Insurance News This Week

Again, I wanted to share some news items with you from the world of insurance, with a wee bit of comment added. Feel free to tag someone who would find this interesting. 

We just learned this week that life insurance companies are paying out far fewer life insurance claims due to Covid-19 than they initially expected. The reason for this is that the disease is killing a disproportionately large number of people who don't have life insurance. 

Even though anyone can apparently contract the virus, it is mostly striking older Americans and minorities. Older Americans typically carry smaller policies than those who are still in the workplace. As a group, seniors don't have to worry about paying off a mortgage or making sure their kids can pay for college, because the kids are grown and have their own children. 

According to an article posted on the Wall Street journal website, " In a pattern dating back decades, Black Americans typically have bought modest policies aimed at paying burial and related costs, rather than bigger face-value policies, according to life-insurance agents and historians. Detailed data on policy ownership by race is hard to come by. Since the 1960s, U.S. life insurers quit using race as a factor in underwriting and pricing policies, so they quit collecting race information, executives say."

The two demographics have been hit hard by the virus and sometimes something like this acts like a wake-up call. Now is a great time to consider purchasing additional life insurance.

In another piece of news, the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners have created an online tool to help people find life insurance and annuity benefits. Thus far in 2020, over $7.4 million have been located. 

“I am pleased to see that Tennesseans are using the Life Insurance Locator Service to find their loved ones’ benefits during this year which has brought unprecedented hardships to Tennesseans,” said TDCI Commissioner Hodgen Mainda. “As part of Life Insurance Awareness Month, I remind Tennesseans to educate themselves about the importance of life insurance today so they might be better prepared to be a beneficiary in the future.”

This is the kind of story we at Surf Financial Brokers enjoy to see. At the essence of our business is a promise made by the carrier. That promise, that if you die they will help your loved ones by giving them money when they need it most, is important to all in the insurance industry. However, when people move or don't update their beneficiaries often, it can be difficult for an life insurance company to pay the claims. 

With that said, apparently many people who are beneficiaries of policies either don't know they are, or have no idea where the policies are located. We ran into this scenario with my own father's passing. His beneficiaries had predeceased him. Obviously he had not updated his beneficiaries in years. And we found one policy by accident when I called to update someone that he had passed away.

As agents selling life insurance, as well as disability, cancer, accident and long term care plans, a paid claim let's the client know that we stand behind our promise. That translates to how valuable our work really is to us. 

Let us help you find a policy that is in your budget. And for your convenience, you can even schedule your own appointment here. 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!

Do I Need An Accident Insurance Plan?

Everyday thousands of people seek medical attention for accidents large and small. From getting cut while making dinner and needing a few stitches, to serious automobile accidents, urgent care centers and emergency rooms are filled with people needing medical attention. 

I first got into the insurance business selling accident plans door-to-door in rural areas. And even though I didn't care for the policy at the time, I did see the value as our customers in the farming community would get hurt doing day-to-day chores. When I went to work for a large worksite benefits company I heard stories from people everyday about how they used their policies often, not just for themselves, but for their families. 

These stories were interesting and sharing them helped me to get more people to understand why they needed a good accident plan. For example, one nice lady was married to a firefighter and had purchased a plan that covered the entire family. Her husband was constantly getting hurt on the job, which was understandable. Burns, lacerations and other perils were a given in his line of work.

But when he was off the clock, he was just as vulnerable. He loved to hunt deer, and apparently had an issue with falling out of the deer stand on occasion. His wooden boat, which he used for fishing when the weather was good, had some rusty nails that he sat on several times. It got to the point where the wife felt bad for contacting me every time he needed to file a claim and made copies of her own claim forms. 

If you are active or have kids who play sports, an accident plan may be the right fit for you. Unfortunately, people sometimes forget they even have an accident plan. During a chance meeting with a client of mine he mentioned that his daughter had been playing basketball at the local rec center a month earlier. She went in for a layup and her legs were cut out from under her by another player. At the hospital she was treated for a small cut but had to have some minor surgery to repair a muscle tear. 

My client lamented that his medical insurance payed the majority of the expenses, but only after the deductibles and co-insurance minimums were met. When I reminded him that he actually had a policy in place to help offset those out-of-pocket expenses he lit up. We filed a claim and he was very happy with the results. 

Your occupation usually isn't going to be a factor and since there are no pre-existing conditions for accidents, people are covered right away. My clients come from all kinds of backgrounds, such as realtors, mechanics, artisans and business professionals. And you can choose coverage for off-the-job or 24 hour on or off-the job. 

Most of these policies even cover dismemberment and cover loss of sight, limbs (such as arms, legs, fingers and toes). There are even benefits for accidental death, which doubles if you were to die in a "common carrier", like a bus or plane. 

There is also an optional rider for disability income, which can help replace lost wages due to an accident. That can be important since for most of us, our most valuable asset is our ability to earn a living.

And just to add a little more value, there's also a wellness benefit. You're going to get a check up once a year anyway, so go ahead and get a few more dollars sent to you for that. 

Recently I met a woman whose husband had died while cutting down some trees in his yard. A large log rolled onto to him and he passed away in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. She told me that he had just turned down an opportunity to purchase an accident plan a few weeks before he died. Even though it was too late for him, she made a decision to purchase a plan for herself. 

I hope you seriously consider an accident plan. Especially since all the benefits go directly to you to spend how you need to, and not to the doctor or hospital. For a quick recap of some of the coverages from one of our carriers, click here. And if you have any 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!

Life Is For Living (Great Video)

As we go through September and wind down another Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM), I hope you all are doing well and keeping your spirits high. There is a lot going on in the world that can add stress to all of our lives. The Covid-19 pandemic, racial strife and political tensions are just a few things that are in the news. But there is also all of the daily issues we deal with personally, such as employment and financial burdens. 

The holiday season can be crazy in a normal year. As I watched the news a few nights ago I was struck by a story about how shopping for gifts will be different this year. A lot more online sales, less people in the malls and shopping centers. Of course, we all know that the emphasis should be on our families and loved ones, not spending money we don't have. 

I think back to a sales meeting years ago when I was working with a large insurance company. Most of the agents, myself included, were bemoaning the fact that no one wanted to buy life insurance during the holidays. No one wants to take on another bill when there's a flatscreen TV to be purchased. 

Our manager was leading the meeting and rolled his eyes at our complaining. "You don't get it," he said as if we were a bunch of crybabies. "You say you sell life insurance, but you don't understand who you are selling it for or why you are selling it!"

Then the manager launched into a lengthy diatribe which made sense to me. I will spare you all of the details but the essence was that we, as life insurance agents, were not communicating our message properly, that we were not selling something to be used by the client (assuming that was who we are insuring), but instead it would be used by the client's family. The only thing the client would get out of it was the peace of mind knowing that if something should happen to them, their spouse and children would be able to stay in their home and continue their lifestyle without more financial worries thrown onto them. 

It all made sense to me, but how does one communicate that message during the holidays? As a father and husband I have my policies in place, but I also want my family to enjoy a few gifts that I can offer. The most important present, of course, is not one that can be opened (unless one opens a policy packet). 

So I ask you to do one thing for your family from now. If you do not have life insurance, use our life insurance quoting calculator in the upper right of this blog and get a ballpark estimate* on how much it would cost to ensure your family would be okay if something were to happen to you. There's even a button on there to find out how much you need. 

And if you do have insurance already, check to see if you have enough. Odds are you don't, and that is okay, as long as you do something about it. 

Check out the video and book a phone appointment with us to discuss how we can help you can give your family the best gift this year. 

*All rates are subject to underwriting.

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!

Expanding Our Social Media Footprint

With the pandemic upon us businesses have had to find new ways to market themselves. Our agency, Surf Financial Brokers, is no different. Social media and a web presence are one of the many ways we are trying to get the word out about the products we sell and the services we provide. 

Actually, we were already changing the way we were marketing pre-Covid. The traditional way of selling insurance, by asking for referrals and mingling at networking events, was still working for us, but only in a limited capacity. And to be honest, agents can get burnt out quickly that way. My agents and I had some conversations as to what changes we could make to expand our messaging. We also asked for feedback from our clients.  

Social media can be a rabbit hole for a growing insurance agency like ours. It can be very easy to get caught up in all of the differing platforms out there, and the last thing we wanted is to take away time and resources from our clients. "Sorry, I'm not able to help you with a death claim because I'm busy posting silly memes." Absolutely not! We needed a plan.

Facebook, which has become a juggernaut of social media, took on a larger role. The logic behind this was that our agents were already active on the platform. There wasn't much of a learning curve because we already had a good amount of clients there already. 

LinkedIn was a no-brainer as well. As a great platform for networking and connecting with other professionals, it made sense to take some time to learn how to maximize it to our advantage. I've always managed to find good prospects on LinkedIn, as well as new sources of information. 

Realistically, our agents agreed that Twitter was fine to post short messages to, but the expectations were low. Our thoughts were pretty accurate, as nothing much has happened from our Twitter feed, but we really haven't put much effort into it either. 

You see, aside from this blog, we have managed to keep our time marketing on social media to under an hour each day, and typically it is more like 30 minutes. And that time is spent during early mornings or late evenings when clients don't expect us to be available.

 

Surf Financial Brokers unknowingly was preparing for social distancing before it was necessary. We were adding features like Calendly to our website, and transitioning to "phone appointments" months ahead of everyone else. When the Coronavirus became an issue, we already had most of the tools in place and just needed to step on the gas. 

With the addition of a new products like Short Term Home Health Care and our new accident insurance plan, we have also tried to make it easier for our clients by using web-based applications. This avoids us having to physically come into your home or work and filling out forms. Just as your pizza is delivered in a "contactless" manner, so can the way you protect your family's financial security. 

In recent days we have managed to dip our toe into another pool of social media, Instagram. Through discussions with some of our clients, we found out that not everyone reads blogs, even the interesting blogs like this one. A few clients said that they enjoyed reading short articles on life insurance, long term care plans and disability insurance, but they also liked the occasional short video too. The plan is to post short (less than a minute) videos on Instagram to cover various topics. 

If you are already following Surf Financial Brokers on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or another platform, we thank you for your support. We hope you follow us on Instagram @SurfFinancialBrokers for some different content and information. 

We look forward to helping you and answering your questions. And as always, 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!

Planning For Your Retirement

According to an EBRI (Employee Benefits Research Institute) survey conducted in 2015, 66% of workers had saved less than $50,000 for their retirement. And 28%  had saved less than $1,000. The numbers slowly got better over the years, mostly because employment increased. As a result employer sponsored retirement savings plans helped, as they were the most effective way for people to save. 

And then the pandemic hit us. For the millions who have lost their jobs, retirement has been put on the back burner as trying to survive financially day-to-day and keeping one's head above water has become the priority.

Again, we are definitely headed into a retirement crisis. After the market drop of 2008, many people cashed out part or all of their retirement plans to pay their bills.  Scared of another market drop, many took their money out of stocks and moved to low-interest yielding investments in an effort to preserve their capital. 

The difference now is that the market is doing well while the rest of the economy is hurting. Companies have learned that they can keep productivity up with less employees, thus increasing profits. Those profits are reflected in the growth of the stock market, but not everyone is enjoying these gains.  

And yes, real estate has done well. Interest rates are still incredibly low, attracting buyers, but who is selling? Perhaps it is those who can no longer afford to be in their home due to a loss of income. The world has become very confusing. And it can still be confusing for those who are trying to plan a retirement. 

There are a few things to remember when planning for retirement.  

First, safety costs money.  If you put your money in an annuity with "guarantees", you'll pay in fees or additional charges.  (And yes, regardless of what your agent sales, there are fees in an indexed annuity). See my previous post on the free dinner at the steak house.

CD's at the bank can cost you in this low interest rate environment by way of inflation eating away at your money.  Your principal can lose value by inflation outpacing your growth. Do a little homework and find out what the current inflation rate is. Currently it's around 1.3%, which is very low, but it can change quickly if oil prices spike or another global crisis, like a war, should happen.

Also, when planning for retirement, a holistic approach is best.  The commercials for "orange money" or a big wood carved number people walk around with is great, but what does it really mean?  Trips, vacations, seeing the grandkids?  

I have mentioned that the three phases of retirement are the "Go go years, the slow go years and the no go years". Everyone plans to be active and have fun once they retire but the hard truth is that you may spend most of your retirement sick or homebound. You should also figure in medical costs associated with aging.  Long term care insurance (or something akin to it) are a must, especially if you have assets you want to pass on.

Estate planning has been replaced with "legacy planning" in some circles.  Legacy planning is a broader term and takes the concept of estate planning one step further, letting you incorporate your morals, beliefs and ideals into your estate plan, and by allowing you to "make a difference" with gifts you leave to charities and loved ones. Retirement planning goes hand in hand with estate planning.

 

But back to our retirement crisis.  Most people clearly don't have enough money socked away.  The government isn't in a position to take care of us.  As life expectancy increases, that doesn't necessarily mean you will live longer and enjoy it. As we say to our clients, just because you may live longer it doesn't mean you'll live better. Quality isn't the same and quantity in this case.  

The bottom line is that is doesn't have to be all gloom and doom. If you are in a position to contribute something each month, even if it's just a few dollars, to your retirement plan, do so. Mix it up as much as possible by diversifying your portfolio. Consider both putting money into your savings while protecting your assets with a long term care policy, which is a great way to play offense and defense at the same time. 

Have questions or comments, put them in the comments section below. And 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 Courageous Conversation About Life Insurance

Last week I had lunch with an old friend who also happens to be a client of  mine. He has been very successful working in the computer industry for about 20 years but is starting to get restless. Apparently his work has become, in his opinion, very boring. I asked him to tell me what he liked and didn't like about the work. "I do the work, I get paid, and then I have to put in a bid again to do the work again," he said. 

He began to "pull back the curtain" about his job and tell more details about who his clients were, how he acquired them and what he was paid for his time. Then he threw me for a loop and said, "So give me some of the secrets of your work."

Actually, there are not a lot of secrets. I try to keep everything as transparent as possible. My friend did not looked convinced. He said, "Do you use a bunch of high pressure sales techniques?" 

"All the time but apparently they are too subtle for people to pick up on," I said, laughing at the absurdity of it all. There was a time when life insurance agents had a reputation for being "high pressure". My first job in the business, selling accident plans door-to-door, was like that. We were trained to be like attack dogs, not to take "no" for an answer. If someone gave us an objection we had a binder full of memorized rebuttals throw back at them. 

As I have mentioned in an earlier post, I have replaced high pressure sales with "good pressure" sales. That means that I want to do what is right for a client, but sometimes, the client doesn't understand what is in their best interest. 

For example, let's say I am in the home of a young couple who has a couple of kids and a mortgage. One spouse may insist that they only need $100,000 of coverage but I think they definitely need more. That $100,000 won't cover the balance of the mortgage, much less cover other things, like funeral costs, replacing income and paying off cars and credit card debt. My job is to make those items part of the discussion. 

The reasons why the client is resistant to increase the amount can vary, but it usually comes down to cost. That's when I realize I have not done my job correctly because I haven't explained the value of my product in a way that this client can appreciate. 

"So if your spouse is stuck with less money than they need to keep the family in their home they love, has to take a second job, and has to go into debt to bury you, is that something you're okay with?" I ask, making sure the spouse is present. Is that "high pressure"? I don't think so. It's a reality check. In the business we call that a "courageous conversation" because most people don't know, or want to know, what really is going to happen when they die. 

As a professional insurance agent, I have to help them face the reality of the situation. There is no yelling or subliminal messages going on. My intentions are good in that I want this family to feel secure. I realize they may have a budget, and I can work with that. "Let's put it like this. If you purchase this coverage and died next week, your spouse will come to me and ask me, 'Will my family be okay?' What do you want me to tell them?" 

That's what my job is all about.

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!

Stay Healthy and You Can Save Money

This weekend I went to a grocery store that is a part of a large chain based in the southeast. They have a pharmacy that offers flu shots, which I get each year to ward off the winter's ailments. Even though many of my friends have said that it the vaccination doesn't work for them, for me it is a lifesaver. 

In the past I would get sick with a head cold at least three times each winter, with an additional case of the flu thrown in for good measure. However, since I began getting the flu shot about five years ago, I might have one good cold each year. This let's me work more, stay more active and overall feel better. As they say, an ounce of prevention...

One of the nice perks about getting my flu shot at this store is that they give me a gift card for $10 after my injection, which I promptly redeem for a lovely cheesecake. It has become a bit of a joke in our home when I walk in with the delicious dessert in my hand and a band-aid on my arm. "Ah, Chris got his flu shot again!" is the refrain as the family looks for forks and plates.

But the flu shot is a small part of a bigger picture. I'm not the healthiest person in the world, but I do the best I can by trying to eat right, exercise (mostly yard work, which works up a good sweat) and stay off of the carbonated sodas. All of this is done with intention from a lesson learned years ago. 

As an insurance agent, I also understand the value of the product I sell and know the price is better for people who are healthy. Realizing that I needed enough coverage to pay off my mortgage and some debt if I were to die unexpectedly, I applied for a life insurance policy. I also realized that I would need a paramed exam involving blood, urine and testing for height and weight. 

This was about the time that the low-carbohydrate diets were getting popular so I replaced my usual potato chips with pork rinds, thinking I had beaten the system. Boy was I wrong!

After the nurse did her job I found out that instead of my monthly premium going down, it went up by roughly $10 a month. Apparently my cholesterol was very high, and those stupid pork rinds were more than likely the culprit. 

I kept that policy for a year, then I reapplied with another company, this time eating a lot of salads. Why hadn't I thought of that the first time? I dropped some much needed pounds, got my insurance premium back to a reasonable price and I had a newfound respect for salads, which I still enjoy to this day.  

Odds are that you are not going to get much healthier than you are right now. Personally speaking, I have had my share of health problems in the last five years. Hypertension, stomach problems and borderline diabetes suddenly and unexpectedly became issues for me. I'm on medications to keep my numbers under control, but I could just as easily have had a heart attack, stroke or worse. 

What are you waiting for? Protecting your family's future should be a priority for you. Stay as healthy as you possibly can and get that coverage as soon as possible. 

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!