Mortgage Leads - A Great Unused Key to Selling Annuities

The goal of all insurance agents is to be able to sell annuities, just ask them. Annuities are the most profitable product we can sell and one which has tremendous benefits for those who buy them.
The appeal of selling annuities can be irresistible, the products are valuable and beneficial, the commissions are significant and the future service commitments are low. If I make a decision to become an annuity salesperson and make them my primary market, how would I go about it? How could I find people who would buy them and get benefit from them?

Obviously I need prospects and prospects I could see under a favorable basis. The hardest part is finding the prospects, not selling them. What might be my choices be for finding them?

• Senior Seminars can be a good choice but the upfront expenses can be high.

• Referrals from professional groups are very hard to obtain regardless what the annuity marketing companies tell you.

• Cross selling your data base works if you have one and you have kept in touch with them.

• Direct mail can be efficient if worked properly but it is very competitive and response rates are declining. Plus almost no one responds to an annuity direct mail piece so it needs to be disguised as a different topic. Somewhat devious.

• Internet leads have value but finding leads in your geographic location can be difficult. Plus the cost can be too high hovering in the $100 range.

• Pre-set appointments are offered by many direct call firms but my experience is that these are not much better than a cold call.

• Cold calling is absolutely no way to sell anything and is extremely demeaning and virtually useless.

What else can be used for marketing annuities? How about selling annuities as an add on benefit to another need? How about providing the alternate product while solving the primary need. Here is what I am talking about.

Mortgage protection leads. Sell the secondary use of annuities while providing protection for the loss of a mortgage payer. The need to protect against the death of a spouse is vital and a need understood by almost everyone. How does that transfer to the annuity sale? It actually is quite easy if you follow basic thinking. There is an assumed need to protect the mortgage if the use of an insurance company is accepted. Since the insurance company assumes risk and becomes the risk bearer the risk of having funds protected is assumed.

Use a preplanned sales track to show the benefits of the need to protect a mortgage. Many are available. After the presentation which is usually very short move to a fact finder. To complete the sale you will need some basic questions answered and it becomes the segue into asking about other factors in their life such as the ownership of an IRA, mutual funds etc.

With this fact finder completed it becomes the perfect time to set up the return visit to discuss the topics discovered during that process. Setting up the time the mortgage protection policy is delivered is the best time for the appointment since one transaction is completed and the timing for the next one is ready. It becomes very easy to build on the relationship and the fact they have done business with you makes the second sale easier.

Selling annuities from mortgage protection leads is easy and efficient.

The Basics of Term Life Insurance

If you stop and think about all the time, effort and energy you have put into creating your family's assets and your family itself, can you say that you have accumulated enough financial resources that your family would be secure upon your death or the death of your spouse? Or, would it be more likely that you or your spouse's loss would financially devastate your family?

Generally, term life insurance is taken out to protect your loved ones from debts. For example, if you and your spouse own a home, and you were to suddenly die, your spouse could potentially pay off the mortgage instead of worrying how he or she will make the monthly mortgage payments alone. A term life insurance policy could also enable your spouse to pay off any of your existing credit card or other miscellaneous debts as all of those are passed down to your survivors.

Additionally, if you have children or if your spouse does not work, term life insurance can protect your family's finances by providing money for college and living expenses if you die before your children are fully-grown. Your survivors can maintain their lifestyle, as they currently know it. To be sure, buying term life insurance gives your family peace of mind knowing they would be financially protected should the unthinkable occur.

Figuring out the Length of Term You Should Purchase

When determining what kind of term life policy you should buy, ask yourself the following questions:


1. What is your income? The rule of thumb is to buy 10 times your annual salary.


2. What are your short-term debts? Credit cards, car payments?


3. What are your long-term debts or financial obligations? For example, do you need money for future college educations?


4. What is the remainder of your mortgage?

The answers to these questions will help you determine how long a term to buy. Whether you buy a 10, 20, or 30-year policy is determined by your total debts, financial needs, and the needs of your dependents. If your children are almost financially independent, then you can purchase a shorter term -- unless, of course, your spouse might need more financial support or if there are other relatives who depend on you for money. You can also buy term life insurance that covers you until you reach a certain age, usually 65 or 70. Just keep in mind that term life insurance policies expire at a set time and premiums usually increase upon renewal.

Review Annually

It is important to review your policies annually. Many aspects of our lives change thus affecting what kind of insurance we may need. Life changing events occur that would definitely change what kind of term life coverage we may need. Perhaps a birth of a new child may prompt you to increase your term coverage from 20 to 30 years. Perhaps a divorce will prompt you to scale back on your coverage.

Aside from life changing events, you may also review your policy for any other financial protection you may need. Did you start a new business in the past year that would need to be protected financially upon your death? Do you want to leave money to charity or any heirs?

All of these things should be considered each year, as our lives are never consistent. You want to maintain proper coverage without wasting money on too much policy for your family's needs.

Site Inspections = Worker Protection

Workplace safety inspections using site specific checklists help keep workers safe by identifying and correcting potential injury causing hazards. Although the frequency of inspections may vary each shift, daily, quarterly or annually depending on the type or degree of workplace hazards, all observations, identified hazards, and corrective actions must be documented.

What should general inspections include? An inspection should note housekeeping practices such as items and debris on floors or walkways. Areas under desks and tables should allow proper ergonomic seating and access for emergency protection. Stored items should be properly stacked on shelving units firmly attached to walls with heavier items on bottom shelves and lighter items on top. Top shelf items require 18" clearance from fire sprinkler systems and unsecured stacked floor items should not exceed 72" in height.

Site inspections should check that floor surfaces are clean and free of slip hazards. Wet surfaces should be covered with non-slip materials and any holes in floors, sidewalks, carpets or other walking surfaces should be repaired, covered or marked as a hazard. Extension cords should be used only temporarily and not cross walkways without hazard notification signs. Additional power outlets should be installed if extension cords are necessary on a permanent basis or there are "daisy chained" power strips.

Equipment, tools and power cords should be examined to insure good operating condition with protective guards and coverings in place. Defective items should be tagged and taken out of service.

Electric panels should be checked to have 36" clearance in front. The inspection should also assure that chemicals are properly stored in compatible classes.

Whenever or wherever personal protective equipment is required, notices of hazards and requirements should be clearly posted in affected areas. And, the personal protective equipment required should be readily available, clean, and in good condition. Restricted areas should also be marked as such.

Emergency exits and eyewash stations should be clearly identifiable from any point in the work area and clear from debris or other access impediments. Doors that are not exits should be labeled to avoid confusion. And, fire doors should not be propped open. The inspection should include annual fire alarm and sprinkler system testing with monthly testing of fire extinguisher for charge and annually checking for recharge. And, first aid kits should be periodically inspected to assure supplies have been replenished or replaced.

Strip For Your Life (Insurance)

Ok, admit it, you decided to read this article because you saw "strip" in the title.
In actual fact this is a serious article about health issues. If you're still interested, please read on.

As you're most probably aware weight or rather, lack or excess of it seems to be a timeless and tireless topic to the media. To be fair it is something the majority of us are very interested about hearing.

For this article I will concentrate on the latter, excess and in a society some would say "of excess" it is fast becoming a huge problem (pardon the pun), especially to already overloaded resources such as the NHS

You've most probably all heard the scare tactics used by the government to urge you to lose weight but the worrying thing is they're basing this information on fact.
Increasing your body fat levels to high levels inversely increases the chances of heart disease and cholesterol (both much publicised). There are many other conditions that people don't realise are associated with high body fat levels, such as; Diabetes, certain types of Tumour, joint problems (for example Arthritis), conditions related to the liver and many, many others.

You really have to ask yourself "do I want to run the risk?" This one little word is what leads us to a problem. This is how insurance companies calculate their policy prices, by working out how much of a "risk" you are to them. If you apply for a life insurance policy you could face up to a 50% increase if they deem you to be overweight. This is called a "loading fee" and is the insurance company's way of charging you for being more risky to them as a policy holder.

Look into loading fee's a little further and you will find that an insurance company can charge you anywhere between 50-200% extra as a result of one being added to the policy.

Many other factors can result in one of these fees's being added, such as, pre-existing medical conditions, family members with related medical conditions, even activities such as rock climbing, etc.

What can you do to avoid this fee, well for starters, just losing half a stone and upwards could make all the difference. If you still find yourself receiving poor quotes and large loading fee's on your term assurance after this, try another company, try a few if it helps.

The old adage "there's always something better" is very much true of the insurance industry. The biggest and most important thing to remember is this; always supply every bit of relevant detail you can think of when applying for any insurance policy, when applying online, always ring the insurance company to give these extra details. Without this you could find yourself uninsured when you really need it!

Understanding Insurance: Term Insurance

Term insurance is one of respective types of insurance. In its most basic form, this type of insurance covers only a specific clip frame. The term of the insurance coverage is the lone clip in which the insurance company will have got to pay out should the insurance be needed. It is most commonly used in life insurance. And, it is one of the most cheap ways to insure. But, what do this the right choice?

Term insurance is used by many. It is one of the least expensive ways to remain insured. The manner it works is simple. You pay for the insurance as you would any other insurance. In this case, we will speak about life insurance that is term. During the clip time period that you are covered, if you should die, the insurance company will pay out as described in the policy. But, if the term of the insurance runs out and then you die, there is no wage out by the insurance company. It only covers death that happens during a specific clip period.

Why would anyone desire to take out this type of policy? And, isn’t it costly to pay for insurance that would one twenty-four hours just be gone? The fact is that this type of insurance is very important. See why you need insurance in the first place. Should you die, you’ll desire to do certain your household have an income to trust on. You’ll desire to do certain that your home is paid for and your measures are met. But, more than than likely, the clip time period that you are concerned with is that of the old age that you are working. Because this is usually the clip clip time period when you need the most coverage, this is the time period that most term insurance is taken out for.

Deciding whether this is the right type of insurance for your needs is necessary. It takes quite a spot of understanding, but apprehension the difference between each type of insurance will assist you to do the right choice. Possibly, term insurance is the right pick for you.

Why an Individual Disability Insurance Policy Is Better Than Group LTD

Millions of people are insured by group long term disability plans. However, there are drawbacks to this coverage and situations where the policies will not pay. Unfortunately, many group plans do not pay for the type of disability that is most likely to occur. Theoretically, you are covered. But are you?

Let's contrast some of the more important contract provisions in a group LTD plan and an individual policy. You can come to your own conclusion.

Can the Coverage Be Cancelled?

Group LTD plans can be cancelled in two ways. First, the insurance company can cancel the plan if their claim experience is bad. Second, your employer could decide to terminate the plan at any time. If a company can downsize, it certainly can curtail benefits.

When you buy an individual disability insurance policy, the insurance company can never cancel the policy. You alone decide when you want to coverage to stop.

Can Premiums Be Increased?

If the insurer sees an increase in claims, it will raise the premium on a group LTD plan. Individual policy premiums are frozen for the duration.

Portability

What if you change employers? You cannot take your group plan with you. By contrast, your individual disability income plan is completely portable since it is not tied to any company employer.

Today, the average person will change jobs 7 times during their career. There is no assurance that each employer will offer a long term disability plan.

Taxation

Group long term disability benefits are taxable just like income. Individual policy benefits are 100% tax-free.

Offsets

Group LTD benefits are reduced by the amount of benefits received from Social Security, Workers Compensation, state cash sickness program, etc. Individual policies have no offsets.

Own Occupation

Individual policies have the ability to protect the individual in his or her "own occupation." Typical wording for the definition of disability for group LTD, as it pertains to occupation, goes something like this: "For the first two years, the inability to perform each and every duty of your occupation; after two years, the inability to engage in any gainful occupation."

This means you are covered in your occupation for two years. After that, if you can sell pencils on the street, the insurance company will not pay.

Certain occupations can be covered forever by individual policies. For example, if a urologist becomes disabled to the extent he or she cannot practice the specialty of urology, but could teach urology at a medical school, the individual policy would continue to pay the disability benefits. Moreover, the doctor would receive both the individual policy disability benefits and the medical school teaching salary.

Presumptive Disability

Disabilities that are "presumptive" are those where the insurance company will pay the full benefit even if the person is fully employed. Examples are the loss of use of two limbs, loss of sight, hearing or speech. A person who is in a wheel chair because they lost the use of their legs in a car accident is a typical example. This is a benefit provided by individual policies, but not by group LTD plans.

Partial Disability

This is the most important distinction because over 70% of the claims filed at insurance company home offices are for partial disability. The person is not completely unable to work. Their disability may only allow them to work a certain number of hours per day and their salary is adjusted downward accordingly.

An individual plan pays a percentage of the total benefit that represents the percentage of income lost. For example, if a person making $5,000 a month with a $3,000 a month individual policy benefit loses 60% of their income due to a disability, the policy would pay 60% of $3,000 or $1,800. Most group plans do not pay for a partial disability.

Conclusion

You have seen that group long term disability income plans can be cancelled, premiums waived and lack portability. Benefits are taxable and are offset by other plans. They posses no ability to protect an occupation and, most important, most do not pay for the type of claim most likely to occur: partial disability.

Individual disability insurance plans do not have these limitations. They cost more, but when it comes to disability coverage, you get what you pay for. If you get in an accident or develop a sickness that inhibits your ability to put food on the table, your thoughts are not focused on what the premium is for your disability income insurance coverage. You simply want to know when your disability check will arrive in the mail.

Business Insurance; Information you will need

When you begin a small business you will need to have got insurance. You would be wise to shop around. Ternary Type A rated carriers like Farmers Insurance, State Farm and All State are definitely put to get quotes from, but also be certain to check out your local independent insurance agents as well. When shopping for a quote there is some things you will need to know. For case you SIC codification and business category. If you are involved in more than than one, it pays to look at both SIC codifications to see which class is preferred by the agents underwriters. Some SIC codifications many insurance companies will not even touch. For case Car Washes, Amusement Parks, Aviation Businesses and security companies. But there are insurance companies who specialise in these areas. Perhaps you might wish to pollex through a recent trade diary to see which insurance companies are actively seeking clients in those categories. You will be glad you did; also make not forget to check online as well.

You will also need other information when shopping for quotes; you will be asked such as things as: Address of Business Office; are you running your business out of a home or commercial location. If it is a commercial office; what is the square feet of business location, client area. What is the age of the building; is it made of masonry or framework construction? How many floors? What types of business tenants inhabit or share the building? The chief concern of the underwriter’s inch some businesses is; where the stores are stored? Especially if chemicals are used in your business. If you are a mobile service; are the chemicals stored on a vehicle? Where is the vehicle parked.

Insurance agents will also inquire you how many old age have got you been in business? How much experience make you have; what are your proposed and current gross annual receipts? How many full clip and portion clip employees make you have? If you have got mobile service vehicles you will need the full name, societal security number and drivers licence number for all employees who will be drive the vehicles. The more than than current our files, the happier the investment bankers and the more information you convey with you when shopping for quotes the happier the agent. Happiness compares to a better deal, more than shopping on the agents portion and better human relationships will all the political parties concerned. Think on this when shopping for Business Insurance.

Structured Settlement - Guaranteed Income for those with Disabilities

Up until twenty years ago, anyone who won a lawsuit as a result of a claim involving worker’s compensation, wrongful death or accident had to accept a lump sum payment as their compensation. The payment would be intended to be invested, with the beneficiary living off of the proceeds for as long as their recovery was expected to take. In many cases, this type of settlement works fine, but in other cases, the results are a disaster.It is difficult enough for someone who has been through the trauma of an accident or illness to have to adjust to a new lifestyle without having to also become an expert in the art of financial investing. If you have been active all of your life and you suddenly find yourself in a wheelchair and having to handle assets of several hundred thousand dollars or more, you could be overwhelmed. You could hire someone to handle the investments for you as well as the tax issues, but what if the person you hired wasn’t trustworthy? What if you hired a greedy relative who took all of the money? What if you hired someone incompetent? These problems, and statistics that show that people who receive large sums as compensation for accident, injury, or wrongful death often spend all of their money in a short period of time, led to Congressional action in 1982 that amended the Federal tax code to allow for structured settlements. A structured settlement is simply an agreement between the responsible party and the injured party that the payments will be made over time, rather than in a lump sum. The two parties reach an agreement, the party responsible for payment purchases an annuity, usually through an insurance company, and the injured party will receive steady income over a period of years or even a lifetime.The payments are adjusted for inflation; the sum of all of the payments will be greater than if the amount had been paid as a lump sum. Because the payments are purchased up front as an annuity, the paying party actually pays less than the sum of the payments, as well. The result is generally a win-win situation, with the injured party receiving a steady stream of income over as long a period of time as necessary, while the paying party does not have to worry about making monthly or annual payments. While a structured settlement is not the ideal payment arrangement in all situations where a long term injury settlement occurs, it does work well in many cases where a lump sum payout might be undesirable.

When Should You Get Your Life Protected With Insurance?

There comes a point in everyone's life when they start thinking that they should get protected and take out some life insurance. We all know the old music hall jokes about insuring your husband or wife just so that you can collect the insurance, but it does pay to be insured.

Compare Life Insurance Rates Online Life insurance can mean different things to different companies. For some, it should perhaps read death insurance because all that your relatives are going to get are the funeral costs and maybe a lump sum. This is why it makes sense to go visit an independent broker or have a good look online so that you can compare insurance prices and policies.Some life insurance might look cheap when you start out but if the percentage rate goes up every year, you could find yourself paying out more money or getting back less than you thought. Life insurance policies have different premium rates. The premium is the amount you pay every month or every year. If you decide to stop paying your premiums, there is no guarantee that you will ever get any of your money back. These are sometimes called lapsed policies; people might think that they're insured but if they haven't kept up regular payments, there could be nothing at the end of it.

Life insurance should be about life, not just death. Some policies have built-in protection if you have an accident or if you are off work for any length of time through no fault of your own. Other policies will pay you some money if you have to spend time in hospital. This means that when you compare life insurance, don't compare on price alone. Make it your business to find out exactly what your policy offers and how much it is going to cost.

If you have a family, you might want to take out life insurance that pays your funeral costs and enough money to your family to ensure that they can still have some sort of decent living standard if something happens to you.

When Should You Get Protected?There is a tendency when you're young to think that you will live forever and that life insurance is for old people. But what will happen if you are suddenly taken ill and unable to work? You might be able to survive on sickness benefit but you wouldn't have a very good standard of living. Under these circumstances, the right sort of insurance could make all the difference. Just be sure to do a comparison before you buy.

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