the best way to get leads?

[djs]

No doubt many do have misconception of DI! Yet we have this, by John; "I don't have the extra 3 hours to do a DI presentation and app." Here is the teleapp I use, doesn't take three hours! I'm thinking you are thinking of LTCi.

http://forms.illinoismutual.net/TELAPP21 _TN.PDF

Okay, from start to finish it may take three hours, sometimes quicker depending upon the client. Yet, it pays good and a product no one should be without! Esp. small business owners and the self employed. Get sick or injured, business stops, money stops flowing, how exactly are they going to be able to pay that health premium when they need it the most? In other words if a self employed person can no longer do his or her job, how long can they make it with no paycheck?

I must do this wrong. Filling out the app doesn't sell it, doing the presentation does. From start to finish, it takes at least 3 hours on the ones that actually go through, plus average in all the hours spent on policies where people didn't buy. It does pay good, but if they are already struggling on the medical side, it's not time well spent.

I get a lot of people that ask me about DI, especially self-employed individuals. The conversation is always around they want more money than they can actually qualify for (their business averages 10K per month, so they want 10K per month type of thing). You then start going down the avenue of the difference between DI and Business Overhead coverage. 3 hours? Easily. My guess when all is said and done, it's a bit more (lot more in total) than that, if you take the time to explain coverages, collect all the appropriate information, add up all the time spent including those who end up realizing they can't afford it (or get declined), with those who you actually write.

YMMV

Dan

 

[James]

Depending on the type of client, it's actually a pretty easy sale.

For Joe the greeter down at the WalMart, you probably won't have much luck.

If you work with professionals like docs, attorneys, accountants, architects, etc., they tend to be more greedy thereby seeing the need, if you will.

I go in on the major medical first, and if there's going to be underwriting problems, I know them in advance.

Big Premium = Good Comp.

Let us not get to carried away here, most will never be able to break into the Physician market that is known to be so lucrative. Yet small business owners actually get a good deal, as they tend to be the most likely to go back to work quickly! In fact, many carriers give them a 5-10% break on their rates. Now most of your blue collars and business owners will likely be making less then 100 grand. Cost of DI is roughly 1-3% of income in this market. Let us take 3% and assure a decent policy even though it would be difficult to average that amount. One should consider if we go with a median income of around 75 grand the coverage will cost $2,250. Now most DI will pay around 70%, then decent residuals of around 10% for at least ten years. So the payout here would be around $1,500.

Yet, it isn't that difficult of a sale, if you prospect the correct clients. Now the self employed and business owners (smaller) are all underserved unlike the Doc's! I have met some of these DI specialist that do specifically Physicians and the like. They tend to be polish, knowledgeable and passionate about their product. I guess if I really wanted to I could go butt heads with them but, I'm happy where I'm at now! I can sign up a bunch of smaller cases for every big case they do. Plus, the marketing for Doc's come when they enter Med School and sealed when they are Interns, making it very unlikely to run into a Physician that isn't well covered or just doesn't want it. Plus at any given practice or hospital, they likely have an option of having a hefty % paid by their group or employer.

Plus, with the smaller packages, underwriting isn't nearly as sticky as it is in the Big Kahuna!

 

[James]

Isn't SS supposed to take care of that????


Sorry, I couldn't resist. I probably should have put that comment in Chumps top 10 post.

Oh yea the, "I get SS don't I?" Which is the perfect lead in to short term DI, much cheaper and let the idiots deal with SS after two years, that is average amount of time before SS will kick in.

 

[James]

I must do this wrong. Filling out the app doesn't sell it, doing the presentation does. From start to finish, it takes at least 3 hours on the ones that actually go through, plus average in all the hours spent on policies where people didn't buy. It does pay good, but if they are already struggling on the medical side, it's not time well spent.

I get a lot of people that ask me about DI, especially self-employed individuals. The conversation is always around they want more money than they can actually qualify for (their business averages 10K per month, so they want 10K per month type of thing). You then start going down the avenue of the difference between DI and Business Overhead coverage. 3 hours? Easily. My guess when all is said and done, it's a bit more (lot more in total) than that, if you take the time to explain coverages, collect all the appropriate information, add up all the time spent including those who end up realizing they can't afford it (or get declined), with those who you actually write.

YMMV

Dan

I have to be completely honest here, when was the last time I met an independent agent that was short on time?

If you are leading in with Health (in my case Life and Sup's for business), you simply hand them brochures and information sheets they can go over. Get your main product sold before you go into the additional products.

Ps, plus how long does the average Health sale take that'll likely pay half of what DI will?

 

[djs]

I'm different, I lead in with liability insurance and workers comp. I'll do their health and whatever else they need from there.

How long does it take? I don't focus on health, but it seems a decent health agent writes 3 apps a week, working 40 hours, so it's just over 13 hours per app. How long does the presentation take? An hour. Just depends how you count your time.

Dan

 

[James]

I'm different, I lead in with liability insurance and workers comp. I'll do their health and whatever else they need from there.

How long does it take? I don't focus on health, but it seems a decent health agent writes 3 apps a week, working 40 hours, so it's just over 13 hours per app. How long does the presentation take? An hour. Just depends how you count your time.

Dan

Time doesn't matter, unless you have so many appointments that you have no choice but, decide to see Client A or B? I doubt many are in that type of time crunch. If you are then congradulations!

 

[djs]

Time doesn't matter, unless you have so many appointments that you have no choice but, decide to see Client A or B? I doubt many are in that type of time crunch. If you are then congradulations!

I would almost always disagree with a statement that starts out that time doesn't matter, but in my case, I really do have a time crunch every day. As a P&C agent, there is no limit to the number of applications I can write, that's easy. It's a matter of finding the time to do them, that's hard.

Yes, I can honestly say, my phone rings off the hook virtually all day long. Title companies need an evidence of insurance, a bank requires proof of insurance on a car, a client just got into an accident, a commercial client needs a new certificate, etc, etc. Somewhere in between, you write new business. Time does matter.

Now, that said, I live and breath by cross selling. Far less work than new clients. Writing a DI policy on someone is a reasonable thing to do, but, before I go down that road, I like to know that they have the budget to pull it off.

I work on a slightly different philosophy than most people on this board. I consider myself an insurance general practioner, where most here are specialists. With me, I'll work with a client to get any and all of their insurance needs taken care of, even if I don't write that line of business. I have a team of people that I work with to get everything done. I figure most people know very little about insurance, so if they need something like a $1M liability policy because they teach table tennis, they won't know where to get that placed. I do. I don't write it, but I know how to get it done. In the meantime, I will write their home/auto/life/health, and make sure they are taken care of on anything else.

Dan

 

[arnguy]

Wow, James, that teleapp is only 11 pages long! I do have to admit there isn't much except signatures after page one. One DI sale that is fairly simple is the Business Overhead Expernse because of the tax factor built into it. It is a great product for the small business person and can lead to the individual DI sale.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

My real problem with DI is I'm not gonna sell a product I don't have. I have health and life, don't have DI. Why? Dunno - possibly because I'm cynical about it actually paying claims. For a short-term disability I'm covered - my health renewals pay my living expenses. For long-term disability, if I can speak I can sell insurance and make a living. If I can't even speak then my wife knows what to do.

I know other's aren't in that situation - a carpenter could really need a DI benefit if he was knocked off the job for a few months or longer. I'd still have to get it on myself first.

I also don't really know any agents selling DI and there has to be a reason for that.

 

[James]

Wow, James, that teleapp is only 11 pages long! I do have to admit there isn't much except signatures after page one. One DI sale that is fairly simple is the Business Overhead Expernse because of the tax factor built into it. It is a great product for the small business person and can lead to the individual DI sale.

When the last time you sold a John Hancock LTCi Policy? Damn novel!

I also don't really know any agents selling DI and there has to be a reason for that.

Mulitple factors on this, I try my best not to be influence by a group of people that many classify as not all that smart.