If there is a common complaint among many independent insurance advisers, it is not having enough time to prospect. Yet, looking more closely, most of them are literally surrounded by prospects, so close at hand that they are easy to miss.
Here are a couple of examples of not recognizing the potential for new business and the opportunity to serve client needs.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Engel & Völkers Oceanside Leader | The DiSpirito…
Learn More
I had been attempting unsuccessfully to arrange an appointment with a working agent/adviser for a number of months to explore opportunities I might have to work with him. He made it clear that he was satisfied with his current brokerage relationship.
Although I was persistent in pledging “great compensation and service,” he wouldn’t budge. Then I changed my approach, asking him what his current brokerage firm was doing for him other than providing good compensation and service.
“What help do you need to grow your business?” That question caught his attention.
He explained that he had literally thousands of clients and didn’t have time to review their policies.
I asked him, “If I were to come to your office and sit with you and review policies, would you give me the business for any missed opportunities I discovered?”
He quickly agreed, and we arranged to meet for a full day so the two of us could sift through his files and run the numbers right then and there. When we found an underperforming or lapsed policy, he picked up the phone and called the client to discuss the status of the policy and to set up an appointment.
When we took a lunch break, we realized that we had between 12 and 15 cases for him to work on. He was so pleased, he scheduled another full day.
Another example is a large property and casualty agency that had at one time had a life policy adviser working in the office. No one had touched the files since he left.
In reviewing the first 20 files, we found almost $50,000 in commissionable premiums. While we continued to review policies and suggest suitable alternatives, we also implemented mortgage insurance programs for the homeowner’s insurance clients. We also called owners of term and lapsed policies that we discovered in the files to arrange appointments.
One particular file concerned a 47-year-old male who had taken out a whole-life policy more than 16 years ago. The problem was that since it was first taken out, it had never been reviewed. The initial death benefit was $1 million, and the policyholder was paying an ongoing premium of $5,000 annually, with cash value in the policy coming in a little more than $230,000. In addition, the policyholder had drawn a loan against the policy for $80,000, bringing the annual premium to almost $11,000, due to the interest.
I did some research and was able to do a loan rescue on the policy, using the cash value in the new policy to buy nearly $2 million of death benefit at a preferred rate for the same $5,000 as the original policy, all for a commissionable (or target) premium of more than $20,000.
With current cases taking up their time, advisers have difficulty sitting down and reviewing their files, despite that fact that policy reviews inevitably turn up missed revenue opportunities.
So, when someone comes along and is willing to work with them, they find the time.
Most amazing of all is that even clients with lapsed policies, as well as those that have not been looked at for 15 or 20 years, welcome the opportunity to meet with a policy adviser.
From the adviser’s viewpoint, the files are filled with both gold and goodwill. There are almost endless new business opportunities, as well as the chance to help clients reach their financial objectives.
Justin M. Jurs is a brokerage manager for First American Insurance Underwriters, Inc., a Needham, Mass.-based life insurance brokerage firm with independent insurance agents in all 50 states representing more than 30 companies. He can be reached at jjurs@faiu.com.
