Communicate the value of life insurance

We sell an intangible asset that is nothing more than a promise to pay a particular amount at a specific point in time. We must convince our clients of the importance of life insurance in their individual lives. Here’s how we can do that.

The client value proposition

Most people can state what they do in their jobs, but very few people can tell you what they believe. People make purchasing decisions based on three things: emotion (heart), analytics (head) or feeling (gut/somatic). For clients to trust and respect you, and buy the product or service you are promoting or selling, they need to believe you. For that to occur, you as a trusted advisor must be able to clearly articulate three things:

  1. Purpose — Why do you do what you do, and what do you believe in?
  2. Process — How are you going to demonstrate your purpose in what you do?
  3. Result — What are the specific actions and tasks you will perform?

The client value proposition (CVP) is a promise to your clients of the level of service they can expect to receive from you and your staff. There are five key areas when considering your CVP:

  • The importance of life insurance
  • Implementation and underwriting
  • Claims philosophy, process and promise
  • Client engagement
  • One-page strategy

Remember that no matter what you say, clients will not remember everything. Thus, it is important for you to provide them with the following:

  • Why you recommended the products
  • Benefits and features
  • Ownership structure
  • Cost of the premium (stepped or level) and the premium frequency
  • Sum insured amounts
  • Intended use of the benefits

CVP one-page strategy

In some countries, it is mandatory to provide this information in detailed multipage documents. Regretfully, we know that most clients rarely read these documents. So, it is important to provide an executive summary or, alternatively, a strategy on a page that provides this information to clients in an easy-to-comprehend format, in addition to any mandatory documents that must be provided in your jurisdiction.

There are three things to remember:

  1. Clients learn by hearing, seeing and doing.
  2. Clients make purchasing decisions by emotion (heart), logic (head) and feeling (gut/somatic).
  3. To differentiate yourself from other financial advisors, you need to clearly articulate to your clients your purpose (why), actions (how) and results (what).

Don’t forget to ask your clients what they want first. Then, ensure that you have all the processes, procedures and service promises clearly documented. Finally, communicate in a format that clients understand.

This was excerpted from the 2017 MDRT Annual Meeting presentation “Communicate the value of life insurance.” It’s also available in audio. (Both are MDRT member exclusives.)

Jeffrey Scott, of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, worked for 25 years in the insurance industry. He is a regular media commentator on the topics of insurance, superannuation, pensions and finance, and has lectured about financial planning and taxation.

Discover more tips for how to talk to clients about life insurance:

  • Read “Increasing life insurance sales” to learn about a Top of the Table member’s path to success in life insurance sales. (Available in 10 languages, MDRT member exclusive)
  • Watch “7 benefits of life insurance,” a 2020 MDRT Annual Meeting and Global Conference Virtual Event presentation about showing the client the full benefit of insurance products beyond health disasters and death, and how to structure your insurance products to create a strategy from insurance into retirement. (MDRT member exclusive)
Comments
  • Pichai says:

    Very true..Trust is the most important factor is insurance selling.once the client is convinced of our sincerity half the work is done.

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