Don’t Forget To Tell Someone!!

Amazing to me the number of people who die with life insurance in force and who spaced out two little details, telling someone that there is insurance and telling them where to find the policy.

Because our batting average is less than 100% for turning contacts into in force policies, that means there are a lot of people out there who received information from us but chose to go a different direction or chose not to do anything at all. I get calls several times a year from their next of kin letting me know that they passed away and that they had information on file indicating that they had worked with me on life insurance.

In most of those cases there isn’t any life insurance in force, at least through us, or they would have found a policy instead of quotes and a business card, or email discussing life insurance. But the important point is that, something in force or not, someone should have been told. Usually the best person to tell is the beneficiary or the person that would have been beneficiary if they had put a policy in force.

Too many important discussions don’t happen in marriages (And they all said DUH). For men especially, the whole life insurance issue really seems to be hard to discuss even though wives would like to know that their futures are being considered. It’s hard to decide to even start looking into it (the immortality phase), and then it’s often hard to talk about when you find out you’re not Superman and you can’t get the rate you see on TV (denial phase). And then you really don’t want to talk about it when you decide that because the rate is higher you decide you’re just not going to apply or put it in force (afraid you’re going to get your rear end kicked phase) . After all, who wants to tell there wife that their future security is worth $30 a month, but not $50?

And lastly, you really don’t want to talk about it if you happen to get declined. Then, and this is really hard for us guys, we would have to admit thatwe not only aren’t perfect, but we aren’t a good risk (embarrassment phase).

And that is the nature of guys. Not real bright, but we get loved anyway. So, to return that love, blow off all those phases and let her know you love her and because you care you are going to apply for life insurance. Talk to her about what she thinks is a good amount and then double it. Women have these things too. One is they don’t want to seem greedy. Then, if things don’t end up exactly like you expected, talk to her about it and make a decision to put as much as you can safely budget in force instead of getting your ego wounded and blowing the whole thing off.

And then, when you get the policy and put it in force, give it to your wife and tell her to keep it someplace where she’ll know how to find it and tell her it means a lot to you to keep it in force so you would really like her help making sure you pay the premiums. Guys are also famous for lapsing insurance.

If you get declined, don’t give up. Get an independent agent and go over all the details of the decline and get er done!!!

Bottom line. Timing is weird sometimes. I just got a call (literally just before I started this paragraph) from a widow that just received the death benefit check from a term insurance policy her husband got through me. She thanked me for being so persistent with him and encouraging him to put a rated policy in force rather than blow it off. She was so grateful that he did what he did for her. Guys, they deserve it. It’s the least we can do for all they have to put up with.