Consumers are stressed out about their household finances. While this news is no surprise to most financial professionals, the triage opportunities might be. A recent LIMRA study casts an encouraging light on the opportunity for advisors to help set clients find firmer financial footing. Below are two promising opportunities.
Client recruitment method 1: Offer financial education seminars.
Why it’s a good idea:
LIMRA’s study, Financial Triage: Assessing Consumer Wellness, outlines the contributors to consumer’s financial insecurities. Many are without a monthly budget, a financial plan, and savings. A bright spot in the report for financial professionals is the interest that 80 percent of consumers have in financial education. They are looking for help with topics those of us in the industry take for granted, like general budgeting, reducing debt, and explanation of their employee benefits.
Only 26 percent of consumers work with a financial professional, yet those who do report feeling more secure and confident about their financial futures. One of the biggest obstacles to individual disability income insurance is lack of awareness and understanding.
Ways to get started:
Consider offering a series of free financial education seminars. The first session might be an introduction to basic finance. Include topics like a health financial profile, debt to income ratios, emergency savings, and a preview of the next few sessions. Session two covers the types of insurance, auto and home insurance, life and disability insurance, and employee benefits. The third and final session focuses on preparing for retirement, retirement plans, long-term care planning, and social security strategies.
Client recruitment method 2: Approach small employers.
Why it’s a good idea:
The LIMRA study also revealed that 38 percent of working consumers favor having one-on-one access to a financial professional at their places of work. More than half of millennials would take advantage of meeting with an advisor at the work place. Additionally, small employers (less than 100 employees) typically do not offer retirement plans and other benefit extras, yet small employers are acutely aware of the need for employees to prepare for retirement.
How to get started:
Reach out to business owners within your network. Offer to present the same series of free seminars to their employees at the worksite. Another option is to offer the seminar series exclusively for their employees but at your firm’s office. Even if small employers are not able to extend their benefit packages, most are willing to sponsor a financial wellness event to help their employees.
Because small employers offer fewer employee benefits, this group of potential clients is even more likely to be in need of personal insurance and retirement planning products.
Education can be a very successful approach to building client relationships based on trust and information. When you are ready to discuss disability insurance with a new client, call DIS, for a variety of quotes at various premium levels. Once you’ve sold the case, we’ll be there to guide the application through underwriting and all the way to issue.
