Anyone Know United Insurance?

[Life Hawk]

That's right! Leave it for us debit guys!

Hard to replace because of the relationship they have with their servicing agent.

How many free cups of coffee do get on the job a week shonceman? I bet you've got clients that have a warm one for you each time you stop by.

 

[billyb]

The OP may have been referring to United Life Insurance Company. Low WL rates and a competitive GDB.

 

[ZackMorris]

It's likely they were talking about United Insurance Co of America. In that case, they're a debit company where the agent comes around and collects the premiums. I replaced one a couple months ago and it was damn near impossible to get anyone useful on the phone.

I run into them somewhat regularly here in FL. From what I can tell, it's a 2 year wait type of policy however the ones still in force have been around for quite some time (10+ years).

 

[shonceman]

It's likely they were talking about United Insurance Co of America. In that case, they're a debit company where the agent comes around and collects the premiums. I replaced one a couple months ago and it was damn near impossible to get anyone useful on the phone.

I run into them somewhat regularly here in FL. From what I can tell, it's a 2 year wait type of policy however the ones still in force have been around for quite some time (10+ years).

They do have a 2 year ROP Guaranteed Issue policy, but most are SIWL. Getting someone in the home office to give you information is very difficult because they're trained to refer the client back to the agent for servicing, answers to policy value questions, etc.

 

[shonceman]

Hard to replace because of the relationship they have with their servicing agent.

How many free cups of coffee do get on the job a week shonceman? I bet you've got clients that have a warm one for you each time you stop by.

I had more of that kind of thing (coffee, cake, homemade preserves, excess vegetables, etc.) when I worked a rural agency. City people aren't wired quite the same, although I get some good barbecue or chili on occasion if I time the visit right.

But as you correctly observe, I rarely lose a debit client to a replacement.

 

[Baseball7]

That's cause it's near impossible to get one surrendered, and the old agent comes right back for the 9 other policies in the house.

 

[HoosierLife]

That's the truth. For years, I couldn't make what was what with United/Kemper/Union National.

It is definitely a debit. The only time I have had success replacing them is if they don't have a current agent and their premiums are drafted like a normal FE policy OR if they got a new agent (usually after their family agent of 30+ years died) and they don't like the new guy.

Most don't have a policy and like others have said, you can't call in to the "home office" and get any info. They'll say that they are not licensed and can't give out any of that information. Gotta talk to the agent.

If they do have a policy, it takes a masters degree in decryption to figure it out. They'll usually have 37 different polices on one statement/policy info page. They'll have 3-5 policies for themselves, their spouse and their kids..Each. Some of the kids policies will be term (increasing? I have no idea) and some will be whole life. Many of the polices will be ROP.

Then they will have renters insurance, fire insurance, some homie broke in and stole our stereo insurance and many other random things that we can't/don't offer.

Very hard to compare apples to apples. So like I said, unless I run into someone who doesn't have a local agent (or agent they like) and their policy is just a straight up whole life without all the fluff, I just walk away.

I've closed those people only to have the agent come back in and save the policy. Their masters at it. We could all learn a thing or two from the debit guys on preserving business, that's for sure.

 

[Baseball7]

Their business model is built on the preservation of business, ours is on the acquisition of new business. Just different model it's like trying to compare a guy doing simple issue term versus an agent doing fully underwritten business. Neither are wrong just totally different paths.

 

[rousemark]

I've closed those people only to have the agent come back in and save the policy. Their masters at it. We could all learn a thing or two from the debit guys on preserving business, that's for sure.

The only thing they can really teach you about conserving business is build a relationship with your client by seeing them at least once per month if not more often. Other than that, they have no special sauce...

 

[shonceman]

The only thing they can really teach you about conserving business is build a relationship with your client by seeing them at least once per month if not more often. Other than that, they have no special sauce...

Good point. Those FE agents that stay in touch with their clients, even if it's not monthly, do nearly as well at conservation as a debit agent. The trouble is that many FE agents are so focused on new sales that they pay little attention to their existing clients.

Debit is a large part of my activity, but I write a fair amount of bank drafted FE business as well, (and some ordinary business along the way). I rarely try to replace a policy, but often sell additional coverage. But if I encounter a prospect who clearly has a friendly ongoing relationship with their agent, I often walk away. Anything I offer in those cases is going to be run past "Mr. Mike", and I'll usually be on the losing end of that. So I do everything I can to help my clients think of me as "their guy", as WinoBlues often says.