We Love Referrals!

When you find something you feel really good about, you tend to want to share it with your friends and family. At the same time, when you make a recommendation to someone, you feel like your reputation is on the line. 

We understand that. 

We want you to feel confident about referring your friends, family, and colleagues to us. That's why we think it makes a whole lot of sense to spell out exactly what we do when we get a referral. That way, both you and the person you refer to us know exactly what to expect and what not to expect from us. 
So, here's how we work with people who are referred to us:

Our initial meeting can either be at their home or at our office, and there is absolutely no cost for our initial meeting. 

Our conversations are 100% confidential, whether or not we eventually end up working together. 

We start with a review of what's important to them; in other words, what they value most in life. 

Next we move to a review of their current situation from a comprehensive financial basis. This is really the only approach that makes sense, because all the areas of our financial lives are interrelated. 

We finish the meeting by identifying strategies that may help them get from their current situation - where they are now - to "What's Important" - where they want to be. 

After our meeting, we leave it up to them to call us if they would like to visit further. 

We are insurace advisors, and we don't think any decision should be made in a high pressure environment. So, those we meet with should never expect us to pressure them into any particular course of action. We review, analyze, make our recommendations, then we let them make the decision. 

Should your referral decide to become a client, they should expect to hear from us on a regular basis. We believe that it is our responsibility to stay in touch with our clients. 

Thanks for your referrals! And as always, stay healthy!

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, as well as a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient.

Our Interview With Life and Health Agent Davan Johnson

I asked my good friend, Davan Johnson, to let me pick his brain recently. He's the owner and founder of Davan Enterprises Insurance Agency, as well as a integral part of his community and active member of several service organizations in and around his home town of Bristol, Tennessee. We discussed his insurance business, his thoughts on finding clients and sales in general. He offers great insight and I thought it would be helpful to know what makes us insurance agents tick. 

Thanks for talking with me Davan. First off, I'm curious as to how you got into the insurance business.

I had left a career in the restaurant industry that I thought I was going to retire from but quickly realized that I didn't actually own or have control of my destiny. So I was trying to decide what was next. I knew this time I wanted to do something that created residual and passive income. I chose insurance because I had been around it all my life with my mom using it as a fall back position. She was typically always an employee though, not an agent. But I remember pretending to fill out paper applications in an empty office whenever I had to be at the office with mom. She had a whole office building to herself with multiple offices, kitchen and waiting area. Additionally, I wanted to have a business that would allow me the time and freedom to choose my own schedule, as well as spend time with family for vacation and holidays. I had given up a lot of that working in the restaurant business.

Tell me how you find your prospects.

I used to do a lot of cold calling when I started out. I'd spend my time making lists and driving to make impromptu appointments, wasting a lot of gas going back and forth. Driving ALL day and almost all week to only get one or two appointments, and possibly resulting in one case or actual sale out of that. Now a lot of people make it in the business cold calling and that's great for them, but I have come to realize how I work best. So I begun doing more networking. Joining groups and setting up one-on-one meetings to get to know each other, which present warm leads and referrals. My business is about 90% referrals now. I work smarter, not harder, and these people are actually calling me. They are the ones have need, have time and money to spend on my services. I also positioned myself to offer unique products that most insurance agents don't so I can work with other agents and not be seen as a threat or competitor. 

Is there a product you think everyone should have?

Yes, I think there are several but one of the most uncommon ones is Legal Insurance. Unlike any other insurance we carry you don't have to wait for something BAD to happen before you can use it. You can be proactive. It's like an attorney on retainer with the power of a law firm in your pocket thanks to the apps and technology. When I was unemployed for a certain duration trying to figure what my next step was there were two budget items I was resolute not to cancel: My life insurance and my legal plan. People don't know this type of thing exists and yet it is so powerful giving people peace of mind so they don't have to check their checkbook before they can check their rights.

How do you prepare for a client meeting?

I actually use a worksheet to help guide me to the result of the meeting. But also, I try to review their social profiles to learn about them. I use the FOR method: Family, Occupation and Recreation to get to know them. It's all about finding out what is best for the client's needs.

Has Covid affected your practice?

Not much, because I have positioned my agency to be more of a referral business. Because of that it is important to keep the networking relationships strong. And during some of the downtime I've been able to re-evaluate systems in the my business.

What did you do with your first commission check?

Well, after I learned to reconcile a commission statement I most likely saved most of it because I didn't know when the next one would come. We got paid weekly.  I do know that I finally had some gas money and recouped what I spent on insurance licenses. I honestly don't remember how much my first check was which is sad, but I do remember my "can sell date" was 9/29/2012. That was the day I was officially able to sell and write my own policies. In my first month I had earned several awards, but no one was really there to mentor me on "cycles" of insurance or that when you get the BIG checks to hold some back for the slow times. Since then I pay myself a livable income and save the rest as an "emergency fund".  

Tell me about an usual or strange encounter you've had with a client.

The one encounter that comes to mind was when I was completing a life insurance application for a client. I had spoken to the client over the phone several times and the plan was that during our first in-person meeting we complete the app and submit it. This individual had the appearance of a male but when answering the questions on the application, everything was female. It was awkward for me because I had to get past some preconceptions and this was my first experience in this kind of situation. I basically decided that ultimately it was a decision for the underwriter and not me. So I filled out the application as the person responded and submitted it. It was issued! I had heard stories of people doing this before in order to get a more favorable rate, since females can get cheaper rates. Anyway, in this person's case it was legitimate and I was just unprepared for it. 

Thanks for your time, Davan! 

I hope you were able to get some quality information out of this interview. I always enjoy listening to successful agents and learning a thing or two. At Surf Financial we strive to grow and help our clients in the best ways possible. 

If you have any questions about this interview let us know in the comment section.  And as always, stay healthy

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, as well as a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient.

  

5 Ways to Use Life Insurance Without Dying

There's a school of thought out there that says you should "buy term and invest the difference".  The people who tell you this are not enthused when it comes to permanent (universal or whole life) insurance. Some think it can be too expensive and others think that the growth inside the policy is too conservative. To be fair, term life is much less expensive and the cash values accumulations in permanent policies, especially whole life, are easily outperformed by some investments.

As I have stated in previous posts, all life insurance products have a need, but not all people need all kinds of insurance. And the biggest problem with the "buy term and invest the difference" scenario is that the vast majority of people don't do the investing part. And the ones who do are subject to market risks. Losses can happen. 

One of the worst objections I've heard when talking life insurance to a prospect is "it's not going to help me when I'm dead". Of course not. Life insurance is primarily for your loved ones who may need those funds to stay in the home, pay off medical bills associated with your death, pay off credit card debt or help fund educational needs. 

With this in mind, there are policies out there that can help you before you die. Here are a few ways:

1. Retirement supplement. Unlike a tax-qualified retirement plan, you don't have to wait for until you're 59 1/2 to get your money without a tax penalty. And by taking out cash as a "loan" and using the policy as collateral, you can likely get the money tax-free. 
2. Living benefits. Many of the permanent life policies out there now have some form of living benefits that can be used for chronic illnesses or long term care situations. Depending on the carrier, these benefits may be included or offered as a riders (some at an additional expense). 
3. Critical illness riders. Again, these are sometimes offered as part of the policy and will let you use some of the funds if a major health event, like a stroke or heart attack, occurs.
4. Education costs. I've had clients "overfund" a policy and use the accumulated cash value to fund their children's college expenses. Did you know that when applying for student loans and financial aid, one must disclose any 529 plan or Coverdell plan? But you don't have to disclose life insurance. 
5. Warehousing money. Funds can be taken out of the policy as a loan, repaid, and used again. For example, I had a client who loved to buy investment properties. If he saw piece of land he wanted, he didn't go to the bank for a loan because he'd have to fill out a lot of paperwork and wait for a loan officer to decide if he qualified. Instead, he'd call the insurance carrier, get the money he needed for the down payment (a check would be sent overnight in some instances) and he would repay the loan within a few months. When he found another piece of property, he'd do it all over again. Smart!

One interesting note is that we now offer a term life policy which includes the living benefits (#2) as well. If you'd like to learn more or have questions about this, please set up an appointment with us in the right lower corner of the screen to discuss over the phone. And as always, stay healthy!

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, as well as a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient

What's A Fact Finder?

There are two types of sales - transactional and relationship based. When you go to the store and buy groceries, you pick out what you want, take it to the cashier and pay. No one asks you about your dietary restrictions or who else is going to eat dinner or what your grocery budget is. It's a pure transaction. Some would even go so far as to call this sales person an "order taker". 

A relationship based sale is different. No, there isn't a real "relationship" involved, but the seller will ask questions. And if they are worth their salt, the sales person will drill down for more information. This is where a great tool, the fact finder, comes in handy. 

In my 35+ years in sales I've seen people who do both. When I first broke into the insurance business, we sold accident plans door-to-door. There weren't a lot of return visits or questionnaires. All we did was push the benefits of the plan and close hard. One co-worker referred to it as "guerrilla sales" because we attacked the prospects and left. There was a lot of high pressure stuff going on and, as you can imagine, a lot of cancellations of policies after we walked out the door.

Years later I worked for another insurance carrier who had a fact finding questionnaire, but it wasn't required and seemed like more work than it was worth. Again, sales were lackluster. I glanced at it and memorized a few of the questions, but didn't make it a workable part of my presentation. 

Eventually I went to work for a very large life insurance carrier and it was mandatory for us to use a fact finder. Theirs was about 10 pages and very in depth. Mentally, it was a struggle for the agents to wrap their heads around this booklet. The managers were insistent that we use it. "The sale is in the fact finder" was the mantra.

It took a few months to get comfortable with asking the questions. I found short cuts and ways to ask the questions that were relevant to the client. As their needs changed, I could ask the other questions later on down the road. I learned how to do this correctly and my sales started to get better. I was managing to get bigger cases. More importantly, I was finding out what the client wanted and how much they could actually spend. 

If done correctly and casually, a good fact finder will help find out what the actual needs of the client are. And by asking sincere follow up questions, the sales person can build a rapport with the client. Don't think of it as a questionnaire and giving someone the third degree. Instead it's a great way to get a relevant conversation going, thus building the relationship on a foundation of trust and genuine concern. 

If you look to the right side of this page you'll find a button asking you to schedule a time with one of our agents. With the Covid-19 virus in consideration, we can do some good fact finding over the phone. We look forward to hearing from you and helping you find the protection you need. 

And as always, stay healthy!

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, as well as a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient.

A Promise Kept

Did you know that only about 40% of Americans have the amount of life insurance they need? As an insurance agent, I find that people don't want to discuss life insurance because they want to "live in the moment" or because it's not something they can use. In other words, they don't want to plan ahead or worry about what might happen to their family when they die.

With that in mind, I wanted to share a video that gets the point across of why we should all consider life insurance. Take a minute to watch.

As you can see, life insurance isn't for you, as the insured, but for your loved ones. If you need help finding the right amount of coverage within your budget give us a call. And as always, please stay healthy.

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, as well as a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient.

Will Covid-19 Kill the Long Term Care Insurance Industry?

I've been working with a client who expressed interest in purchasing a Long Term Care (LTCI) policy a few months back. As a matter of fact, he was already sold on the product because of a family member who is chronically ill and in a nursing facility. My client, as many in that situation, realized how expensive a facility can be and decided that he didn't want to be a burden to his family if he was in the same situation.

I sent him a couple of illustrations and we discussed the merits of each. He made a decision and we agreed to meet in a week to get the paperwork finalized. That's when things went awry. 

Wanting to make sure I was doing everything correctly, I called the insurance company and found out that due to the Coronavirus, the carrier had put a moratorium on new sales "until this thing blows over". That could be months, or never. 

After making another call to a brokerage house, I was told the same thing, but they added, "This virus is going to be the excuse some carriers will use to get out of the long term care market." Really? Now?

The LTCI industry has had a strange road in the last 20 years or so. Policies evolved from the 1980's as different types of care emerged. Thinking that they could make nice profits, many carriers jumped into business, and with little actuarial numbers to base premiums on. On top of that, no one predicted the steady rise of healthcare cost over the coming decades.

To mitigate losses, LTCI policies included a provision that the insurance company could raise the premiums if they needed to, typically with the approval of the state insurance commissioner. And after the Great Recession of 2008, more than a few took that step and implemented 17-20% increases on business that was "in force". One carrier did it twice! So much for being a forward thinking person. 

Along with the price increases, companies also stopped selling stand alone policies or sold a stripped down version of their previous products. And some carriers sold their LTCI books of business to other carriers. Many have replaced the stand alone policies to life insurance policies with LTC riders. 

The point of all this is that at the end of the day, many of these insurance companies are looking for a reason to get out of the business. The claims are higher than expected and the premium increases are squeezing potential buyers out of the market. And Covid-19 has prompted the few remaining carriers to "suspend" sales until further notice. 

What does all of this mean for you? If you are concerned about your long term care needs in the future, you still have some options. As mentioned earlier, there are life insurance policies, both term and permanent, with LTCI or "living benefits". Companies vary as to their offerings, so ask your agent to verify what you're purchasing. 

A few months ago, I discussed the Short Term Home Healthcare (STHHC) plan we offer. Many people don't realize that the costs of home health care can be double of that in a facility. In my opinion, this is a fantastic product and very affordable. 

The Coronavirus has probably put the last nail in many carriers LTCI coffins, but don't let that dissuade you from looking into your options from now. Click here to book a free fact finding phone call to find out what we can do within your budget. 

And as always, stay healthy and safe!

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, as well as a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient.

Another Real Life Story For DIAM

As it is still May and still Disability Insurance Awareness Month (DIAM) I wanted to share yet another story and testimonial from someone whose life was greatly impacted due to a disability.

When Scott Rider was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at just 47, the life he once knew as a financial advisor and avid runner changed forever. His family's lifestyle didn’t have to change thanks to disability insurance.

I love working with clients who figure things out without me having to explain them. Several years ago I was helping a local business owner with his life and disability insurance. He said, "You know, if I die my family will bury me and have life insurance to move on with their lives. But if I get disabled and can't work, then I'm a burden. I'm not able to contribute and someone is going to have to take care of me. And that's going to cost money, either by paying someone to help me, or in lost income."  

He got it. He understood the importance of having a disability policy and knew how devastating it could affect his family if he was permanently disabled. And the money would come from an insurance company, not his savings account or his spouse's income.

Let us help you plan for those unforeseen landmines that can get in the way of your family's financial goals. 

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, as well as a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient.

Universal Life Anyone?

From time to time I will have a client tell me "I know nothing about life insurance, but my friend says I need whole life" or "The guy on TV says to buy term and invest the difference".  Oddly, no one suggest Universal Life (UL) to their friends.

UL's can be a great fit for a life insurance game plan if structured correctly.  Unfortunately, they can also be confusing to agents and clients alike.  Here are some things to consider before purchasing a UL.

1.  The growth in traditional UL's are based off of interest rates.  Back in the 1970's and 1980's, when interest rates were very high, UL's were sold as investment vehicles.  When interest rates dropped, so did the growth of the policies. 
2.  The cost of insurance increases as time passes.  Unlike a whole life policy, whose costs drops with time, UL's fees increase.  If the costs surpass the growth (see #1) the policy will "eat at itself". 
3.  UL's are considered "flexible premium" policies.  An agent can offer you a minimum, maximum and target premium.  We recommend not going with the minimum, as it looks attractive but can end up with no cash value at some point.
4.  Indexed UL's are based on an "index" which reflects the markets instead of interest rates.  These can be used for retirement supplements (again, if structured correctly) and can be more affordable than a whole life.  Indexed UL's are great for the conservative person who doesn't want to be directly in the market and still needs life insurance protection for their family.

I've seen people use UL's for all kinds of purposes, including final expense (if you're healthy it can be a lot less expensive than a whole life plan) and retirement supplements (the cash value can accumulate well if structured properly). 

In the current economic situation that many individuals and families are faced with, a good UL can protect your family and provide an extra income stream in your later years. 

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, as well as a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient.

Get You Some Insurance and Relax

The Greek word for "insurance" is "asfalisi", which literally means "security".  Not like a security guard, but more like a security blanket. In other words, insurance makes us feel secure knowing that if something bad should happen to us, like an accident or health crisis, our bills will be taken care of and so will our loved ones.

People love to "get away from it all", with trips, vacations, hobbies or music. We all need something to take our minds off of the everyday issues we deal with, from work to family, traffic to bad neighbors. There's a lot of stress out there and some in the medical community point to this stress as the root of a gamut of medical problems. And the cause can be those nagging little voices in the back of our heads letting us know if we get sick or hurt, we still have bills to pay.

Are you the breadwinner of the family? What would happen to your loved ones if you were to die too soon? Could your spouse and children stay in their home? What about debt? Who is going to pay those bills? Can the kids go to college? And what about those day-to-day expenditures, like when the refrigerator breaks down or you need a car in a pinch?

Sure, you could do something like a GoFundMe page, but why not avoid all of that by purchasing a life or disability insurance policy from now?  And with a pandemic all around us now is a great time to call us at Surf Financial Brokers and have a conversation.

We hear people always say that life is too short to suffer through all the aggravations and stress. Let us help you get a little more peace of mind with coverage that is affordable. And stay healthy!

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, as well as a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient

Life Insurance or Flat Screen TV?

Part of my job is helping people get their priorities straight.  For instance, I met with a client this past December who was married and had two small kids.  He had no life insurance.  He agreed that it was important but added, "I can't afford it right now, the kids want a flatscreen TV."

My response was "If another car crosses the center line and kills you, that flatscreen television won't be able to put your kids through college, help your wife pay off the mortgage, replace your income, erase your credit card debt or pay for your funeral."

The client said, "I just can't do it right now."

I could have continued to extol the virtues of purchasing a life insurance policy, not for himself, but for his family.  It wouldn't have made a difference.  His priorities were out of whack.  It was Christmas and he wanted to make the family happy for the short term.

I came to two conclusions after this meeting.  1. For some reason, this generation fails to think in the long term.  We don't plan for others that will come behind us, only for what gives us gratification now.  And 2, people can "afford" what they want to buy.

I'm not saying that this young man was a bad person. He obviously loved his family by wanting to make them happy at Christmas. My job is to try to convince this person that an extra $40-50 each month was going to keep his family, that he loved so much, in their home if he was to die unexpectedly. In a case like this, he wasn't going to budge and really didn't want to pressure him.

He really wanted to buy that TV. But why didn't he want to buy life insurance? Maybe he thought he wasn't going to die anytime soon. Or maybe because it's an intangible product, whereas a TV has lots of buttons and can offer some instant entertainment gratification. A life insurance policy will only satisfy others.

When we buy life, disability or long term care insurance, we get the satisfaction of knowing that if something should happen to us, the others around us aren't burdened with bills or taking care of us. In other words, can you sleep comfortably knowing that your family will be okay if something bad happens to you?

As an insurance agent, I have to help my clients find the right path to financial security. Sometimes the client doesn't want to be helped. I hope this gentleman's wife and kids can help him learn what his priorities are before it's too late.

Stay healthy and let us know if we can help you with your insurance needs.

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, as well as a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient.

The Differing Types of Life Insurance, Part 2 (The Term Life Talk)

In a previous post we discussed the reality that there are different types of life insurance and that all are good for some people, but not all are necessary for all people. As this series progresses, we'll take a look at each type of life insurance and discuss their pros and cons. For now let's look into term life coverage.

Term life is, as it's name states, good for the term of the policy. A 20-year term is good for 20 years, and in that 20 years, the price won't go up on you. At the end of the term, in this case 20 years after the purchase date, the policy will typically end. In some cases the insurance company will continue to policy as an annual renewable term (ART), which means each year the price will increase.

When is it a good idea to buy term coverage? Most people will purchase this during their working years, which is usually when they can quantify the time they need coverage. For instance, if you are pretty sure that your home will be paid off in 20 years and in that same amount of time your kids will be grown and on their own, a 20 year term policy is appropriate.

My favorite term life story is about a friend of mine who told me he borrowed money from a relative and needed to secure the loan with a life policy, in case he died before he was able to repay the loan. The insurance carrier required a paramed exam and my friend's wife was confused when the nurse showed up at their house. Apparently he did not tell his spouse about the loan and had to come clean.

Term life can be very affordable, as it is only coverage for death and builds no cash value. You can't borrow against it either. With this in mind, it's can still be a great value.

There's a school of thought that states that people shouldn't buy permanent coverage, which we'll discuss later, but instead should buy term and invest the difference in premium. My experience shows that people will purchase the term coverage and say that they'll do the investment part at a later date, which never comes.

A great feature of most term policies is a conversion feature. This allows you to convert all or part of the coverage to a permanent policy with no health questions or additional underwriting. Let's assume that in 10th year of a $500,000 policy you have a heart attack. Even though you've survived, the heart attack may prevent you from buying additional coverage. But you can convert, say $25,000, to a permanent policy. The remaining $475,000 will still be there, but now you have some coverage for final expenses that will always be there for you, as long as you pay the premium.

Note: When you convert a term policy, the premium is based on your age at the time of the conversion, not the age you originally purchased the policy.

Term life insurance can be a great fit for young families and people on a budget. If you aren't sure if term would work for you, drop us a note. Or you can book your own phone appointment from our website. We want to make buying insurance easy 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!

The Life Insurance Check Up 2023

Hopefully, you go to your physician once a year for an annual checkup. The logic behind this is to make sure you are in good shape and if there is a problem it can be dealt with before it gets out of hand. The same is true of your "financial wellness". 

In that vein of thought we at Surf Financial Brokers ask, "Have you had an annual life insurance check up?"  It only takes a few minutes and could save your loved one a lot of pain down the road.

First, make sure you have enough life coverage.  Many people think they can get away with a small policy through work, but it's probably not enough to keep your family in their home and retain their lifestyle if something were to happen to you. And if you in a two-income family like many other Americans, your income definitely helps pay the bills. A quick and easy way to determine the amount of life insurance you need is with our calculator.  It only takes a few minutes to plug in some numbers and get a pretty accurate amount of coverage.  Make sure you have enough coverage to pay off debt, cover education costs for your kids, replace income and costs associated with death, such as an extended hospital stay.  Don't forget to include final expenses, like burial or cremation fees, funeral expenses etc.

Second, make sure your beneficiaries are who you want.  When you took out your policy years ago, you picked out who you thought were the right people to be your beneficiaries. We recommend that you take another look at whom you have chosen and make any adjustments that may be needed. An irresponsible adult child or a deceased loved one may not be as suitable as you thought originally.  Have your agent get you the correct forms for beneficiary changes. Keeping your beneficiaries up to date will save your loved ones a lot of time and expense. 

This was the case when my father passed away this year. He had three life policies that had not been looked at in years, even though I asked. One policy had his father and mother listed as the beneficiaries.They had died in 1970 and 1992 respectively. Another had my mother listed as the primary beneficiary, but she had died in 2011. The third policy was the really confusing one, as he had listed his business as the beneficiary. Again, the business had been shut down years earlier. 

Which leads us to the last part of the check up.  Let your family know who to contact if they need help at your death.  Unfortunately, life insurance agents come and go.  The trusted agent you purchased your plan from may or may not still be in the business, or they may have gone to work for another carrier.  If your original agent is no longer available to help you, contact the company and request a new agent of record to assist you.  Leave this information available for your loved ones so they don't have to waste time and money trying to file your claim. And be sure to keep documents like life insurance policies where your family can find it, like a safe or lockbox. My sister has a file that her adult children are aware of that has all of her insurance information in one place. 

If you need help or have questions, please let us know.

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!

Would You Trust This Doctor?

Imagine you live in a town, and it that town there is a physician who treats every ailment the same. "I only prescribe penicillin,"  says the doctor.  Everyone through the door, whether suffering from an infection, a cold, broken bones, mosquito bites or just a headache gets the same medication to cure them. 

In reality, if this doctor existed, he or she would be run out of town on a rail, or at the very least, have their license to practice medicine revoked.

However, there are financial advisors and insurance agents who do the same thing.  Have you ever heard the agent that says "I tell all of my clients to buy term and invest the difference"?  One cure for a variety of financial ailments. 

People have different situations, and like snowflakes, no two are exactly the same. Consider factors like marital status, elderly parents, kids who are at home, kids who are out of the house and those who have returned back home. There are other variables as well, like debt, employment status, benefits through work and many others. I can go on listing all the things that make your financial situation different from others. The gist is that one insurance product may be good, but not great.

At Surf Financial our philosophy is this:  There are a wide variety of insurance and investment products out there and they all serve a purpose somewhere, but not every product is for everybody.  Does a 25 year old need an annuity?  Probably not, but some universal life or a savings plan might be a good start.  Does a 75 year old need a term life policy?  Not unless they need it to secure a loan or have another specific need in mind. 

The truth of the matter is that if an insurance agents says to you "I don't sell that product because I don't believe in it" the odds are good that either they don't understand how that insurance products works and who it works for, or it simply is not available to them. 

In the first case, I remember working with agents who just could not wrap their heads around universal life insurance. Their excuse was that if they couldn't understand it, then how could they explain it to their clients. Going back to our doctor, can you imagine hearing "I don't understand how a virus works so I only treat fractures"? 

And there are those agents who do not have access to certain insurance products. I knew a couple of agents who were "captive", which meant that they had contracted with a company who only allowed them to sell approved products within their portfolio. Newer agents like working for these kinds of carriers because they only need to learn a handful of products. In the long run, it put them and their clients at a disadvantage. 

In other words, without asking questions, a true "advisor" isn't any better than the doctor with one prescription.  Let us help you by having an honest conversation. Yes, we will ask you some questions to find out what your situation is, but it only takes a few minutes. And if you are looking for the best disability insurance quotes, life insurance or a cancer plan, give us a call. You can even book your own appointment to make it even more convenient. 

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!