Life insurance is one of those must own products in our lives. Whether it is a good term life insurance or the cash value policies, unless a person is ultra rich, life insurance is a must. I recommend an experienced independent life insurance broker that can shop the market for several different insurance companies to find the best price for your unique situation. Since you have to buy it anyway, why over pay?
Think about your premiums in these terms. Let’s say you purchase a policy for $100 per month online or from your car insurance agent or health insurance agent who probably uses one or two insurance companies. With an independent life insurance broker that specializes in life and has access to multiple companies may find the exact same policy for $80 per month. That is a savings of $20 per month. Doesn’t sound like that great of a savings does it? But as an example, let’s say the purchase was for a 30 year level term or a guaranteed rate for 30 years. To save $20 per month or $240 per year is a savings over 30 years of $7,200. Why over pay for a product you must have over 30 years?
People ask me why is there so many prices by all of these insurance companies for the exact same product. The easiest way to explain it is with an ordinary deck of playing cards. There are 52 cards in the deck. But with that same deck it is possible to play 1,000’s of card games. How? Simply change the rules and values of the cards and a new game is created. As a consumer unless you know all of the rules of the game then you are very likely to lose this game. An experienced life insurance broker knows the rules of the game and can find the right policy at the right price for your unique situation. Their expertice is free to the consumer as the broker is compensated by the insurance company.
Also beware of shopping online for life insurance quotes. Most of these “free quote sites” are lead capture websites that sell your information to insurance agents. Most of these agents have systems in place that as soon as your information is received their dialer is calling your phone number. I have seen consumers receive as many as 40 calls per hour from starving life insurance agents waiting to “sell” an application. Also the quote you are given online is usually at what is known as best preferred rate. Here is the catch less than 10% of the population will qualify for this rate. This is set for an extremely healthy individual. So why quote it? It is less than half the rate of a standard quote, it is used to “suck in” the unsuspecting consumer to applying for coverage. This philosophy assumes by the time the consumer applies and has a paramed exam. A paramed examiner physically meets with the consumer to take blood, urine, height, weight and medical information. Waits for their medical records to be ordered and received by underwriting, which in most cases takes 4 to 6 weeks, the consumer will be at a point to just accept the much higher rate of standard which is over 60% of the population.
Avoid the games in which you do not know the rules and use an expert for free of charge. Get the right price for the right life insurance product and enjoy the peace of your loved ones deserve.
“I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.”––Sigmund Freud
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Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger and team leader with over 26 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.
what company do you broker with?
Armando, I own Your Friend 4 Life and I have access to about 40 carriers. Is there one in particular you are interested in?
you own my friend for life?
Yessir I do, since January 2011.
I whole heartily agree Tim. It is wrong and I think unethical to just quote a very rate for a ten year term when the client you have never met ask how much. I reply how much is a house?
Think about it for a minute. Houses come on all shapes and sizes. They fill different needs. Some are small and cozy and some are large and roomy allowing the owner to store stuff and have room to spare. And they all cost different amounts.
Life insurance is the same. You can rent or own or lease your policy. Like homes you can own more then one.
What is the purpose of either? Protection. Pure and simple. And the more you own the more you have to protect.
So Mr homeowner do you want a smallprice 10 year term for your lifetime responseability or do you want the protection of a well built fortress of protected assets by having the right policy for you?
Try that question and see if you ever get lapsed or replaced.
Jason, that is a fantastic analogy, I really appreciate you sharing it. That is a great way to explain it to a consumer that thinks purchasing life insurance is as easy as clicking a couple of buttons. People that do buy that way often learn very hard lessons down the road.