Anyone know about Security National Life?

[Allen Trent]

Thank you very much. Yes, we are intimately aware of various types of policies, etc. You better believe I know the uses and benefits of policies. I've studied this stuff in and out every day of my career.



Agents can play a very important role to the general population, no doubt about it. A vast majority of the population knows next to nothing about insurance in general, whether it's life, health, etc.

I'm not opposed to anyone having an agent in the least - I've obtained my own term policies through both Zander and Local Agents. There is also nothing wrong with jumping on a website and getting pricing/quotes, doing a little research and then using a local agent. Do I need help with all the things you mentioned? Absolutely not, but you are correct in that most people do.

What sickens me in my 24 hours on this site is that people think I have no knowledge of insurance when that's what I do for a living, every day, all day. Agents know the product (or should), but I know the products nearly as well as the agents and provide ratings, know laws and regulations and such. I have a wide array of knowledge on life insurance, whether it's Term or Perm.

I also have a background in math/finance and no one will never be able to convince me that anything other than Term is acceptable in 99.99% of circumstances from a mathematical stand point. Most true financial advisors (not agents selling it) agree with me on that. Now, I'm not telling anyone what to do - agents on here should do whatever it is they want and make their clients happy. As the saying goes, you do you. But don't tell me I don't know about life insurance or products.

Sincerely,

I believe you are very educated. However, I think where this appears to have went sideways is when you went on to an agent forum & began to instruct agents to go a direct to consumer site. you also then added that most agents don't know what they are selling and you see it. That is likely why some of these passionate agents are going off on you & being a bit hostile.

Keep in mind, the piles of surplus sitting in the current carrier you represent and the 4 previous ones was not built up because consumers came looking for life insurance. you may or may not realize this, but most consumers sat back & waited for an agent to approach them about life insurance 150 or 10 years ago. That is where the billions in surplus has been built so that you as an Underwriter, and myself as a home office employee have a job.

Lastly, while you may not appreciate captives, many are indeed competitive on some or all of their products & their market share in the industry dwarfs many of the non-captives. There is room for both without looking down you nose at one. those captives many times financed the entire industry when they paid inexperienced people to start in the industry as agents. those agents that made it then either became great agents for the captives or became independent. That is how you & I even have a job in the industry. if that cycled never started, neither you nor I would be on this forum. that is a fact that cant be disputed. captives financed it, agents found consumers & agents help clients to keep policies in force.

That is where I believe you incorrectly took a wrong turn in the conversation. Either way, it shouldn't take away from your education of products, but it may take away from your self awareness of the audience you are speaking to

 

[rousemark]

What sickens me in my 24 hours on this site is that people think I have no knowledge of insurance when that's what I do for a living, every day, all day. Agents know the product (or should), but I know the products nearly as well as the agents and provide ratings, know laws and regulations and such. I have a wide array of knowledge on life insurance, whether it's Term or Perm.
,

Even I have not doubted that you have knowledge in your area of expertise of the life insurance business.. And, you are certainly welcome to your opinion of term.. But why put agents down that do not agree with you? Also, there is a big difference in the underwriting of the "standard" companies and the FE Specialty companies so sometimes you need to specify what you are talking about rather than making broad flat statements.

And, since you are judging me without knowing anything about me.. the same thing you accuse me of doing.... I am 74 years old, have been selling insurance for 47 years,married for 52 and have a three year old daughter.. I have a right to be grouchy at times.. .. Plus, I have survived 6 heart attacks, open heart surgery, stent surgery and stage 4 throat cancer. Currently am having problems with COPD..

 

[Life Underwriter]

I believe you are very educated. However, I think where this appears to have went sideways is when you went on to an agent forum & began to instruct agents to go a direct to consumer site. you also then added that most agents don't know what they are selling and you see it. That is likely why some of these passionate agents are going off on you & being a bit hostile.

Keep in mind, the piles of surplus sitting in the current carrier you represent and the 4 previous ones was not built up because consumers came looking for life insurance. you may or may not realize this, but most consumers sat back & waited for an agent to approach them about life insurance 150 or 10 years ago. That is where the billions in surplus has been built so that you as an Underwriter, and myself as a home office employee have a job.

Lastly, while you may not appreciate captives, many are indeed competitive on some or all of their products & their market share in the industry dwarfs many of the non-captives. There is room for both without looking down you nose at one. those captives many times financed the entire industry when they paid inexperienced people to start in the industry as agents. those agents that made it then either became great agents for the captives or became independent. That is how you & I even have a job in the industry. if that cycled never started, neither you nor I would be on this forum. that is a fact that cant be disputed. captives financed it, agents found consumers & agents help clients to keep policies in force.

That is where I believe you incorrectly took a wrong turn in the conversation. Either way, it shouldn't take away from your education of products, but it may take away from your self awareness of the audience you are speaking to

I suppose I failed to realize this forum was geared towards agents only. I assumed, and wrongly that that, that it had to do with anything life insurance related. That's my fault and falls on my shoulders.

I don't look down on Captive companies. Their financial strength is incredible in most cases (I used to work for New York Life). I have nothing 'bad' to say about them, other than that usually, it's more cost effective to choose a non-captive company when shopping for Term Life. Is that true 100% of the time? No, of course not.

I also do not dispute that many of the behemoths we see today, began 150 years ago as Mutual, Captive carriers and are still going strong until this day. I wouldn't hesitate going with one at all for my own coverage if they were cost competitive, but so far, they haven't been for me and for most that I've looked for. Again, nothing wrong with them in the least.

 

[goillini52]

Even I have not doubted that you have knowledge in your area of expertise of the life insurance business.. And, you are certainly welcome to your opinion of term.. But why put agents down that do not agree with you? Also, there is a big difference in the underwriting of the "standard" companies and the FE Specialty companies so sometimes you need to specify what you are talking about rather than making broad flat statements.

And, since you are judging me without knowing anything about me.. the same thing you accuse me of doing.... I am 74 years old, have been selling insurance for 47 years,married for 52 and have a three year old daughter.. I have a right to be grouchy at times.. .. Plus, I have survived 6 heart attacks, open heart surgery, stent surgery and stage 4 throat cancer. Currently am having problems with COPD..

Louis, you're without a doubt the toughest guy on the Forum. Many would've given up after half of what you've been through.

 

[rousemark]

I suppose I failed to realize this forum was geared towards agents only. I assumed, and wrongly that that, that it had to do with anything life insurance related. That's my fault and falls on my shoulders.

I don't look down on Captive companies. Their financial strength is incredible in most cases (I used to work for New York Life). I have nothing 'bad' to say about them, other than that usually, it's more cost effective to choose a non-captive company when shopping for Term Life. Is that true 100% of the time? No, of course not.

I also do not dispute that many of the behemoths we see today, began 150 years ago as Mutual, Captive carriers and are still going strong until this day. I wouldn't hesitate going with one at all for my own coverage if they were cost competitive, but so far, they haven't been for me and for most that I've looked for. Again, nothing wrong with them in the least.

You are certainly welcome to share what you know about the business... But also take time to listen and learn some of the other aspects of the business of which you may not be aware... .. Posts like this one will not draw the ire of anyone.. I admire what underwriters do.. You say you can't sell, well I couldn't stand to be couped up in a cubicle or an office all day long.. To each his own..

 

[rousemark]

Louis, you're without a doubt the toughest guy on the Forum. Many would've given up after half of what you've been through.

Nothing to do with being tough... Just living life as it comes..

 

[WinoBlues]

Thank you very much. Yes, we are intimately aware of various types of policies, etc. You better believe I know the uses and benefits of policies. I've studied this stuff in and out every day of my career.



Agents can play a very important role to the general population, no doubt about it. A vast majority of the population knows next to nothing about insurance in general, whether it's life, health, etc.

I'm not opposed to anyone having an agent in the least - I've obtained my own term policies through both Zander and Local Agents. There is also nothing wrong with jumping on a website and getting pricing/quotes, doing a little research and then using a local agent. Do I need help with all the things you mentioned? Absolutely not, but you are correct in that most people do.

What sickens me in my 24 hours on this site is that people think I have no knowledge of insurance when that's what I do for a living, every day, all day. Agents know the product (or should), but I know the products nearly as well as the agents and provide ratings, know laws and regulations and such. I have a wide array of knowledge on life insurance, whether it's Term or Perm.

I also have a background in math/finance and no one will never be able to convince me that anything other than Term is acceptable in 99.99% of circumstances from a mathematical stand point. Most true financial advisors (not agents selling it) agree with me on that. Now, I'm not telling anyone what to do - agents on here should do whatever it is they want and make their clients happy. As the saying goes, you do you. But don't tell me I don't know about life insurance or products.

Sincerely,

Give me access to a searchable underwriting manual and the rules of only one company to learn or search and I am an underwriter. Static information and rules.

No critical thinking required.

Maybe someday it will be done by an algorithm and get instant decisions. Maybe someday.

 

[rousemark]

Louis, you're without a doubt the toughest guy on the Forum. Many would've given up after half of what you've been through.

However, I did get my "major" award from Sti for being back on the job, three days after having the last heat attack and stent placement..

 

[WinoBlues]

Thank you very much. Yes, we are intimately aware of various types of policies, etc. You better believe I know the uses and benefits of policies. I've studied this stuff in and out every day of my career.



Agents can play a very important role to the general population, no doubt about it. A vast majority of the population knows next to nothing about insurance in general, whether it's life, health, etc.

I'm not opposed to anyone having an agent in the least - I've obtained my own term policies through both Zander and Local Agents. There is also nothing wrong with jumping on a website and getting pricing/quotes, doing a little research and then using a local agent. Do I need help with all the things you mentioned? Absolutely not, but you are correct in that most people do.

What sickens me in my 24 hours on this site is that people think I have no knowledge of insurance when that's what I do for a living, every day, all day. Agents know the product (or should), but I know the products nearly as well as the agents and provide ratings, know laws and regulations and such. I have a wide array of knowledge on life insurance, whether it's Term or Perm.

I also have a background in math/finance and no one will never be able to convince me that anything other than Term is acceptable in 99.99% of circumstances from a mathematical stand point. Most true financial advisors (not agents selling it) agree with me on that. Now, I'm not telling anyone what to do - agents on here should do whatever it is they want and make their clients happy. As the saying goes, you do you. But don't tell me I don't know about life insurance or products.

Sincerely,

"you better believe..."
"Don't tell me.... "

You may want to leave the cubical once and a while. Have a conversation with some real people outside of your age and social circle. IMohsoHO

 

[rousemark]

Give me access to a searchable underwriting manual and the rules of only one company to learn or search and I am an underwriter. Static information and rules.

No critical thinking required.

Maybe someday it will be done by an algorithm and get instant decisions. Maybe someday.

Gee.. I seem to remember hearing about something on this line.already taking place.. Agents using one of those new fangled things called computer apps?