If you own a Swiss Army knife, you know it’s an all-in-one, get-everything-done contraption. It also has adapted over the years with changing times. Back during WWII, soldiers could use the tool to do everything from opening food tins to cleaning their weapons. Since then, the Swiss Army knife has changed with the times by adding new tools like a USB flash drive and MP3 player.
The disability insurance professional uses many tools during the sales process. Like the Swiss Army knife, each tool is essential, unique, and adaptable for each client meeting.
Here are the seven tools essential to making a disability insurance sale:
- Don’t Assume: Don’t assume your clients have disability insurance through their employers. Don’t assume they can’t afford to purchase an individual disability insurance policy. By making assumptions, you may be depriving your client of an important protection. Only your clients can decide if individual disability insurance policy is right for them.
- Ask: Ask every working client about their disability insurance. Since you have no assumptions about the disability insurance they may currently have, there is only one way to uncover the exposure your clients may face without disability insurance; ask. If you use a standardized client profile tool in your practice, be sure it includes a section for disability insurance.
- Explain: Now that you’ve learned about any existing disability insurance, you are positioned to introduce the facts about the frequency of disabilities and the potential to impact their financial stability. You’ve made your client aware of the risk; it’s time to transition to disability insurance as the solution for that risk. Your clients may have several misconceptions about disability insurance that you can easily dispel. Download the DIS resource, Five Disability Insurance Myths to share with your clients.
- Compare: If your clients have disability insurance benefits through their employers, offer to review the coverage details with them. Most of your clients are not familiar with industry terms like elimination period or return to work provisions. The CDA 2013 Employer Disability Awareness Study, reveals that 48% of employees feel they do not have sufficient information to make an informed purchase decision. Most HR professionals are reluctant to provide that type of guidance to employees. This is evidence of the value your expertise brings to your clients.
- Know the product: Keep your product knowledge sharp. Your clients’ needs vary and so will the product you recommend. More than likely, you will use several carriers’ products which requires staying up-to-date on the product nuances. DIS offers a product summary tool of all the products and riders available from the carriers we represent.
- Leverage our underwriter relationships: Underwriters have different appetites for different types of risks. They also crave information. Because we work with carriers every day, DIS can help position your cases for success by leveraging our knowledge of each underwriter’s requirements and preferences. You can make our jobs easier by providing clear and thorough information. For example, if your client is applying for a particularly large amount of coverage, provide the financial justification upfront.
- Deliver the policy in person: Too often, disability insurance policy delivery is completed through the mail. What a lost opportunity! The policy is the only tangible your client has to show for their premium dollars. Delivering policies in person and reviewing the policy benefits with your clients reinforces the wise decisions they made. For those clients who were unfamiliar with disability insurance and how it works, a review of the key policy features can reduce or prevent buyer’s remorse.
Remember that DIS not only gives you access to carriers and products, we also provide assistance with product selection and case design. Request a disability insurance quote today, and let us know how we can help you be successful.
