensure you inform your client of what to expect.   Setting those realistic expectations can be the most important thing you do on the front end of a case.   If your client is confused about the process, they will either become frustrated or miss or delay steps, which will be detrimental to the case being placed. 

• If you have questions on any of the above, or have questions about life insurance in general, please contact our office before you run quotes, or submit an application.   We are here to help, and our guidance on the front end can ensure your case is quoted correctly, routed to the right carrier, and the best product is selected, so everything is in order for processing to proceed as quickly and efficiently as possible.