What are the biggest fears on people’s minds right now? In the midst of this global pandemic, hands down, they are worried about job loss, serious illness, and death.
𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 is probably the only tool in the world that can help address all three of these issues. Here’s how.
𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗵
At the time of purchasing a permanent life insurance policy, nobody buys the product for its ability to provide access to cash.
It’s an afterthought.
𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗴𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵. 𝗜𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗-𝟭𝟵 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲.
Despite the fact that the statistics on jobless claims have been improving, each week since the middle of March, we have seen jobless reports of an additional 1 million or more people and the overall unemployment rate stands at about 11% as of August 2020.
Typically, the cash value from a permanent life insurance policy can be accessed through a withdrawal or by taking out a loan against the policy. The fact that permanent life insurance comes with accessibility to cash, that doesn’t require a bank loan application or a cosigner, and can be quickly transferred to an individual’s bank account, is a huge deal.
Also, I have yet to ever see anybody ask their life insurance Agent when they need to access their cash value say, “Oh by the way, what was the rate of return on that policy since I started funding it?” Nobody cares. What they care about is that the money is there when they needed it most.
𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲
I often think about the word control. Most breadwinners have some degree of confidence that they will always figure out a way to provide for their family no matter what happens. They think even if they needed to work three jobs to create the necessary income, they’ll do whatever it takes.
𝗛𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴.
Disability insurance obviously plays a critical role in managing this risk. However, from a life insurance perspective, the waiver of premium feature is another powerful tool.
This benefit is typically added as a rider. While it can differ from policy to policy, the basic premise is that if you (the policyholder) cannot do the job that you’ve been trained, educated and experienced to do, the life insurance company will make the premium payments on your behalf.
In other words, it literally becomes a self-funded long-term financial security tool. This is an incredibly important feature to speak to your clients about that doesn’t exist in any other financial instrument out there.
𝗚𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁
Last, but definitely not least, is the guaranteed death benefit of permanent life insurance. Over 165,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19 since March.
People want certainty that, if God forbid something were to happen to them, their family and loved ones would be OK financially. During times of a pandemic, the risks are obviously higher and so is the need and demand for having a guaranteed death benefit.
In fact, a recent Wall Street Journal article reported that some carriers were having to turn away business from some Americans who want a life insurance policy!
Whether it’s a young couple in their 30s, a married couple approaching retirement, or a senior looking to leave a legacy or avoid being a financial burden, life insurance is critically important. And 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗲.
The time to plan for this is not when you’re sick or in the midst of a global pandemic. It’s during a time in life, as early as possible, when you think you are never going to need it. The current crisis opens the door wider than ever before for this important conversation.
𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘆
The best outcome of a solid financial plan is that it gives you OPTIONS. No one knows if or when you’ll get sick or disabled, be out of work, or how long you’ll live. That’s why permanent life insurance is the eighth wonder of the world – it gives you the flexibility to handle so many of life’s curveballs.
Hopefully gives you a renewed sense of purpose and commitment to talk to every single one of your prospects and clients about life insurance. Don’t wait for the next crisis. Don’t wait until they bring it up to you. By then, it’s usually too late. Start now with the foresight that the only thing certain in life is uncertainty.
