Life and Annuity Talking Points for the Fall

Expert Opinion October 03, 2022 at 10:08 AM
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Labor Day is behind us. It's time to roll up your sleeves and get to work.

I always felt that way when I was a financial advisor in production.

When clients and prospects send their children off to school and see Costco putting Christmas trees in stores, they may feel the same way.

As the weather turns crisper, people get spurred into activity.

1. Medicare Annual Enrollment

This period is traditionally Oct. 15 through Dec. 7.

Most retired clients need supplemental plans too.

If they are too young to be on Medicare, their parents probably qualify.

They will have questions. You can provide answers.

2. What Is Medicare Advantage All About?

You cannot avoid the ads for "check your ZIP code" and "put money back in your Social Security check."

The airwaves are saturated with them! Many clients and prospects will think "It's too good to be true" or "If it says Medicare, it must be the same or better." They will be mystified.

As an insurance professional, you can provide clarity, including the pros and cons.

3. They Grow Up So Fast.

Your client just sent their children off to the next grade in school. They are conscious their children are getting older.

College tuition looms on the horizon and Boardwalk and Park Place on the Monopoly game board.

What is college going to cost? How can we save for it?

As a financial professional, you can provide answers.

4. Someday I Will Get Old Too.

Your client's parents live nearby. They live in the family home, unless they live with their children.

Your client thinks someday, they will be in the same position.

Will their children be prepared to care for them?

Long-term care insurance is a way of establishing financial independence when they need special care.

The younger they come around to seeing it's value and buying it, the better.

5. Those Burial Insurance Ads on TV

The upside of cable TV stations like METV, Hallmark and COZI is they show repeats of iconic TV shows from the 1970s and 1980s.

The downside is the TV stations have determined that demographic is concerned about who will pay for their funeral expenses. Clients see these ads all the time.

This is an ideal time to review the life insurance coverage you have already provided for your client. Show them you did a good job.

Who else needs this kind of help?

6. Rising Interest Rates

Clients are concerned about interest rates that seem to be rising slowly (They still remember CDs yielding 8%) and prices that are rising much faster.

They want more income.

Depending what financial products you are licensed to sell, there are many income investment options to consider.

If you are focused on insurance, this may be a good time to revisit annuities. What are they paying now?

7. Unsettled Stock Market

After years of a market that seemed to head straight up, now the stock market has been zigging and zagging for months.

Many older people worry about a steep decline in the market.

They are concerned because, although they believe in the stock market long term, they might not have a long term in front of them.

There are hybrid insurance investments giving the client some stock market participation along with downside protection. Do your clients know about them?

After Labor Day, your client might be ready to "do something." Here are a few talking points to get the conversation started.

(Photo: Lo Kin-hei/Shutterstock)

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