3 ways to open up the conversation about income replacement products

Everyone knows they are going to die, but they’d like to believe they won’t ever get seriously ill or injured. It is difficult to talk about income replacement products that offer living benefits to people who don’t accept that there are frequent stops on the way between health and death.

Three financial advisors addressed how they help clients understand the importance and value of protecting their income through disability and critical illness insurance policies.

1. “I ask, ‘What’s the longest vacation you’ve had in your career?’ and then, ‘What would happen if you took a 90-day vacation?’” said Corry Collins, CLU, CH.F.C., a former 20-year MDRT member. “The answer is often, ‘My business would fail.’ This leads into discussion of disability insurance.”
2. Shawn R. Bjornsson, CPCA, a 28-year MDRT member, starts by asking, “If you were sick or hurt tomorrow and couldn’t go to work, how long would your savings last?” Then he keeps quiet until they respond. “I also ask, ‘If you had a goose that laid a golden egg, would you insure the egg or the goose?’ Most people insure the egg and not the goose as they should,” he said.
3. Twenty years ago, Alphonso B. Franco, RHU, RCIS, established a speed-writing test. The 32-year MDRT member, asks clients to quickly write down the answer to the question, “If you had a heart attack last night, what are the three most important things to you?” Then he asks, “If you were diagnosed with cancer this morning, what are the three most important things to you?” He follows that up with, “If you had a stroke this morning, what are the three most important things you care about?” But as they start writing, Franco says, “Please stop. If you had a stroke this morning, chances are you won’t be able to write it down. Do you insure your home before or after a fire? Your car before or after an accident? You are the most important thing. Why are you leaving that to chance?”