What are the biggest fears on peopleโs minds right now?ย In the midst of this global pandemic, hands down, they are worried about job loss, serious illness, and death.
๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ก๐ง ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ฆ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ก๐๐ is probably the only tool in the world that can help address all three of these issues. Hereโs how.
๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ต
At the time of purchasing a permanent life insurance policy, nobody buys the product for its ability to provide access to cash.
Itโs an afterthought.
๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ต ๐ถ๐ ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ. ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐๐ปโ๐ ๐ด๐ผ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ต. ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐๐-๐ญ๐ต ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ด ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ.
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 doesnโt require a bank loan application or a cosigner, and can be quickly transferred to an individualโs 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, โOh by the way, what was the rate of return on that policy since I started funding it?โ Nobody cares. What they care about is that the money is there when they needed it most.
๐ช๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ถ๐๐บ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ
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, theyโll do whatever it takes.
๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น. ๐ข๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฎ ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด-๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด.
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 youโve 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 doesnโt exist in any other financial instrument out there.
๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐
Last, but definitely not least, is theย 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 recentย Wall Street Journalย article reported that some carriers were having to turn away business from some Americans who want a life insurance policy!
Whether itโs 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 ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ด๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ.
The time to plan for this is not when youโre sick or in the midst of a global pandemic. Itโs 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.
๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐จ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐
The best outcome of a solid financial plan is that it gives you OPTIONS. No one knows if or when youโll get sick or disabled, be out of work, or how long youโll live. Thatโs why permanent life insurance is the eighth wonder of the world โ it gives you the flexibility to handle so many of lifeโs 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. Donโt wait for the next crisis. Donโt wait until they bring it up to you. By then, itโs usually too late. Start now with the foresight that the only thing certain in life is uncertainty.
