3 Common Challenges Life Insurance Producers Must Overcome
- People don't like to talk or think about death
- Not performing effective field underwriting
- Working with a General Agency that's not meeting their needs
Unless you’re a track star, hurdles aren’t fun.
Life insurance producers like you know that any challenge that comes between you and placing a case needs to be met head-on with the right solutions.
Let’s take a look at three of the most common hurdles life insurance producers face and the way to overcome them and place more cases.
Life Insurance Producers: How to Handle the Hurdles
1. People Don’t Want ToTalk (Or Think) About Death
In a recent survey, 42% of respondents claimed the reason they hadn’t bought life insurance was that it’s “morbid.”
The truth is, many people don’t want to face the reality that they won’t live forever. It’s not pleasant to think about what their death might mean for family members, either.
The Solution: Part of your job as their trusted life insurance producer is to help them understand the necessity. Show them that it’s the care and comfort of those they leave behind that SHOULD be their motivation to purchase life insurance.
2. Skimpy Field Underwriting
Failing to get the information you need to give a life insurance carrier the full picture of a prospective client will backfire on you.
When the case comes back “other than as applied,” you’ve got the uphill battle of re-selling to a probably-frustrated prospect who was expecting a different answer. Finding out they will have to pay more than you originally quoted them will not go over well.
Your opportunity to place that case may have just flown out the window.
Even if you don’t lose the sale, you’re probably not going to have a loyal customer or a “brand enthusiast” who will recommend you to their family and friends.
The Solution: This point can’t be over-emphasized: Perform good, thorough field underwriting.
One more time for the ones who weren’t paying attention: Perform good, thorough underwriting.
It’s worth the time and effort to get all the information upfront so you’ll have the best chance of placing the case. The most important thing to remember is to ask the right questions.
There’s a LOT more to be said on this topic. Check out this blog for everything you need to know.
3. A Life Insurance General Agency That’s No Help
(Or, the lack of a GA at all!)
As a life insurance producer, you should understand how big of a hindrance the wrong General Agency can be.
You’ll miss out on the training, education, and support that are necessary to give your clients the best, most up-to-date information.
This is even more important now, in a time when technology is changing so rapidly. It’s vital that you know how to use the digital tools that will help you get ahead.
The Solution: You can’t be an expert in every area. You don’t have the capacity to keep up with all the ins and outs of each individual carrier. Especially considering life insurance products are constantly changing.
But, with the help of your General Agency, you can still be the trusted advisor your prospects and clients look to for help.
Be A Life Insurance Producer Who Succeeds
You can probably think of plenty more hurdles you face as you try to be a successful life insurance producer.
Concentrate on these three areas first: working with a great General Agency, overcoming prospects’ fear of facing the ramifications of death, and performing excellent field underwriting.
Just like a runner jumps one hurdle at a time, it’s okay for you to take baby steps as you work to make the positive changes that will impact your life insurance business.
The worst thing you can do is sit in the stands and remain a spectator.
