Velocify Announces Elite Award Winners, Whose Sales Breakthroughs Inspired Top-Level Performance - Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet

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March 14, 2017 Newswires
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Velocify Announces Elite Award Winners, Whose Sales Breakthroughs Inspired Top-Level Performance

PR Newswire

LOS ANGELES, March 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Velocify, the leading sales acceleration platform, today announced its inaugural 2017 Elite Award winners, recognizing customers who made sales acceleration breakthroughs that inspire top-level performance. The award winners – First Direct Lending, Plymouth Rock Assurance, and Southern Careers Institute – shared stories of data-driven accomplishments using the Velocify platform to make leaps beyond past performance and industry norms.

"We want to do more than provide powerful sales technology; we want to uncover and promote new ways for sales organizations to improve performance; our customers play a key role in this effort," said Velocify CEO and President Nick Hedges. "The 2017 Velocify Elite Award winners offer excellent examples that can help all companies that want the best results from their sales teams."

Velocify Awards Winners' Performance Highlights:

  • 66 percent year-over-year growth in sales following implementation of Velocify smart dialing and prioritization capabilities
  • 15 percent annual rise in lead flow and enrollments in 2016
  • Three-year expansion from five representatives in a single office to 175 representatives across three national offices

First Direct Lending, a direct-to-consumer mortgage lender, launched in 2014 with a single office and just five loan consultants using Velocify. Since launching they have leveraged the sales acceleration platform to grow to more than 175 users in three offices across the country.

With Velocify, the lender was able to test contact and email strategies, quickly on-board and train new salespeople, easily integrate with new marketing partners, and measure campaign and user performance – all without drawing on precious IT resources. First Direct Lending, which is currently licensed in 26 states, describes Velocify as the "central location for ensuring we give customers a great experience, while maximizing sales efficiency."

The property and casualty insurance carrier Plymouth Rock Assurance, described how Velocify helped the sales team get maximum value out of thousands of purchased leads each month, dramatically improving performance year over year. Using Velocify's Dial-IQ, Shotgun Connect, and Priority View capabilities, Plymouth Rock cut its response times from hours to seconds and enabled trainers to spend more time coaching reps on how to talk with customers rather than continually reviewing follow-up best practices. After adding these new capabilities in 2014, the insurer saw quotes issued rise 103 percent and sales go up 66 percent the following year. In 2016 Plymouth Rock continued to build momentum with a six percent increase in quotes and another 10 percent increase in sales.

Finally, Southern Careers Institute (http://scitexas.edu), which provides employer-tailored education across business, medical, skilled-trades, technology and cosmetology programs, shared how Velocify was central to nurturing relationships with prospective students and winning back former students. SCI experienced a 15 percent year-over-year increase in enrollments in 2016, and was able to add key integrations and new processes with Velocify for its core campuses, online classes, and technology boot camps.

Each of the Velocify Elite Award winners will be celebrated at an upcoming award ceremony at LeadsCon Las Vegas, March 20-22 at the Paris Hotel Las Vegas. The award ceremony will be held at on March 21st at 5 p.m. at the Velocify booth.

About Velocify
Velocify® is the leading sales acceleration platform. The company helps more than 1,500 sales teams sell more by streamlining and optimizing the sales process from start to finish. Velocify's platform helps sales teams prospect with more precision, accelerate lead engagement, and implement effective workflows, ultimately helping sales teams find and convert more leads.

Velocify was voted the best software for sales teams by customers on G2Crowd and has been recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in North America by Deloitte and Inc. For more information about Velocify or its technology, please visit the company's website and blog, or follow the company on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or YouTube.

 

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/velocify-announces-elite-award-winners-whose-sales-breakthroughs-inspired-top-level-performance-300423206.html

SOURCE Velocify

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Critical care riders: the living benefit more clients should understand

Image shows the words, "Critical Care Riders."
The best candidates for critical care riders are clients whose livelihoods would be halted during a medical crisis. (This image was created with AI)
By Anna Baluch

Critical care riders transform life insurance from a product that only pays out when someone passes away into a policy with living benefits that protect the insured during their lifetime.

“If the insured survives a major medical event, such as a stroke or cancer, a critical care rider can provide a portion of their death benefit to help cover immediate expenses,” said Jake Tamarkin, co-founder and president at Everyday Life Insurance

This cash can be used entirely at their discretion. Essentially, it protects the client’s broader financial plan and savings from being wiped out by a serious medical condition.

Industry data tracked by LIMRA shows that traditional individual critical illness in-force premiums sit in the billions, with newer combination policies (like life insurance bundled with critical or chronic care riders) seeing a 21% premium increase year-over-year in recent industry reporting.

“Critical riders support and care for the insured, and may lift incredible financial burdens when they’re faced with critical illness, disability and mortality,” explained Josh Anderson, president and CEO of Eagle Legacy & Financial.

Common misconceptions about these products

The most common myth is that health and disability insurance make these critical care riders unnecessary or redundant. In reality, those policies rarely cover deductibles or non-medical living expenses.

Also, many individuals mistake a critical care rider for a terminal illness rider and believe that one must be terminally ill to collect. This is simply not true.

Additionally, some believe the payout is “free money” rather than an early payout that reduces the death benefit.

Lastly, critical care riders aren’t only for those with limited funds.

Even if someone has substantial financial resources, a critical rider could offset their medical costs and help preserve the nest egg they’ve worked so hard to build.

When they make sense

The best candidates for critical riders are clients whose livelihoods would be halted during a medical crisis.

This includes self-employed individuals and small business owners who lack paid sick leave or group disability benefits. Professionals with young families and high expenses fit the bill as well.

“For these clients, the rider acts as an essential safety net to protect their lifestyle and keep their goals on track,” Tamarkin explained.

According to Anderson, a significant tax-free benefit could open the doors to advanced treatments that extend their lifespan. It could also allow them to support or even spend additional quality time with loved ones.

The advisor role

Critical care riders and accelerated death benefits can add cost to a policy. However, in many cases, some form of a critical care rider is built into a life insurance plan, and individuals can choose to pay an additional fee for more comprehensive coverage.

Once an advisor determines a client might be a good fit for a critical care rider, Tamarkin recommends comparing its cost to the cost of standalone critical illness policies, which are significantly more expensive.

Then, weigh the rider's marginal cost against the high chance of a client surviving a major illness before retirement.

“Finally, contrast the small premium with the major financial setbacks that can occur after a medical event,” Tamarkin explained.

If possible, tell a personal story or share an example that could be eye-opening for the client and truly convey the value of a critical care rider.

It’s also essential to read the fine print and clearly explain that exercising the rider reduces the benefit left to beneficiaries.

“Many advisors gloss over the survival period, or assume every medical condition,” Tamarkin said.

To avoid mistakes like these, frame the benefit as an early partial payout of the death benefit, rather than an addition to it. Set realistic expectations by reviewing the policy’s named qualifying illnesses and waiting periods at policy delivery.

© Entire contents copyright 2026 by InsuranceNewsNet.com Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted without the expressed written consent from InsuranceNewsNet.com.

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