Life Insurance Selling

Brokers and agents will need to play a greater role in educating workers about the very real risks of unexpected death or health issues and the growing diversity of life insurance products that can benefit policyholders even while they are still alive.

By The NumBers

ONLY 13%

of consumers believe they or a family member will experience a serious illness, such as cancer, in the future. The American Cancer Society estimates that men have slightly less than a 1 in 2 lifetime risk of developing cancer. It’s 1 in 3 for women.

Voluntary life solution often
overlooked

Now is an excellent time to start a conversation with business clients about life insurance solutions that are not only financially attractive, but also provide needed protection for their workforces.

A solution that often goes over-

“Brokers and
agents will need
to play a greater
role in educating
workers about
the very
real risks of
unexpected
death or health
issues and the
growing diversity
of life insurance
products that
can benefit
policyholders
even while they
are still alive.”

looked is voluntary life insurance. Though it can be used as a stand-alone policy, the purpose of voluntary life is to supplement existing life policies to attain financial security and keep it.

Voluntary life insurance options are simple, flexible and have no direct cost to employers. They help clients and their workers address a number of concerns, including:

•Coverage in retirement: Many Americans have been forced to delay retirement and rejoin or extend their stay in the workforce as a result of the financial crisis. Voluntary life insurance offers whole and 10- year term life policy options that extend to age 70. These choices can cover retirement-aged Americans longer than before, allowing them to breathe a little easier when it comes to financial stability.

• Unemployment: Maintaining life insurance coverage in the face of layoffs is another serious concern stemming from the economic uncertainty of recent years. Individual voluntary life insurance policies are portable. Whether a policyholder is laid off or decides to leave his or her company, he or she doesn’t need to rush into another job simply to regain life insurance coverage.

• Access to cash: In any economy,
access to cash is important. Many
voluntary life insurance policies
begin to accumulate cash value as
early as three years into the policy.
This money can be borrowed against
for a variety of different reasons —
from starting a business to helping
fund a child’s education.

Tom Morey, a 16-year insurance industry veteran, is Aflac’s vice president of Product Development. He oversees designs, pricing and execution, including product development, product positioning and corporate bids. Visit aflacforbrokers.com, call (888) 861-0251, or e-mail brokerrelations@ aflac.com to learn more.