The Benefits Of An Accident Insurance Plan

Accidents happen every day, and they can have a significant financial impact on those who are injured. Medical expenses, lost wages, and other costs can add up quickly, leaving many people struggling to make ends meet.

This is where accident insurance can help. Accident insurance is a type of supplemental insurance that provides financial assistance to people who are injured in accidents. The benefits of an accident insurance plan can vary depending on the specific policy, but they typically include:

• Cash payments to help cover medical expenses: Accident insurance can provide cash payments to help cover the cost of medical care, such as hospital bills, doctor's visits, and prescription drugs.
• Lost wages benefits: If you are unable to work due to an accident, accident insurance can provide lost wages benefits to help replace your income.
• Paid time off: Some accident insurance plans also include paid time off, which can allow you to take time off from work to recover from your injuries.
• Death benefits: In the event of your death due to an accident, accident insurance can provide death benefits to your beneficiaries.

Accident insurance can be a valuable financial safety net for anyone who is concerned about the cost of medical care or lost wages in the event of an accident. If you are considering purchasing an accident insurance plan, it is important to compare different policies to find one that meets your needs and budget.

Here are some of the specific benefits of having an accident insurance plan:

• Peace of mind: Knowing that you have financial protection in the event of an accident can give you peace of mind and allow you to focus on your recovery.
• Financial security: Accident insurance can help you to pay for medical expenses, lost wages, and other costs that may arise from an accident. This can help to protect your financial security and prevent you from going into debt.
• Complementary coverage: Accident insurance can be a good way to complement your existing health insurance coverage. For example, if your health insurance has a high deductible, accident insurance can help you to pay for out-of-pocket expenses.

If you are considering purchasing an accident insurance plan, there are a few things you should keep in mind:

• The cost of coverage: The cost of accident insurance varies depending on the specific policy and your individual circumstances. It is important to compare different policies to find one that fits your budget.
• The benefits of coverage: Make sure you understand the benefits that are included in the accident insurance policy you are considering. Some policies may only cover certain types of accidents, while others may have more comprehensive coverage.
• The waiting period: Some accident insurance policies have a waiting period, which is the amount of time you must be covered before you can file a claim. Make sure you understand the waiting period before you purchase a policy.

Accident insurance can be a valuable financial protection for anyone who is concerned about the cost of medical care or lost wages in the event of an accident. If you are considering purchasing an accident insurance plan, be sure to compare different policies to find one that meets your needs and budget.

If you would like a free "no obligation" quote, click here. Or schedule an appointment with one of our agents to discuss your insurance needs.

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!

Making Insurance Accessible To All

As we all know, the internet has changed the way people do business. More importantly, it's also changed the way businesses do business. 

Not that long ago if you needed someone for a specific service, you "let your fingers doing the walking in the Yellow Pages". Now I make that reference to my college age daughter and she doesn't know what I'm talking about. Everything from entertainment to financial services has gone digital, and for those who aren't offering some sort of web-based platform, they may as well be throwing a chunk of their marketing dollars into the garbage. 

This struggle is real in the insurance industry as well. The old school method of getting a referral, meeting with them in their home or office over several appointments, and hoping to get an application completed (along with more referrals) has lost some of it's appeal. For younger, more internet savvy consumers, doing their own research and making online purchases is the norm. 

At the same time, these younger people are less interested in selling insurance, mostly because of the old school methods that still are being taught in training offices throughout the country. According to a 2017 article by the World Economic Forum, the average age of a life insurance agent was 59. Considering that agents tend to sell to those around their own age, millennials are, for argument's sake, not being properly attended to when it comes to their own life insurance needs.

In 2007 I went to work for a large life insurance company. We were the "best of the best" according to the management, so you would think that we could attract agents who would succeed and thrive. Our managers boasted that we were ahead of our competitors in agent persistency, because we had a rate after three years of 17%, opposed to 10-15% by our peers. This meant that if they hired 100 agents today, a whopping 17, on average, would be around after three years. And they were actually proud of this.

For the consumers, though, this is bad news as well. How many times have you purchased life, disability or other kind of insurance, only to find out that your agent is no longer with the company?  

As a society, we have become numb and/or jaded when it comes to having bad service. This is why a growing number of people are cutting their ties to agents and buying financial services from the internet. The television is full of ads letting us know to get car insurance, life insurance and investments straight from our computers. Convenient and quick. 

But what about the personal service? What if we have questions or concerns or need to file a claim? Are we destined to having to call an 800 number each time we need something. Even worse, what if we have to speak to someone who is out of the country? Is that good customer service?

At Surf Financial Brokers, we have tried to combine the best of both worlds. Our quoting tools for life insurance, dental, vision and hearing plan, cancer insurance, hospital indemnity insurance and accident plans make it easy and quick for people to find a policy within their budget. And if they like what they see they can start an application.

At the same time, if they want a more personal touch they can book a short phone appointment with one of our agents who can help with our products, including others like Long Term Care and disability insurance. We want to help anyone who recognizes they need insurance to be able to get it in the way they want. 

Let us help you find the right product for your needs.

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!

What the Big Deal With Replacing My Policy?

A few weeks ago I was with a client who needed some extra life insurance. Actually, she needed quite a bit more, and we found a very suitable policy that fit right into her budget. She was happy with it and decided to proceed with the application. I began asking all the questions and everything was going well until we came to the question about replacements. Why was the insurance company so interested in her current coverage and whether or not she was going to replace it with the new policy? 

You see, when you apply for a life insurance policy, the company wants to know if you already have coverage, and if so, which company is it with and are you going to keep it and just get additional coverage, or will you be replacing it all with the new policy? The insurance company isn't being nosy, but actually they are looking out for your best interest. 

The reason for this is that life insurance typically pays a large commission to the agent, around 70-80% for the first year, depending on the policy. After that first year, the agent's commission drops dramatically to around 5%. With this in mind, an unethical agent may try to replace your current policy to sell you something that will pay another large first-year commission.

This practice is known as "churning" as in "churning up fresh commissions" and is frowned upon by the industry, and in some states is illegal. 

The issue is that the replacement may not be in the best interest of the client. Replacing the policy with another may result in higher premiums, but that unscrupulous agent doesn't care. But the insurance carrier does, which is why they have added additional forms to the application packet asking all of those questions about your current policies. In essence, the insurance company wants to make sure that the agent is doing the right thing by you.

It's not just life insurance where this occurs either. Several years ago I was introduced to a very nice lady who had an issue with an annuity. She started out with about $250,000 that she had put into an annuity. The agent would call her every couple of years and tell her that he had something better, and would move her money to another annuity. Each time he did this he made a nice fat commission. 

But something else was happening as well. The move would cost her thousands in surrender charges and early withdrawal penalties. She showed me a folder with all of the paperwork and the agent must have moved her money at least three times. 

We called the current company where her money was housed and I asked what amount of money was there. She was down to about $85,000 and if I were to move it she was going to lose an additional $10,000. I recommended that she stay put and to stop answering calls from that other agent. 

When I let her know what that the agent's commission was (My estimate was around 7% each time he moved her money) she said, "Every time he talked me into changing companies I probably bought him a new car." She was right.

As you can see, those crazy questions are on the application because the company is looking out for you best interest. If you have any other insurance questions you would like answered, leave us a note in the comments section. And in the meantime, please stay healthy!

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. 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!

Do People Have Enough Life Insurance?

Many Americans do not have nearly enough life insurance to support their families’ needs. In fact, about 44% of families say they would face financial hardship in six months if the primary wage earner were to die, noted David Levenson, president and CEO of LL Global, in a recent video presentation. Now, a group of life insurance organizations is aiming to change that.

LL Global, the parent organization of life insurance researcher LIMRA and LOMA, is helping lead an effort with industry trade associations and more than 60 of their largest member companies and distribution partners to close the life insurance coverage gap. One initiative is encouraging financial professionals to engage with their existing clients to look at the adequacy of their protection. 

"Most people think it’s just to pay for funeral expenses; but the word ‘life insurance’ is really a misnomer," Elsie Theodore, a Virginia-based regional vice president of Primerica, told Investopedia. "Can anyone really insure someone’s life? No, ‘life insurance’ is really income replacement. Its purpose is to replace the income of the breadwinners in the household."

As a general rule, she added, “When you are trying to determine how much coverage you should have, you must first look at your annual income then multiply by 10. You make $100,000 a year, your life insurance should be at least $1 million.”

That number may seem high but the priority is making sure that loved ones can stay in their home, take care of the everyday bills and even provide for education costs if children are still in the picture.

A major problem today, Theodore noted, is that many people rely solely on the group life insurance provided by their employer, which is often inadequate. Typically those policies only provide coverage for one or two years salary replacement. Also, they may or may not be portable, which means if the the employee changes jobs the policy might not be there when their family needs it most. 

According LIMRA’s research, about 60 million American households don’t have the proper protection for their families, with an average deficiency of $200,000.2

What's more, the problem is worse than it was in the past. While 63% of Americans had life insurance coverage a decade ago, that number had dropped to 54% by 2020, LIMRA says.

There are a lot of contributing factors to the incomplete coverage, including changes in individual life
distribution, employment-based benefits, worker participation rates, family and household make-up, and population demographics. People also have competing financial priorities.

In addition, there are misconceptions about price point, need, and ease of purchasing, particularly among Millennials. This is ironic when you realize that most of them grew up with phones and most agencies are trying their best to make insurance coverage accessible on mobile devices.

As LIMRA points out, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the fragility of life and focused more Americans on the role of life insurance.

Theodore recounted one particularly sad situation: "After a few attempts to get this one client to sit with me and get her plan started, she called me because she had 13 members of her family die from COVID-19 and not a single one had insurance. That was an unfortunate wake-up call.”

The life insurance industry has also responded to the pandemic by adapting its sales practices. Companies have made significant advancements in the ability to deliver a fully digital purchase experience so consumers can choose to buy a policy when, how, and where they want. Understandably, insurance carriers are increasing the availability of web based applications and decreasing the requirements for in person medical exams. 

If you aren't sure if you have enough coverage, let us help. In the meantime, 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!

What Is Your Insurance Agent's Work Situation?

Have you ever wondered why some insurance agents like to suggest some insurance products or companies more than others? There are a lot of reasons why this happens.  Some reasons may be legitimate concerns while others may have to do with the agent and his relationship with the carriers. Let's take an objective look at why this happens. 

To begin with, there are generally two types of agents. "Captive" agents work for insurance companies with an exclusive agreement to only sell their products and products of other carriers that have some sort of pre-arranged contractual obligation.

An example of this is when briefly worked with a company who had a limited menu of policies. We had term and universal life, a horrible cancer plan and an accident policy. There were agreements in place with other companies to sell their health plans and long term care plans, but generally speaking those policies were not very good. 

In exchange for working with this company as a captive agent we were given weekly training, a cubicle with a land line telephone, and other office accoutrements, like a receptionist and access to a fax machine. Sometimes there are even some benefits included, like health coverage.

As a captive agent, one is generally required to hit sales numbers that are mandated by the carrier and the agent is actively overseen by a manager*. This is part of the answer to our original question.

On the other hand, an "independent" agent can offer a wide variety of products (not including the ones from the captive companies), but for the most part have to take care of covering the costs of overhead, like rents and phone bills. No benefits here though, as the agent must pay for these costs. There are no sales quotas or managers, just agents trying to find the best fit for the client. 

Years ago I worked with a company that had a blend of the two scenarios, where we had to hit the company's numbers to retain our contract and benefits, but were still free to offer products from other carriers. One agent sold the bare minimum of our employer's products but preferred other products because they were less expensive for the clients and paid her higher commissions.

The issue for consumers is that they don't know if their agent is always working in their best interest or not. As someone who has worked in both types of agencies I can say that for the most part agents are trying to do the best they can for a client. However, there are those who, because of the limited variety of products they have available to them, will try to sell something that may not be a great fit.

I have worked with both formats over the years. In my opinion, working with a captive company is especially good for newer agents who would like training on subjects from product knowledge to prospecting for clients. After a year or so of this, the agent may decide to move over to an independent status. My personal preference is to work independently. I still take advantage of training opportunities when they come along, but the less structured work environment means that I can be available for a client when they need me. 

An old veteran agent once told me that captive agents work for a company, while independent agents have companies who work for them. And if the companies don't do their job right, the agent can fire them. It's true to an extent, as I can stop placing business with an insurance carrier anytime. 

 *The sales manager is always looking over your shoulder, even when he's not there. 

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! 

When Your Life Insurance Won't Pay

Life insurance, as well as disability insurance and any other type of insurance is a promise. It's a promise made on behalf of the insurance company to pay you for a loss, whether you lost your life, your ability to work or anything else stated in the policy. But more than just a promise, which can be broken, your life insurance policy is a contract. Legal and binding, it has plenty of legal jargon involved, which you, as a policy holder, should be fully aware of.

When you look at a brochure for an insurance policy there is usually a section in the back that describes "limitation and exclusions", or something to that effect. This list can be long or short, but either way you should take a few minutes to understand what is covered and what won't be covered if you suffer a loss.

A good agent will be happy to discuss this with you beforehand. At first glance, most of the items are common sense, but some can be confusing. And some will be altered or "re-interpreted" if need be. 

For example, almost every life or accident insurance policy I have seen has an exclusion for loss as a result of terrorism. This was widely seen and described by agents in the following scenario: You go to the Middle East and a bomb goes off. If you die, the company isn't paying. 

However, shortly after 9/11, with thousands dying as a result of a terrorist act, life insurance waived this exclusion. Their explanation was that the exclusion was for "foreign" acts of terrorism, in another country, even though that was not stated in the contract at all. Personally, I think they made the exception because they knew it would be a public relations nightmare if they enforced the terrorism exclusion when emotions were already incredibly high. 

If you take a look at the list of exclusions, some make sense. For example:

• Losses due to acts of war. Life insurance, as well as other types of insurance, rarely cover you if you are hurt or killed in a war. Some will even state that the war can be "undeclared", which is broad. The military does offer some small policies, but be aware of what you're buying.
• Losses due to self-inflicted injury. This makes sense. If you stab yourself, you should not expect the insurance company be on the hook for you. Accidental deaths will usually be covered.
• Suicide. Generally speaking, life insurance companies will pay, but after a "contestability period", which can be a few years, as stipulated in the policy. Things can get tricky if the insured dies of a drug overdose during that time and the insurance company would need to have proof that the overdose was intentional.
• Losses that occur while committing a crime. If you decide to rob a bank and the guard shoots you, don't expect the insurance carrier to pay your loved ones. 
• Murder. Believe it or not, there is a "slayer rule", which means that if your beneficiary kills you, the policy does not have to pay them. Go figure.

One of the other reasons why a policy won't pay is if you are not truthful on the application. The insurance company's underwriting department will try to find out as much about your medical history and lifestyle as possible during the application process, but they can't look under every stone. If you have misrepresented yourself (nice way of saying you lied) on the application, the insurance carrier may not pay the death benefit.

The best advice is to be honest with your agent and the underwriter (they may conduct a phone interview) when they ask about your medical history, alcohol and drug use, travel plans and risky activities. 

By spending a few minutes looking over your policy you can save you and your family a lot of confusion and heartbreak. If you have questions about any of this, feel free to look us up on the web and drop us a note. In the meantime, 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! 

An Interview With Our Own Insurance Goddess

From time to time I like to talk with someone I know and admire, hoping that they will instill some wisdom that can help me succeed. So last week I talked with my good friend and colleague, Jeanne Doran aka The Insurance Goddess. We discussed how she and I met and I asked for her permission to use some of her sage advice in the blog. As a gracious lady, she said yes. 

I met Jeanne about 10 years ago when I was selling health insurance (pre-Obamacare). She was working for the Gilston Agency in Charleston, SC and I was contracted through them to sell a major medical coverage. I'm not sure if she was a CSR but she helped me over the phone and email with some issues occasionally. Always helpful and a bit sarcastic (like me!), I kept in contact with her, even after she had moved on from Gilston and had become an independent agent. I had a life insurance carrier that I liked to use and got Jeanne contracted with them. 

More importantly though, I would call Jeanne when I had questions about health insurance. She was, and still is, a great resource when an answer is needed quickly. Over the years we have remained friends and I was enthused when she finally accepted my offer to work with Surf Financial Brokers. She even let me put her picture on the website! 

Without further ado, here is a snippet of our conversation.

Me: I know you told me this before, but it wasn't your idea to go into the insurance business, was it?

Jeanne: Honesty, my husband recommended I work in the insurance business. He thinks I'm good with people.

Me: Well, you are. How do you find your prospective clients?

Jeanne: My business primarily referral based. Once I have assisted a client with their insurance needs we look at other options to round them out.

Me: That makes sense. How do you prepare for a client meeting?

Jeanne: Typically I cross evaluate types of plans within the product line they are looking for.   For instance, if it's a health case I look at BCBSSC (Blue Cross), United, and Aetna, then look at the costs versus the benefits and share those details at the "meeting". And I always keep in mind there may be something more for them to round them out.

Me: Do you attend any kinds of networking groups?

Jeanne: I only am in one networking group at this time and it's industry based.

Me: Not counting my book, do you recommend any good books on sales? 

Jeanne: The Tipping Point. Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The Power of Positive Thinking

Me: Malcolm Gladwell is a favorite of mine too.  Do you have a mentor?  

Jeanne: My first Mentor was David Gilston.  He is a broker who has stood the test of time. He'd say, "when the rules change, teach me the rules, and I will win every time."

Me: How have you become a mentor for others?

Jeanne: I have a circle of fellow agents who are part of my "team" and we bounce ideas off each other!  I like to think I am their mentor!!

Me: Well, you are the Insurance Goddess! On a different note, has Covid affected your practice?  

Jeanne: Yes, I rarely meet prospects in person any more.  I am learning to be effective with Zoom and am always looking for the best ways to connect.

Me: What did you do with your first commission check?  

Jeanne: Now that was a long time ago, so I must have used it to pay household bills!!!

Me: We have all dealt with strange people from time to time. Have you ever had a strange or unusual encounter with a client?

Jeanne: Have I EVER! I was assisting one lady with her health benefits and her husband, who had a type of early onset Alzheimer's, strode by the table several times, pacing back and forth. Finally he went upstairs and when he came back down, he did not have anything on but his shirt. 

Me: I hope you got them both "covered". 

I hope you learned a little about Jeanne as we pull back the curtain to take a peek at a day in the life of an insurance agent.  And in the meantime, 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!

The Life Insurance Review

Life insurance is like your car, your home and a lot of other things you own in that one has to do "maintenance" on it from time to time. By that, I mean that one shouldn't buy a policy, throw it in a drawer or safe deposit box and forget about it. An owner of a life insurance policy should take a good look at it at least every other year to make sure it is doing what is needed.

One of the many mantras that life insurance agents love to repeat is the word "review', as is "We need to review your policy." In sales classes, agents are taught to contact their clients twice a year - on the birthday of the client and on the anniversary date of their policy. The former is mostly to check in and hope the client will have some referrals. The latter is to set an appointment with the client to go over their policy, thus the "review". 

As an agent who has been in the business for a while, I can attest that a vast majority of clients say something like "I'm good for now" when I mention taking a look at their coverage. Maybe I should press harder for that appointment, but it's obvious the client isn't interested.

Unfortunately, this goes on every year and on occasion something will go sideways when the insured dies. Whether the client doesn't have enough coverage or just failed to keep the beneficiaries up to date, I know there are adjustments that can be made.

A good example is when a beneficiary change is in order. In that instance, either the named beneficiary has passed away unexpectedly or should be replaced for other reasons. A few years back I found out that my client's daughter, who was in her 20's and had a history of drug issues, was living on the streets. My client was taking care of her grandchildren with the help of another adult child. 

It was an awkward subject to broach with my client as I had heard about her predicament through the grapevine, but she was gracious as I let her know that she was doing the best she could with a bad situation. She acknowledged that her daughter probably was not a good candidate to receive a large death benefit and we changed everything over to the other adult child, who ultimately got legal custody of the kids.

In another instance, I met with a client who had taken out a policy for $250,000 a few years earlier. At the time, the face amount made sense because it covered the balance of his mortgage and could help pay off some items like final expenses and some credit card debt. He had some money put away and his wife also had a good job. However, he had some unexpected expenses that required he borrow some funds, and the lender was insisting he purchase a life insurance policy to cover the debt.

By checking in with him and learning about his new situation, I was able to help him secure the note with a 10-year term life insurance policy which made the lender very happy. (Sidenote: My client paid off the debt earlier than expected and was able to cancel the policy.)

If your life insurance agent calls you for an annual policy check up, take advantage of it. And if your agent doesn't call to check in with you, give us a call and we'll be happy to put a second set of eyes on your policy to see if you have what is appropriate for you. In the meantime, 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!