Insurance protection: Talking tragedy vs. dreams

How far should an advisor go to persuade clients to take planning seriously?

Darren W. Ulmer, CLP, CLU, had a client who was dithering on writing a will. Knowing that years before this client had a falling-out with his siblings regarding the inheritances from their parents’ estate, the 15-year MDRT member from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, asked him when he last got together with his brothers and sister for a holiday dinner. “We don’t,” he responded. “Do you want that for your kids?” Ulmer asked.

The client, a farmer, was now onboard but wanted to continue the discussion after harvest season. Weeks later, he suffered a heart attack while working in the field. He survived, but the proposed plan was scrapped because he was uninsurable.

“He scared himself into doing it, but the timing wasn’t right even though the money was in place. My failure was just not being aggressive enough to say, ‘All right, let’s do it right now,’” Ulmer said. “We do our best to remind clients that we are their advisors, not their convincers. Ultimately the decision is theirs, and I explain to them the importance of the time is always right in the moment we are in now because no one can guarantee your health tomorrow.”

What is effective for Ulmer is sharing his own story of being a cancer survivor and how his coverage enabled him to create memories by taking his children to Disney World and paying to install a gourmet kitchen for his wife. “I talk about the (payout) in that way rather than saying, ‘Well, I got the money, and you should have it too,’” Ulmer said.

This was excerpted the article “Insurance protection: Talking tragedy vs. dreams” in the September/October 2024 issue of Round the Table.