Many people purchase life insurance once in their lifetime and never think about it again. But people’s needs and priorities change over the course of their life and when major events happen, like the birth of a child or a marriage.
Consider the life insurance needs of a single person with few debts compared with someone who has young children and a mortgage. These individuals have very different life insurance needs to consider at these different stages of life. And when someone nears retirement, their needs change once again.
Life is not static, and your client’s life insurance should not be, either. Help them know when to re-assess their life insurance needs with this handy article, then contact us at American Senior Benefits for more information about this important topic.
How to Help Your Clients Know When to Review Their Life Insurance
Talking often with your clients and knowing them well is the first step in being able to recommend changes or a life insurance review. If you know what is happening with your policyholders, you can prompt them when it is time to re-assess their needs.
Ask Questions and Listen to Your Clients
Be a good listener and engage with your policyholders. Ask them questions to help determine if they have recently made any life changes. Some basic things to ask your client to learn about life insurance updates include:
- Have they recently been married or divorced?
- Do they have minor children?
- Have they had another child?
- Have they purchased a home?
- Has their income drastically changed through a promotion, raise, or job change?
Once you have learned more about your client and their current state, you can assess their life insurance needs. And do not forget to take note of other insurance opportunities you discover as you talk. For example, if your client has recently become engaged, you might want to offer a policy endorsement for their new engagement ring along with your congratulations.
Assess Their Assets and liabilities
Talk with your clients about any new assets or liabilities. For example, if your client has paid off their home, they may need less life insurance if they had planned to use the benefit to ensure the family retains ownership of their home. Your client may have decided to fund a grandchild’s education and may need to continue funding their life insurance policy for a few more years, and you can learn this by asking questions.
If your client plans to retire in the next few years, this is critical information to discuss. Retirement changes many parts of your client’s financial picture so talking through changing insurance needs is important when approaching retirement.
Conduct an Annual Insurance Coverage Review
Recommend every client have an annual coverage review with you or a member of your team. Even if nothing major seems to have changed, a thorough insurance coverage review allows you to verify your assumptions. And when you meet with your client regularly you can make recommendations for policy and coverage changes for all their insurance products, not just life insurance.
Review current life insurance policies, beneficiaries, and limits. Ensure the type of policy your client has continues to suit their needs. Some people purchase term life insurance policies intending to convert them later to a permanent one. You can help your client if they want to research this possibility.
An annual insurance coverage review is a best practice for all your clients. Remember engaging with your clients and servicing their policy annually can help you retain policyholders while helping better meet their changing needs.
How Do I Learn More?
To learn more about how to help your clients know when to re-assess their life insurance, contact us at American Senior Benefits. Our affiliated experts will be happy to answer any questions you have.
