Are you bullish on your DI sales for the rest of the year? You’re in luck. There are plenty of reasons to expect a favorable environment for income protection sales.
Homeownership Is Up
Many people bought homes during the pandemic. Now they need to protect those homes with paycheck protection.
According to Pew Research Center, the number of homeowners increased by approximately 2.1 million in 2020. This is the greatest increase since the housing boom of 2003/2004.
For many people, homeownership is a dream come true. The dark side of this dream, however, is that it isn’t always permanent. Many people live paycheck to paycheck. If an illness or injury prevents them from working, the bills can pile up quickly – and that can lead to foreclosure.
Disability insurance provides protection against this nightmare. With the recent housing boom, it’s a protection that more people need.
The Job Outlook Is Strong
Many states are easing restrictions now that a significant percentage of people are vaccinated against COVID-19. As a result, jobs are coming back. According to BLS, the unemployment rate dropped 0.3% in May.
You may have heard that some businesses are having a hard time filling positions. Many workers are holding out for better pay, and CNBC reports that wages are rising at the fastest pace in years.
When workers earn more, they have more income to protect. They also have more money to spend on disability insurance premiums. This is a good sign for disability insurance sales.
Challenges Remain
The economy is improving, and the need for paycheck protection is greater than ever, but one challenge remains. According to MetLife’s Employee Benefit Trends study, only 41% of employees consider disability insurance to be a must-have benefit. Most workers consider it nice to have, and 7% don’t think it’s needed.
In the past, we’ve suggested using the term paycheck protection or income protection when introducing the coverage. Many clients are simply unaware of the protection, how it works, and the very real risk of suffering an illness or injury that would interrupt earning a paycheck.
Keys to Success
Lincoln Financial Group asked 2,500 adults about financial goals and perceptions. It turns out those with clearly defined goals and a plan to reach them not only were more optimistic about their financial security, but they also made greater progress to reaching those goals. As Yogi Berra said, “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.”
Help your clients think about their long-term financial goals. These goals could include buying a house, avoiding foreclosure, paying for their children’s tuition, or saving for retirement. Then ask them how they would achieve these goals without a steady income. For most people, the answer will be simple – they couldn’t.
Also help the client project the real economic impact of being unable to work for as little as three months. A simple example: using an annual salary of $100,000, without disability insurance the household income would be short $25,000 gross income. How reasonable is it to self-insurance this shortfall? This client would have to save $5,000 for five years to replace the lost gross income. That’s 5% of the annual income. Compare that to the average DI premium which costs 1% to 3% of income.
Make 2021 your record-breaking sales year for disability insurance sales. DIS has the products and resources to help you. Call us today.
