Why CDC Mortality Numbers Matter to Your Practice

As insurance agents and financial advisors, your primary goal is to secure the financial future of your clients and their families.

While you're well-versed in various aspects of financial planning and risk management, there's one crucial factor that often goes overlooked: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mortality data.

The Influenza Threat: A Tale of Two Families

To illustrate the importance of the CDC mortality data, let's delve into the lives of two fictional families, the Smiths and the Browns.

The Smiths

The Smith family consists of John, Sarah and their two young children. John and Sarah are both 45.

John is a life insurance agent, and Sarah is a baker.

John and Sarah have diligently planned their financial future, including life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and college savings for their kids.

John regularly keeps an eye on the CDC mortality data. He knows that death could come earlier than expected.

One winter, an unexpected influenza outbreak sweeps through their community and temporarily doubles the death rate

Tragically, John contracts a severe case of the flu and succumbs to complications.

The family is devastated, but the careful planning pays off.

Sarah can use the life insurance death benefits to pay for someone else to oversee her bakery for a few weeks, pay off the mortgage, cover the children's education expenses, and maintain the family's quality of life during this difficult time.

The Browns

On the other side of town, we find Andrew and Roberta Brown, the parents of three children.

Roberta, a financial advisor, has loyal, happy clients, but she has always neglected to plan for her own mortality risk. She knows that the average level of mortality risk for someone her age is low, and she avoids preparing for low-probability scenarios.

She and her husband have health coverage with a high annual out-of-pocket spending maximum; no cash in a health savings account or emergency fund; and no life insurance.

When the flu strikes, both Mr. and Mrs. Brown fall ill.

Their lack of preparedness becomes evident as medical bills pile up, causing financial strain and uncertainty.

The absence of life insurance leaves the Browns' children without a safety net, making an already challenging situation even more dire.

Lessons Learned: Why Mortality Data Reports Matter

The contrasting stories of the Smiths and the Browns shed light on the critical importance of CDC mortality numbers for insurance agents and financial advisors:

Informed Decision-Making: CDC mortality reports empower you to make informed recommendations.

By staying up to date with mortality statistics, you can tailor insurance policies to your clients' needs, ensuring they have adequate coverage during times of crisis.

Risk Mitigation: Threats like influenza and heart attacks can affect not only clients' health but also clients' financial stability.

It's your responsibility to guide clients towards disability insurance, health coverage and life insurance policies that protect against setbacks caused by unexpected illnesses or accidents.

Peace of Mind: The right insurance coverage can provide peace of mind to your clients and their families.

When a crisis hits, knowing that they are financially protected lets clients focus on what truly matters: their well-being and the well-being of their loved ones.

Understanding CDC mortality reports can help you make sure clients have what they need to get through a crisis.

Lloyd Lofton is the founder of Power Behind the Sales and the author of The Saleshero's Guide To Handling Objections.