Questions you should be asking every client

Ted Rusinoff, a 17-year MDRT member from Stow, Ohio, USA, can distill client meetings into three critical questions that will yield long-term results for both clients and advisors. He shared these questions in a ConneXion Zone presentation at the 2017 MDRT Annual Meeting:

1. What do you own? Start by asking clients to look at what assets they have today. For instance, if they bought a 20-year term policy 10 years ago, it’s no longer a 20-year policy, it’s in effect for only 10 years at this point, said Rusinoff, who is a Top of the Table member.
2. Why do you own it? Ask clients why they paid the last premium, not why they bought the policy, Rusinoff said. A client may have purchased a life policy years ago to protect their income for their spouse, but now they’re divorced. “The reasons they bought it are probably different than the reasons they still own it,” he said. “This is a transformational moment. It renews their commitment to the policy they own today.”
3. When was the last time you looked at it? Many clients receive the folder with their policy information and throw it in a drawer, Rusinoff said. They pay the premium but otherwise don’t re-evaluate the policy after the initial purchase. To help clients understand why they need to review their policies on a regular basis, Rusinoff asks them how recently they bought a new cellphone or car, and how much time they spent evaluating the marketing and deciding what they needed. He’ll then ask, “Since you’re willing to spend so much time on something worth so much less, wouldn’t it make more sense to go through the process for something so significant as a death benefit?”

This helps achieve the “transformational” moment Rusinoff described. “This is an opportunity to talk to them about how they manage their needs in other areas, and then you can move up life insurance to a greater urgency,” he said. “Make insurance something they’re as comfortable with reviewing as they are with cars and cellphones.”