Episode Transcript
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0:05
[inaudible] .
0:05
Hello and welcome to a Sherbet East podcast
0:08
tips from the insurance pros. In
0:10
this series we talk with industry
0:12
pros as they share ideas and
0:14
insights that you can use today. I'm
0:17
your host Matt and I'm excited to bring
0:19
you a new topic for this month. Disability
0:22
income insurance. Assurity
0:24
has been a leader in income protection for decades
0:27
dating back to 1890 we're
0:29
committed to the market and to your sales
0:31
success and that's why we have
0:34
a disability expert with us today. 17
0:37
year veteran Benjamin Perez. Benjamin
0:40
is the vice president of sales and marketing
0:42
at Disability
0:45
Resource Group Inc. He'll be sharing his vast experience
0:47
educating and developing advisers in
0:49
the DIY market. Welcome
0:52
Benjamin. It's great to have you with us here today.
0:54
Thank you Matt.
0:56
So to begin, can you tell us a little
0:58
bit about your background and your company?
1:00
Certainly prior to joining
1:03
disability resource group or DRG
1:06
as we are that are known as I
1:08
was in fact in personal production
1:11
as a career agent with mass
1:13
mutual and through my
1:15
affiliation with that agency
1:17
I happened to meet John
1:20
Nichols who had just begun
1:22
disability resource group and
1:25
actually needed some help and
1:27
I agreed to their system on
1:29
a part time basis because
1:32
I was very focused in my career
1:34
as an individual producer
1:36
and 17 years later
1:38
I'm still here.
1:40
Oh , fantastic. Let's begin with with
1:42
education. How do you go about
1:44
educating producers on how to approach
1:47
perspective clients about the need for income protection?
1:50
Well, typically when I begin
1:53
to work with producers,
1:55
they already have a perspective
1:57
client or they have a client who
1:59
has asked them already about
2:01
disability income, so it's
2:04
a bit warmer and I
2:06
take them through the discovery
2:08
process, tell them
2:10
what questions really need to be
2:12
asked and how complete
2:15
those answers need to
2:17
be and take them through
2:19
the underwriting process
2:22
and make sure that they have a
2:24
positive experience or that they will
2:27
continue to seek
2:29
out clients for this type of
2:31
protection. Sometimes I'm
2:33
brought into agencies
2:36
or producer groups or
2:38
even broker dealers to speak to
2:40
their newer insurance
2:42
professionals and I
2:45
let them know that the important
2:47
thing is to ask the questions.
2:50
Many times this product is
2:53
overlooked. It's not top
2:55
of mind for many producers.
2:57
Unfortunately the insurance
2:59
companies don't do a great job
3:02
of training, especially on
3:04
the career side, so I like to
3:06
know that they need to ask their
3:09
clients what they're doing to
3:11
protect their income and probe
3:13
and get complete and full answers and
3:15
also to let them
3:17
know that if a client says they have
3:20
group insurance through their employer,
3:22
that doesn't mean that they're adequately covered,
3:24
so they should get the details
3:26
on their group coverage and see how
3:29
we can supplement that and plug in
3:31
the gaps.
3:32
Absolutely. Now you mentioned
3:35
something interesting about producers seeking out
3:37
their clients. It's a known fact that
3:39
sometimes producers can focus on doctors,
3:41
lawyers, and other professionals for disability
3:44
income insurance. Can you talk
3:46
about the big need for income protection
3:48
that's out there for everyone and
3:50
not just white collar groups?
3:52
Absolutely. Doctors, of
3:54
course, are the number one
3:56
occupation of for
3:59
disability income protection because they
4:01
know the devastating
4:03
consequences that that can occur if
4:05
you're too sick or hurt to work because they
4:08
see it with the patients that they
4:10
treat. However, anyone
4:12
who actually has a full
4:14
time job and needs
4:16
to protect their income, who
4:18
is not independently wealthy, needs
4:21
income protection. And
4:23
there are companies out there who
4:26
offer some type of coverage for
4:28
just about every insurable occupation
4:31
and some that you may not even
4:33
think could be covered, we can
4:35
find some protection for. So
4:38
it's important to ask all
4:40
of your clients who are working what
4:43
they're doing to protect their income and
4:45
if they have a more
4:48
hands on occupation or
4:50
a unusual occupation
4:52
or something that is certainly not
4:54
considered white collar, there are carriers
4:56
out there that can provide
4:59
some income protection coverage today
5:01
.
5:01
That's an important point to note. However,
5:04
a lot of these clients are still going to have
5:06
some objections. Do you think the
5:08
objections to disability insurance have changed
5:11
over the years? How do you help producers
5:13
address objections when trying to sell disability
5:16
income insurance?
5:18
Uh , frankly, I don't think the objections
5:20
have changed very much
5:22
when it comes to this type of product.
5:25
When you're dealing with younger
5:27
individuals, those who are
5:30
under age 48 , they
5:32
immediately think that they are
5:34
not going to need this type of coverage.
5:37
They're physically say it, they're active,
5:40
they're exercising, they're taking
5:42
vitamins that they're invincible. So
5:45
the important thing I have found
5:47
is that you have to move these individuals,
5:50
offset it a little bit, and let them know that
5:53
a sickness or injury can strike
5:56
at any time. Anyone at
5:58
any age. And that
6:00
being disabled does not necessarily
6:02
mean being in a wheelchair or
6:05
being bedridden. It can simply
6:07
mean not being able to
6:10
perform the material and substantial duties of
6:12
your occupation, your
6:14
job not being able to work, just
6:16
being too sick or hurt to go
6:18
in and do your current job.
6:21
For those who are a little more seasoning,
6:24
and for those who are in
6:27
their 50s, it does
6:29
get a little pricey. So the
6:31
objection typically is, wow, that is
6:34
so expensive. I can't afford
6:36
that. And I typically
6:38
let those individuals know that
6:40
we can make it affordable.
6:43
Many times producers want to show
6:45
their clients the maximum benefit
6:47
amount available that their income optional
6:52
writers and show them the Cadillac
6:54
plan, a word . These
6:56
clients, especially those who are
6:59
are a little bit older, get sticker shock.
7:02
So it's important to tailor
7:04
the plan realistically
7:08
and show them that it can be made
7:11
affordable and we can find to
7:13
to get to the most palatable and for
7:15
them.
7:16
So once that these applications
7:18
have been created, what tips do you
7:20
provide producers to help them get their DUI
7:22
applications through underwriting?
7:25
What would be most important
7:27
thing when you get to this stage
7:30
is really to make sure that you are having an
7:32
open dialogue with the client
7:34
and you let them know that this
7:36
is a fully underwritten product
7:39
and that disability income protection
7:41
is underwritten a little differently than
7:44
some of your other insurance products. So
7:46
if there are any health issues that
7:49
the client may have, if they've had any
7:51
hospitalizations, any major
7:53
medical issues or some that may not
7:56
be considered so major, any
7:58
prescription medications that
8:00
they're currently taking or have taken
8:02
in the past couple of years, let's get all
8:04
that information on the front
8:06
end before we submit
8:08
the application so that there are no
8:11
surprises. Same thing
8:13
on the financial end . Have they
8:15
filed bankruptcy on a
8:17
in debt with the IRS? Let's
8:20
get a clear picture of where they
8:22
are because if there are some issues, we can address
8:24
them on the front end. Perhaps
8:26
the companies that they're applying for,
8:28
it doesn't like that particular ailment or
8:31
there may be a company that would be more lenient
8:34
with financial situations than
8:36
the one that they wanted to move forward
8:38
with. But if we had the details be
8:41
forehand , we can minimize the amount
8:43
of surprises.
8:45
Absolutely. Preparation is very
8:47
important in making sure those applications
8:49
can sale right through underwriting without a problem.
8:52
Lastly, what's one piece of advice
8:54
that would share about how to sell more
8:57
disability income insurance?
8:59
Well, I think the primary
9:01
thing that producers need to do
9:03
is ask the question. As I alluded
9:05
to earlier, many times
9:08
this product gets overlooked.
9:10
You don't ask the questions, you're not going
9:13
to get an answer, and many
9:15
times when your clients approach
9:18
you for disability, income protection
9:20
may already be too late. They may
9:22
already have some issues that are
9:25
uninsurable, but the critical
9:27
thing is to ask everyone , every client
9:29
you have who is working, what are they
9:31
doing to protect their income and
9:34
really probe and get as much detailed information
9:36
as possible if they do have
9:39
coverage through their employer, get
9:41
the details on it and point
9:43
out the shortfalls that are inherent in small
9:45
group plans.
9:46
Well, Benjamin, I think that your insights
9:48
have been spot on. Is
9:51
there anything else that you'd like to add before
9:53
we wrap up?
9:54
All right . No. What I would suggest
9:56
is, you know , keep reiterating,
9:59
asking the questions and make sure
10:01
that you are asking and then bring
10:04
the client to be and let's see. But
10:06
we can do for it .
10:07
Great. Well Benjamin,
10:09
thank you for joining us today. We
10:11
appreciate you taking the time to talk about
10:13
the important role of disability income
10:16
insurance. Thank you Madam
10:18
[inaudible] and to our listeners,
10:21
thanks for tuning into a assurities podcast
10:23
series tips from the insurance pros.
10:26
Stay tuned for our next episode to
10:28
get more ideas on successfully selling
10:30
disability income insurance. In
10:33
the meantime, if you'd like to learn more
10:35
about assurities disability income insurance
10:37
product, head over to [inaudible]
10:40
dot com you can also email
10:45
us@podcastatassurity.com and we'll be happy to connect you with one
10:47
of our regional reps in your area to
10:49
take a deeper dive. Thanks for
10:51
listening.
10:55
[inaudible]
10:55
for police or use only not for use with the general
10:57
public assurity is a marketing name for the
11:00
Mutual Holding Company, assurity group, Inc headed subsidiaries.
11:02
Those subsidiaries include but are not limited to a
11:05
surety life insurance company and Assurity Life Insurance Company
11:07
of New York insurance product and services
11:09
are offered by a surety life insurance company in all states
11:11
except New York in New York. Insurance
11:13
product and services are offered by a surety life insurance company
11:15
of New York, Albany, New York product
11:17
availability, features and rates may vary by state.
11:25
[inaudible] .
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