Rookie in FE with Family Market Questions

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I may be a rookie but I am no youngster - I just hit the "50 years down, 50 to go" mark. A few years ago, a friend of mine died suddenly and unexpectedly. He owned a business, a large mortgage, and expensive toys (Land Rover, Corvette, boats and jet skis). He also had a wife and two teen daughters. What he didn't have was life insurance. None.

I won't go through the emotional and mental gymnastics that ended with me getting my life insurance license. The choice of FE is straightforward: It seemed like a quick way to cash flow an insurance business as I was able to afford a direct mail campaign to gather leads. This has proven to be the case. It is also a simple and straightforward product that meets a simple and straightforward need. But perhaps not as simple as I had thought.

Below is a discussion arc that occurred recently in the FE forum here:

Flexible Premium Adjustable Life is the actual name for what we commonly call Universal Life. It’s not whole life and shouldn’t be sold as such. Indexed means the rate of growth in the cash accumulation account is tied to an index such as the S&P 500. You have to dig into it to see if there is any kind of “no-lapse” guarantee. Being that it’s Bankers Life, I highly doubt that it’s got a very lengthy guarantee.

Shonceman ... when is this product a viable option to present??????? to an FE client ... Obviously universal has less benefit to an older one than a younger who appreciates more flexibility

How so?

Last week I wrote a 69 yr old woman a UoO GUL. Std rates. How would an FE policy been better?

And here is what I posted in reply to WinoBlues's post:

I know I have a lot to learn about this business. Posts like this indicate how much I have yet to learn.

I wish I had had an agent offer me an ROP policy with a reduced paid up option when I bought my last large policy in my mid-30's when my last child was born. Maybe the product wasn't available 15 years ago. More likely, the agent (who is no longer in the business) probably didn't know any better. Had I had such a product, I'd be in a much better position than I am going to be in in about 10 years. I know this is the FE forum, but that UoO TermExpress product really has me impressed. I'm trying to figure out why I would not recommend it to a young family with children, a mortgage, etc. I would think that cold canvassing a newer neighborhood with young families, leading with an ROP product might yield decent results. Insurance fascinates me.

Wino suggested I post in the Life Insurance forum as I would perhaps get more responses from agents who are or were actively engaged in the family market. This is important to me because I did not get my life insurance license to become and FE only agent. I became an agent to help families avoid what happened to my friend's family: The embarrassing "go-fund" me page, the fire sale of his toys, having quickly to sell and move out of the family home into a much smaller, more affordable dwelling.

I am getting referrals from my FE prospects. I have two appointments for tomorrow: I am meeting with a two separate couples, one is the daughter and son-in-law of a couple I helped last week, and the other is the son and daughter-in-law of a couple I helped this week. I know I have a lot to learn about life insurance.

I am here to learn. I'd like to start by reiterating the quote from my post above: The UoO TermExpress product really has me impressed. I'm trying to figure out why I would not recommend it to a young family with children, a mortgage, etc. - especially a young, low income family who needs coverage but also would benefit from the savings aspect of the product, and the reduced paid up option available at the end of the term.

I appreciate any and all help.
 
My advice would be to listen. Identify the want and recommend the product that best suits it.

Please note, I said want, not need. Sell them what they want, even if that is a $50,000 whole life policy versus the $500,000 term they need. They are much more likely to buy the want than the need and more importantly to keep it. I use to try and get people to understand the real need and go for it, wasn't that great at it. But when I decided to sell what they wanted, sold a lot more insurance and got a lot more referrals.
 
My advice would be to listen. Identify the want and recommend the product that best suits it.

Please note, I said want, not need. Sell them what they want, even if that is a $50,000 whole life policy versus the $500,000 term they need. They are much more likely to buy the want than the need and more importantly to keep it. I use to try and get people to understand the real need and go for it, wasn't that great at it. But when I decided to sell what they wanted, sold a lot more insurance and got a lot more referrals.
And you can address the need again during a future review.
 
Especially on younger prospects - Make them clients first. Term, GUL, Whole Life what ever. Inventory.

Post some information on these couples and maybe some of these guys can give you some nuggets to keep in mind as you start. Not solutions, as we do not know these prospects, but ideas.
 
I would suggest finding a carrier that will be your "go to" for referral cases where you'll need term or GUL products. If I could make a suggestion, it would be best to use a carrier you're already using for FE. Foresters would be my top pick. Great FE, UL, & Term product portfolio. Mutual of Omaha is good, but they're VERY strict on their underwriting with all products...

Hope that helps!
 

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