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You would have to ask them. I'm sure it has less to do with their premium amount and more to do with their follow-up system, or lack thereof.
If you're happy with 22% of your business (at least) falling off the books, then by all means, keep doing what you're doing. I've simply found a better way of getting my persistency in the high 90's - yes, even on final expense now.
I am flattered you continue to visit my web page. I did not "shift" from touting selling FE to Med Supps. It was a maturation process that I learned from others that have gone before me to realize that it is in my business' long term best interest to give the best service I can to my senior client. It has also increased my persistency in final expense from around 80% to now in the very high 90's. This is a direct result of starting with the Med Supp relationship. I only wish I had learned this lesson 16 years ago when I first got my license.
Of course I remember my conversation with Charlie Speller that he let me record and share - on persistency. Charlie is a very honorable man and passionate about his company - your company. I can appreciate that company loyalty.
My clients know, without a doubt, that I'm not loyal to my companies more than I am loyal to them. It comes through when I deliver a savings of $50 to $150 per month on their Medicare Supplement policy, not based on which company has the highest commission but based on which company is the best fit for their needs. Then, I enter the conversation about the final expense plan.
Do you see the positioning? Even given this position, though, I would not push them toward an over-priced commodity that they can easily find in the marketplace at a much lower (often 50% lower rate). It would negate everything I had done by trying to save them money on the one hand if they found out I was selling them a much higher-than-needed life policy on the other. I feel my credibility would be in doubt, as I would be clearly exposed as intending to serve my own needs before theirs.
If I can show someone your policy side-by-side with mine, and they can only die once, why would their loyalty remain with the company that is going to take more of their money for the same, exact service? I would stack my relationship with them, having saved them $1,000+ per year on their Med Supps prior to our Final Expense conversation up against your sight-unseen final expense-only conversation any day of the week. It was a learning process to arrive at the conclusion that this was the best way to sell Final Expense.
By jove, I think he's got it.
If the issue was $1.25 per month difference, you may have them with your telephone transaction vs. mine, and the trouble to fill out new paperwork would not be justified in their mind.
However, if I just saved them $1,000 per year on their Med Supp and then I see what you put in their house and can save them another $30 per month over your policy, I've got a client for life. I then also have their brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends at their club, their church, etc. Referrals like this, incidentally, hardly ever come from a final expense-only sale made over the telephone in a one-call close.
You do realize that you're defending charging someone a significantly higher rate?
In whose interest is it to fight to charge your client a higher rate? That's a no brainer when you explain to a client that commissions are paid based on premium submitted. Your intentions then, suddenly become crystal clear to them and that relationship you thought you built so strongly through one telephone call suddenly crumbles before your eyes when the client eats of the fruit of knowledge of good & evil and knows they've been had.
Life insurance is a commodity - how much, per thousand, does it cost to accomplish the exact same result. My sole point is that it's in my best interest to provide the best value to my client as I can. I don't understand how you can argue to that it's better to charge a higher rate than the industry norm and how this is in the best interest of the client. Different philosophies, I guess.
My goal is to have a raving fan as a client. Through consistent follow-up and service that includes finding them the best deal in the marketplace, given what's available to me, I'm attaining that goal. And, I think I'm serving my clients in the best way possible by having done so.
Sideline:
By the way, if any agent is out there selling final expense and earning less than 100% and paying for your own leads in this day and age - you are getting robbed.
I just spoke with an agent today that was given an "opportunity" to sell for two of my main companies, too, for 60% commission and the "opportunity" to buy mailer leads at $370 per 1,000 from an agency in California. That's not a deal for you, folks.
Let your conscience be your guide. But I could not sleep at night knowing that I'm charging my client the highest rate in the marketplace for my own benefit and giving my agents, who are doing all the work, less than a fair contract.
This has been a great philosophical discussion, and I'm sure that it could go on and on with company defenses all day long as to how your companies that charge more and pay less are better than mine. Frankly, it's too simplistic a difference to warrant further debate.
Suffice it to say that it's a matter of differing opinions and we can both agree to disagree agreeably.
Point is - While I do not write LH ( I Love them) I agree with you that you can do business by phone. I am about 60/40, depends on the month.
