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Medicare sales and cross selling

If you are selling Medicare, you should think about how to meet all the coverage needs of your clients. That is why Medicare sales and cross selling go hand in hand.  Before you try and do this, be sure you have the necessary product knowledge on anything you intend to offer.

A great way to get insight into your client’s potential needs is with a client needs assessment.  Each agent should tailor the assessment to include the applicable product lines they are licensed to sell and have a good knowledge of.

If your client understands that you are able to offer them coverage for all their personal insurance needs, they will be inclined to call you when they decide to add to their current coverage.  It is best to take care of their most urgent concerns before talking about additional items.

Watch our quick YouTube video on cross selling during AEP

Medicare sales cross selling – be aware of underlying health issues

If you conduct a needs assessment or spend enough time speaking with your client, you will probably find out if your client has any illnesses that will prevent them for obtaining some types of coverage that they will not qualify for.  If you ask about any recent claims they have had, this may be an indicator if they are a good candidate for some types of coverage.

Some other things to find out from your client

Is the client or their spouse presently working?  If the answer is yes, do they have any employer benefits and if so, what are they?

Have they ever served in the military (are they a veteran)?  Sometimes veterans receive benefits.  You need to find out if they do and what those are.

Medicare sales cross selling – Cancer, Heart attack and Stroke coverage

Because many people have a family history of either cancer, heart attack or stroke, this product is not difficult to sell. This product is sometimes called critical illness insurance.  Be sure you understand the client’s budget before you show them quotes from companies that will fill their coverage need.

Cross selling – Long Term Care Insurance

Most people do not have long term care coverage. Although LTC has changed over the years, there are still some good coverage options available.  There are some short-term care policy options that include home health coverage.  There are also some life policies that include an optional LTC rider.  You can ask your client if anyone in the family has needed home health or nursing home care. If they have, ask them if they know how it was paid for. Do they have a way to pay for it if they need it?

Cross selling – Life Insurance

Life insurance is not like LTC coverage because many clients have at least some life insurance coverage.  If you want to start a discussion about life insurance, you need to find out if the client already has coverage and if so, how much.  Once you get the answer, you can ask questions to determine if they have enough to cover what they need it for.

Here are some reasons people purchase life insurance:

To replace income lost due to the death of a family’s financial provider.

If they want to cover their final expenses.  If they have a policy in place, it may not be enough to cover their final expenses.  This means they may want to consider purchasing a policy that provides a bigger benefit amount.

Policies can help pay any outstanding debts owed by the policy holder.

In some cases, the policy holder wants to leave a financial gift to their chosen beneficiary.

If they do not have a policy, you may be able to help them decide if a policy could benefit their loved ones.

Cross selling – Final Expense

Final expense insurance is a kind of life insurance.  If the client does not have life insurance in place, this type of policy can help family members pay for their final expenses and avoid leaving them with a large bill after you are gone.

Cross selling – Annuities

These days many people want a safe place to invest their savings due to low interest rates at banks and stock market volatility. Simply ask your client if they are happy with their current rate of return on investments. Let them know a fixed indexed annuity can provide a dependable place to invest savings and a better return rate than many CDs.  In many cases, you can offer them an annuity product that will provide a better return that what they currently have.

Now that we have given you a few products to consider adding to your portfolio, it is up to you to decide what will be the best value add.

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Life Insurance vs. Annuity

Which is Right For You? Although both life insurance and annuities are very different, they can both play a role in providing financially for individuals and families as they age and retire. Here’s the quick version:

Life Insurance

Life insurance is an insurance policy that pays out to the chosen benefactor at your death. It can provide income for loved ones and cover final expenses such as medical bills, funeral costs, and even help clear debts. There are two common types of life insurance: term life insurance and whole life insurance. Term life insurance is more affordable, with lower premiums, and has an expiration date, which is typically 10, 15, 20, or 25 years after enrolling. Whole life insurance is just that, for the person’s whole life until death.

Annuity

Annuities are also a type of life insurance, but with a different structure. Instead of a death benefit, an annuity provides payouts over your lifetime. Because of this, it provides guaranteed lifetime income. There are also two types of annuities: immediate annuities and deferred annuities. Immediate annuities are contracts purchased with a one time payment to the insurance company and provide payments to you within the first year of purchase. Deferred annuities provide payouts that start at a future date instead of within the first year of purchase.

Which is Best For Me?

That depends on your situation. You’ll need to ask yourself the following questions:

• Is a steady income in retirement something I want or need? If so, an annuity may be right for you.

• Do you have loved ones that need to be provided for after you die? Life insurance is designed to do that.

• Or, do you want to provide both forms of financial support – steady income in your later years and a death benefit for your loved ones? If so, it may be best for your situation to include both life insurance and an annuity, either immediate or deferred, in your financial planning.

Talking to a licensed financial advisor would be a good next step for anyone considering either life insurance, an annuity, or even both.

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 What is an annuity

This is a more complicated question than one might realize. So what is an annuity?  The standard definition from the dictionary is listed below but it does not really help to answer the question.

Annuity Income Rider:  Payouts Can Differ

When purchasing an annuity with an annuity income rider, it is important to understand that payout amounts can differ based on the issuing company’s policy. Because payouts can differ between companies, it is important to choose the right company before you invest your money. Below are payout overviews from both Nationwide and Genworth so you can compare the two.  This way you can make a more informed decision. An informed consumer is a smart consumer.  We want to give you any and all the information you need to help you feel comfortable with your choices.

Nationwide’s  annuity growth is based on interest earned.  However, once income starts that income amount remains in effect for life.  Therefore, a 55 year old making a $100,000 deposit, taking income in 10 years would receive $9,905 annually.  This income would start from age 65  and continue through age 75. These payments would add up to a total payout of $108,955.

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Annuity For Retirement

Baby Boomer as set to retire and annuity business is up to 200 billion dollars a year.  Does it make sense to buy an annuity for retirement?  Here is an introduction into annuities to give you a better understanding of how they may help you. Read more

Who Should Buy An Annuity

This post will help you decide Who Should Buy An Annuity.  There are many types of annuities.  In many cases an annuity is a contract between a person and an insurance company.  Often, the person is giving the insurance company an amount of money for a guarantee of future income.   Now there are multiple types of annuities the make finding the right annuity more complex.  The Single Premium Indexed Annuity (SPIA), Fixed Indexed Annuity and Deferred Income Annuity all popular but have different uses.

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Security Benefit SIA Annuity

The Security Benefit SIA annuity is one the highest income paying indexed annuities available.  This product should be one of the first choices for clients that need guaranteed future income from an indexed annuity.  The account crediting methods on this product are nothing out of the ordinary but the amount of income it can produce puts it in a unique class.

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The Security Benefit Total Value Annuity is a unique product in the fixed indexed annuity business.  The product uses innovative funds and offers unlimited growth potential without the risk of loss due to declining market conditions.  It is obvious to see why this annuity is taking in money at unprecedented rate.   Here, we will break down the product and provide the strengths and weakness instead of relying on hype and catch phrases.

Product Basics- The base of the annuity is the same as most other fixed indexed annuities.  They have a 10 year surrender schedule, 10% free withdrawls per year, 7% or 8% bonus depending on the state you purchase it in and the usual income and death benefit riders that everyone offers.   The base benefits are all standard for the industry but the crediting methods on the account value are what stand out for this product.

ATVI- The ATVI is one crediting method in this product which is unique.  The account uses a futures commodities index.  The idea behind the index is that the account performance is non correlated to the market.  This means the accounts performance will not follow the performance of the stock market.  A brochure of the ATVI is available in this post.  Total Value Annuity ALTVI explained 2013  The account runs on a 5 year point to point basis.  Interest is credited to the account value using a 5 year vesting period. At the end of the 5th year the money can be re allocated to different accounts if the client chooses.  It should be noted that any money put into the ATVI must stay in the account for 5 years.  It can not be reallocated prior to that.  The is not an annual reset on this strategy but the gains are uncapped on this product leaving the opportunity for substantial growth over 5 years.

TVBI- The account functions in the same manner as the ATVI.  (5 year point to point, 100% of gains, etc….)  Note: there is a .50% annual fee/spread on this option. Unlike the ATVI, this account uses the Transparent Value Large-Cap defensive index which consists of 100 stocks from the Down Jones large cap stock market index.   It blends this account with a 2 year US treasury futures index.   The gains are uncapped after the .50% annual spread which gives this account a unique prospect for growth over 5 years.  Security Benefit TVBI explained

Income Rider- The income rider on this product provides for a base 4% minimum growth on the income per year with any gains from the crediting methods stacked on top. Overall, this rider compares well with its competitors but it is unlikely to out perform the Security Benefit SIA annuity income rider. CLICK FOR INFO ON SECURITY BENEFIT SIA ANNUITY

The growth prospects on both account compare favorably against its competitors given the low annual caps in the market today.  It is possible to allocate any percentage of the annuity account value both accounts.  There are other more standard account crediting methods available as well but the caps on them are similar to those of many other annuities in the market.  The TVBI and ATVI are what make this product stand out compared to the rest.

A variable annuity (VA’s) is an insurance contract that relies on investment accounts (Mutual Funds) to determine performance of the money in the annuity.   Depending  on the product, there can be a number of different mutual funds within the annuity for the investor to choose from.  There are usually more than enough accounts to choose from in order to have a diversified investment allocation.  The VA’s have a number of riders that can also be added.  I have provided a quick summary on VA products and some of the riders that may be added to them. Read more

Variable Annuity Connecticut

Here is some information about Variable Annuity Connecticut:

A variable annuity (VA’s) is an insurance contract that relies on investment accounts (Mutual Funds) to determine performance of the money in the annuity. Depending on the product, there can be a number of different mutual funds within the annuity for the investor to choose from. There are usually more than enough accounts to choose from in order to have a diversified investment allocation. The VA’s have a number of riders that can also be added. I have provided a quick summary on VA products and some of the riders that may be added to them. Read more