Policy Review: Having the Conversation
The journey through life is met with only one certainty: Change. In many respects, life insurance was created to anchor our expectations in the face of this truth. So the policy your client purchased years ago may no longer align with their financial goals for their family today. It’s inevitable. Over time, the anchor may slip. Your client depends on you to look for gaps in their life insurance coverage. This is why performing regular life insurance policy reviews is a critical duty of every life insurance agent.
Ethical Opportunity: Policy Reviews are a Win-Win
Policy reviews are effective at improving the value of your business while also enhancing the protection of your clients. While uncovering new protection needs or financial goals for your client can result in additional revenue for you, there is additional, underlying value in maintaining a closer relationship with your client. Policy reviews require that you take an interest in the ebb and flow of your client’s life, their family, their goals. Understanding your client in this way, you create opportunities to better serve them and their family.
Starting the Conversation
As your clients experience changes to their life such as marriage, childbirth, career advancements, or shifts in financial status, the adequacy of their life insurance needs should be reconsidered. This proactive approach not only helps agents maintain a strong relationship with their clients but also ensures that clients are adequately protected in the face of unforeseen events. Additionally, staying up-to-date on policy details, beneficiaries, and any alterations in insurance regulations allows agents to provide accurate and relevant guidance to their clients. By emphasizing the importance of regular reviews, insurance agents demonstrate their commitment to delivering personalized and comprehensive service, fostering trust and long-term partnerships with their clients and, by extension, their families.
What to Look for when Reviewing Your Client’s Policy
It may seem obvious, but taking a moment to identify key life moments that could trigger a change in coverage is prudent here. When reviewing their policy, take a moment to learn if any of these changes have taken place in your client’s life.
Having a child: Becoming the parent of a new baby will require an increase in coverage to ensure the child’s financial future is secure, should something happen to your client.
Getting married: Love is a beautiful thing and marriage comes with opportunities to review any pre-existing policies your client and their partner may have.
Buying a house: Investing in a home requires its own unique level of financial protection, and updating your client’s life insurance to include consideration for mortgage debt can be extremely beneficial in case of an untimely death. For their family it can mean the difference between keeping and losing the house.
Starting a business: For entrepreneurial clients, having life insurance can provide peace of mind knowing that their business is financially protected if something were to happen down the road.
Relocation: Moving to another state or country means additional considerations such as tax liability when it comes to life insurance policies, so it’s important to update any existing plans accordingly.
Change in health status: Any change in health status should be taken into account when it comes to life insurance policy changes, as certain conditions could affect eligibility for certain types of coverage or alter the type and amount of benefit offered by an insurer. It may also be an opportunity to offer them more affordable options if their overall health has improved over time.
Retirement: Retiring from a full-time job often could mean adjusting a client’s policy to reflect lower income levels as well as considering options like annuities or rider products that could offer additional protection during later years of life.
Career advancement: Taking on more demanding roles with higher salaries could require more coverage or the ability to purchase new insurance products.
Beneficiary Changes: Part of any policy review process should confirm that beneficiaries listed on existing policies are still appropriate. Divorce, death, and other considerations may warrant a change of beneficiaries.
Just Review it Already!
There are many reasons to perform regular reviews of your clients’ policies. The key takeaway here is that life changes all the time and this presents the best opportunity to better serve your clients’ protection needs. Additionally, the industry is constantly evolving and creating new benefits and products that may be superior to what your client initially purchased. The end result is a policy that protects their lives where they are at today.
Regis is here to help you navigate these changes and present your client with alternative solutions to meet their financial and protection goals. Ask us how we can help you!
