A few years ago the Council for Disability Awareness (CDA), published the CDA 2011 Advisor Disability Awareness Study to exposing the gaps between reality and assumptions of disability insurance by both consumers and advisors.
It’s no surprise that many of the responding consumers held distorted impressions of the causes, duration, and frequency of disability. You may be surprised by the inaccurate assumptions advisors held about the consumer. Below are two key findings:
1. Advisors underrated consumer awareness and perceptions.
The study found that 42% of consumers expected to use paid vacation / sick leave to cover expenses during a disability. Conversely, 55% of advisors expected clients to sell personal possessions to make ends meet while disabled.
In addition, when asked about the risk of disability, 83% of consumers agreed it “could happen to anyone at any time.” Yet only 35% of advisors thought consumers would agree with the statement. Consumers were also much more realistic about the possibility of becoming disabled than advisors predicted they would be. For example, only 23% of consumers believed they were invulnerable to a disability and therefore did not need disability insurance. While 51% of advisors predicted consumers felt that way.
2. Advisors misjudged the age threshold for consumer interest in disability insurance.
Most advisors believe people aren’t really interested in disability insurance until age 40 or older. In fact, 43% of consumers in this study believe that financial planning should start as early as 20. That’s why we encourage you to embrace the millennial audience.
Over the past few weeks we’ve posted several articles about how important the millennial generation will be to your practice. If you missed it, you might want to check out “Your Next Disability Target Market: Millennials.”
Do any of these misperceptions impact how you approach clients about disability insurance?
It’s important to realize that sometimes the most significant barrier to your sales process is your own preconceived notions. When you mentally qualify potential prospects, use these insights to eliminate any inaccurate assumptions and expand your potential pool of disability insurance prospects.
After you’ve talked to prospects about disability insurance, contact DIS. Our sales team will help you brainstorm the most favorable case design approach, and will prepare quotes for you to present. They can also provide you with the background and expertise to make the sale.
Need to know the basics about how to get started in the disability insurance market? Download our free DI Boot Camp report now!
