Ed Hinerman On Life Insurance

When Your Life Insurance Agent Quits Calling!

I was visiting with a person Friday about his experience applying for life insurance through a “mega agency”. He applied last August and ran into an issue with an elevated PSA on his labs. The company postponed the application until he had a urologist’s workup, including a biopsy to rule out prostate cancer.

This person complied and had the biopsy and provided the negative results to the company and has now not heard from the agent, agency or company in over two months. No approval or decline. Just nothing.

I know I’ve ragged on the big on line agencies before and suggested that a person is better served by an independent agent. The situation above is just another example about how bigger isn’t better. Not getting an approval, even with the new results is possible, but not informing your client as to the end result is not acceptable. Not shopping it and keeping your client informed as to how things are going is not acceptable. Being too busy or too big to provide personal service is, well, too big offering bad service.

Compare that experience with the standard protocol in our office. Once an application starts, the client hears from either the agent or the staff weekly until the policy is declined or in force. If it is declined and it is shoppable, I stay in touch with the client weekly until we either find an offer or we exhaust all attempts.

After a policy is in force, we stay in touch annually. With most of the on line giants you will never hear from them again. That is simply unacceptable service.

Bottom line. It won’t take more time or money to use an independent agent rather than an on line behemoth. You will be served rather than sold. The advice will be purer in that most on line superstores have special contracts and favor certain companies. This doesn’t lower your price, but rather increases their commission. They may say they represent all of the big companies, but amazingly their recommendations will almost always come back to the same spot.

We have not reached a point where personal service is no longer valuable.

Add comment February 9th, 2008

I Found Someone More Ignorant About Life Insurance Than Suze Orman!

Well, I certainly haven’d hidden the fact that my opinion of Suze Orman’s opinion on all matters life insurance is lower than a lizard’s belly. She is product ignorant and a few bubbles off when it comes to common sense on the subject.

Now comes Walter Updegrave who has earned himself the title of Senior Editor at Money Magazine. Mr Updegrave has proven himself to be the male equal of Suze Orman. He may even be a few steps ahead just because of the title he has attained and the expectation that he should know what he’s talking about. I honestly don’t think many people other than Oprah buy into Suze to any great extent.

Mr Updegrave wrote an article about life insurance for children, actually answering a letter from someone who had received a mail solicitation for children’s whole life insurance. His response was, like Suze, product ignorant and painted with such a broad brush that he gives the impression that 1. He knows what he’s talking about and 2. One size does fit all…..always.

He is obviously under the impression that 1. All children’s life insurance is whole life with cash value. 2. All American’s that don’t have health insurance can afford the final expenses of a child’s untimely death. And 3. He doesn’t seem to understand that guaranteeing a child’s insurability is worth something. In a post some time ago I made my case for children’s insurance.

Bottom line. Mr Updegrave should do his homework before professing expertise in an area he is obviously a bit short in. Children’s life insurance is a gift.

Add comment February 9th, 2008