I agree, overpriced life insurance is still better than no life insurance. (I'm not saying anything about a particular company, just an expression folks.)
But here is the funny thing, I wasn't beating Farm Bureau with cheap term companies, I was beating them with traditional life carriers. Companies that aren't known for cheap term or cheap whole life.
I never meant to imply that P&C carriers tend to be the cheapest thing out there. Yes, they can be beaten (if the discount as a package isn't included). My point is that in smaller face amounts, the difference in premium between what a P&C company charges and what a 'life' company charges is so small it makes virtually no difference.
If someone is shopping pure life insurance, a P&C company will never win on price alone. Knowing the agent will be there forever, accessible, is worth a lot to some people.
The fact that chances are, they wouldn't buy life insurance outside of the fact it was put together by the package deal with the P&C agent, is a great point, one I wish I had articulated better.
Plus, the OP was referring to his P&C policies when he said he had shopped them and couldn't get a better deal, probably not his life policy.
Now, I don't sell a lot of life insurance. I should sell more, but to me its a bit of a hassle for the return. I know others who think the opposite, but I focus on P&C, don't have any life quotas to fill, and don't feel like I'm the expert when it comes to anything complex in life. I'll still put together some great package deals for clients.
Dan
P.S. Actually P&C carriers don't sell life so much to keep P&C clients, they sell life because it is profitable for them to do so. Pretty much the same as every life carrier. Yes, helping the retention on the P&C side is gravy. Sometimes though, I think they sell P&C to help the retention on the life side.
