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