Selling Term VS Whole Life insurance coverage plans over the last 50 years, the debate on selling life insurance policies has only gained fire. Is selling term vs whole life insurance coverage plans killing agents and enriching clients? Look at the dilemma ignited and fueled by low rate cheap internet term life versus whole life insurance with high commissions.
In excess of 600 companies selling life insurance compete unfairly, having their agents compare apples to oranges to lemons. Every conceivable mishmash of term and life insurance is blended into an easily digestible lemonade combination. Einstein could not finish high school let alone taking on the greater task of developing a formula for comparing life insurance rates.
That is because instead of one true formula, there are 2,400 formulas. Each life insurance company has at least one formula for comparing its best selling term to other insurers, plus a formula showing why there best selling whole life insurance coverage is the best. Then they have an illustration how their top selling term coverage beats out buying whole life from any competitor. Last, they have an illustration why buying their whole life insurance plan is superior to purchasing any insurance providers cheap term.
The policy scramble name game. First you have whole life insurance coverage, and then you have life insurance policies called, “straight life”, “life endowment at age 100”, simple life, and ordinary life. Four more plans for selling the exact same whole life policy. Numerous options exist for an agent selling “all risk”, no cash value”, term life insurance. The term could be straight term, annual renewable, 5 year renewable, 10 year renewable, straight decreasing, mortgage decreasing, and many more. The 6 term types mentioned here could the same company, and all at selling at different premium rates offer all.
Each year there are new crossbreds added to heap. Some pay cash dividend values, others provide none. Popular derivatives like Universal Life when introduced were going to end all the term vs whole life insurance confusion. You could make your own pie, with a certain amount of pure risk term, grouped in an orderly process with cash value whole life. This did not end the controversy, as now there was another selling choice that agents heavily promoted.
Commission is no longer a factor, at least among independent agents. Career company agents are typically paid 15 to 20% less commission to sell term insurance policies. The whole life policies, more profitable to their home office, gave them a higher incentive to sell. Today you can find independent life insurance carriers that provide various forms of whole life, universal life, and term insurance all at a high first year commission.
Individual policy rates are no longer a factor. You cannot judge an insurance policy by looking at its rate. However a very short time ago, one of the largest term life insurance companies (with AIG) as its first three letters got into a earth destructing bind by combing the lowest rates with absolutely some of the highest commissions. With 99.5% of insurers not so greedy, how do you compare apples to apples? Rates, company age, commissions, overhead, financial investments, policy riders, mortality tables, and underwriting requirements can be researched, and you still will not know which apple you should be selling or buying.
The proper way of buying or selling life insurance policies Insurance is a matter of total risk, and only so many dollars exist to cover only these seven major risks. These are for providing risk plans for sufficient life insurance, car, homeowners, major medical, disability, retirement, and long-term care. How many insurance agent sellers, and policy buyers sit down, and at one time figure out the entire picture. They don’t. Insurance is mainly bought by either price (like cheapness), commissions, or by what a prospect is solicited with.
Try this. Come to my house, and I will show you my risks and assets. I have a bank check for $10,000 and tell you to handle all my insurance needs. I would then tell you that you are in competition with 2 others, and I will take the most logical plan. Do you think this is fair? I am giving you a vast selling opportunity, and testing your integrity. Should I care if you increase the cash value of my life insurance policy to provide more retirement benefits or assets? Likewise does it matter if I get some cheaper term insurance so a mortgage disability income plan could go into effect?
Insurance agents have not got their conception of risk in order in over 100 years. In this information age, they do not have another 20 to wait. People do not need an extreme education on insurance. Insurance agents need to become extremely educated on adapting to their client needs on a total insurance concept.
Well published author, Don Yerke likes to concentrate on what you don’t know or what no one else dares to print. Tell it like it is.
Watch for his new paperback book debuting on Amazon this summer. It is loaded with great insurance marketing, brokerage, sales, and recruiting information.