Monday, August 17, 2020

Thoughts On Supplemental Insurance

Part of my work is helping people with supplemental insurance benefits. A large percentage of this work is done in a worksite setting, which means that I help people at their place of work and the premiums are deducted from their paychecks. There are several carriers out there offering insurance products like disability, cancer, accident and critical illness plans, along with other insurance products. 

When I speak to other insurance agents who sell these products there is always a debate about which company has the best products. "Our cancer plan pays more than their cancer plan" or something along those lines is usually the way the conversation goes. Some of these agents work exclusively with one carrier so they can get a bit tribal when it comes to who has the superior products.

The truth is that the client really doesn't seem to get to concerned over these details. They basically just want to know if they have a disability plan if they get sick or hurt and can't work, or if the Hospital Indemnity plan will work if they are confined to a hospital. 

But many people do not have access to these plans because they are not part of a group that offers worksite benefits. With that in mind we have looked for some of the best carriers that take those of us who are self-employed or business owners into consideration. If you are a contract employee or just work from home, you can purchase a great cancer plan, disability insurance or other plan. 

I really appreciate hearing people tell me how these supplemental insurance products helped out when the client was in a time of need. One story involved a young boy, around 10 years old, who had cancer and was receiving treatments at a hospital about two hours away from his home. His father was having to take time off from work to travel back and forth and it was severely impacting his paycheck in a negative way. They were literally days away from having the power cut off at their home. 

The father's employer, who for some reason had no clue what was situation was, quickly realized that there was a cancer plan in place that the covered the child as well. They contacted the agent who sent in paperwork on a Thursday afternoon. By Monday, the family received a check for over $15,000. As the boy went on to continue treatments, the family continued to receive benefits from their policy. 

The best part of all this was that the boy's cancer went into remission and he is healthy. And so are the family's finances.   

One of my favorite stories involved a special education teacher at a middle school in North Carolina. She had taken some kids out to the schoolyard for some exercise and one child, who apparently was just a big as her, decided to make a dash for the exit and ran toward the adjoining property off of the campus grounds. This teacher, who I would guess was in her mid to late 50's, tried to get in front of the student, blocking his way. He ran her over like a football player would run into a linebacker, knocking her to the ground and breaking her arm. 

It was all the talk that afternoon among the rest of the staff. I mentioned that she had an accident plan that covered her, even while at work, and that she would likely receive a nice payout from the insurance carrier. The other teachers began asking for an accident plan for themselves. They realized that they could also be hurt at work and began to see the value of such a policy. 

If you are interested in our supplemental plans, please check out our products page on our website. And please stay healthy!

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life and disability insurance coverage. He's also is a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient and has spoken to professional and civic organizations throughout the Southeast. And please subscribe to this blog!

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