Life/Financial Services

Many of your insureds will be putting a lot of money into annuities this month, next month, and for many months to come. Based on national sales figures, this is a near-guarantee. Will they buy through your agency or from a competitor? If you're an agency decision maker, the answer lies in your hands.

ANNUITIES: MODULE V-G THE PRODUCT Annuities have been called 'upside-down Life insurance,' a phrase that refers to the fact that annuities are designed to pay out w...

I recently read four news items that relate to how consumers perceive Life insurance:
Insurance companies are “horrible” at getting people to understand what they’re talking about.
Surveys show that insurers are at, or near, the bottom of simplicity ratings.
More than 60% of people who own Life insurance have no idea what they own or how it works; and 29% said that although they need more insurance, no one has asked them about it.
More than one in four (26%) of Americans prefer to buy Life insurance through the internet, mail, or over the phone.

BAD TIMES CAN LEAD TO GOOD SALES Life insurance products are necessities, of course, in good times or bad. In addition to selling annuities, there are two easy steps that Life producers can take in ...

BANKS: IF WE CAN'T BEAT 'EM, SHOULD WE JOIN 'EM? by Patty Vaughn The Supreme Court decision, Barnett Bank v. Florida Insurance Commissioner, has created a plethora of new partnerships. T...

BUILDING PROFITABILITY WITH LIFE AND HEALTH SALES by Carol Hammes Although most independent insurance agencies sell some Life and Health insurance, only about one-fourth of them have a separate ...

CHOOSING A HEALTH CARRIER: ELIGIBILITY, BENEFITS, AND UTILIZATION by Patrick Powers Today it's almost impossible to read the newspaper, watch the news, or attend a social function without h...

COMMUNICATION BUILDS TRUST by Bill Cates Why we all need honest communication in our business and personal lives. In his book Just Be Honest, Steven Gaffney believes that withhold...

Very few employees will leave your agency simply for more money. They will usually have other valid (to them) reasons that, when also combined with a higher salary, push them to seek employment elsewhere. If a review of the compensation survey results (from another Middleton letter) confirmed that your agency is paying people within a reasonable range of 'average,' the level of compensation should not be of major concern. What you do have to worry about is how you are paying those dollars and how your management philosophy and style complement the overall compensation administration plan.

COMPENSATION: MODULE III-B INTRODUCTION Producers and CSRs must be compensated for Life production, but how? It seems there are as many ways to structure a compen...