If you’re facing a root canal, you want the dentist to say it will be “quick and easy.”
On the other hand, if a doctor is going to perform open heart surgery on you, being “quick” might give you a whole different feeling.
Obviously, some things in life can be done quickly and easily.
But just because they’re advertised that way, or just because they can be doesn’t always mean that they should be.
Buying life insurance may very well fall into that category.
It isn’t always quick and easy.
If you want to be among the life insurance producers who are trusted resources for their clients, you have to help prospects understand that “quicker” and “easier” don’t equal “better” when it comes to purchasing coverage.
The Truth About Buying Life Insurance
The reality of buying more than $100,000 of competitively-priced life insurance is currently subject to guidelines that rarely make it “quick.”
Even with paperless innovations like iGo and Drop Ticket (which do speed things up quite a bit!), the consumer still has to qualify for the coverage and that simply takes time.
Sure, there is more expensive coverage (in some cases, a lot more expensive) available that isn’t subject to the normal requirements or time it takes to evaluate your prospect.
Bottom line: Buying life insurance the quick and easy way usually comes with a hefty price tag.
Managing Expectations
Well, they might
It’s a natural result of living in a world where most things are available with a few clicks.
Need new shoes? Click,click and they’ll be here tomorrow.
Want to watch the movie that just came out? Shorter than the time it takes to pop your popcorn, it’s on your screen.
Even a new vehicle can be delivered to your doorstep with nothing more than a few clicks.
So, yes, a fair amount of your prospects will expect purchasing life insurance to be fast and simple.
And that’s why they need the guidance of a trusted life insurance producer to help them through the process, explaining each step along the way so they understand that it’s not a bad thing that getting the coverage they need takes some time.
Manage their expectations from the very beginning. Let them know that giving them the best experience with the life insurance solution that’s perfect for them requires thoroughness.
(Remember, you can do your part by doing good field underwriting!)
A New Approach for Life Insurance Producers
The bottom line here is that there is no free lunch when buying life insurance.
Whether they realize it at first or not, more life insurance consumers prefer a process that contains substance and credibility – even if it takes a little longer.
And this is why managing expectations is so important. You must educate your prospect about how long it generally takes to process a life insurance case – if you don't want to end up with a frustrated applicant (and lose the sale).
You, as a life insurance producer, should not feel that you are competing with “quick and easy,” i.e. internet sales and vastly more expensive coverage.
Rather, you should maintain the confidence that your client will understand (at least eventually) the value of taking the time needed to put the appropriate plan in place.
Updated 7/2021
