By identifying your ideal client, thinking outside the box, and playing to your strengths, you’ll be working smarter, not harder, to build your business. The result: a client pool tailored to your preferences and strengths, allowing you to boost your portfolio long-term.
Read moreWebsite updates and redesigns are an inevitable part of doing digital business. Here are some tips on how to update your sign without alienating your clients.
When Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election there was a belief among a wide swath of tax pundits that…
Here are three misunderstandings that can often develop surrounding income annuities, as well as insights that can help employers leverage these benefits to promote long-term financial wellness in a post-pandemic world.
Customers want real-time access to their agents, immediate updates to claims filed online and the ability to access policy information at the push of a button.
Life doesn’t always work out according to plan, which is why term insurance may not be the best choice for the long term.
Start the conversation by looking to understand what your clients’ goals and objectives are, along with their risk tolerance, and concerns about outliving their income.
Fixed and fixed index annuities, with their guaranteed income benefit options, can put clients’ minds at ease because they provide an income stream that annuity owners cannot outlive.
Proper estate planning can help ensure clients’ wishes are carried out exactly as intended in the event of a death or a serious illness, as having a clearly stated plan in place can provide clear direction and potentially avoid any disputes that otherwise might occur. For same-sex couples, this may be even more crucial.
For those who are part of the transgender community, gender dysphoria (a clinical diagnosis) should not interfere with the ability to obtain coverage.
This is an opportunity for us to step up to the plate and help our clients understand this issue and to provide them with solid planning and innovative products to meet this growing need.
In order to achieve greater modernization in our industry and reap the associated benefits – including reduced risk and more efficient processes – there are three areas in which we should collectively focus our efforts.
Studies show men are reluctant to visit the doctor. How supplemental health insurance can provide that extra nudge.
Salary is no longer enough to keep employees. During the pandemic, 30% of workers changed jobs for better benefits.
With competing financial priorities and new concerns around health and wellness, consumers desire more flexibility in their insurance products. Life insurance can provide it.
Increasing online access to eye doctors as we have with other types of primary care, not only will benefit usage growth, but research suggests patient comfort will benefit as well.
There are online tools available to help not only gauge “what’s hot” at a high level, but also what specific topics consumers are looking for online as they relate to financial services, insurance, and retirement products.
Combine market volatility with the potential for a client outliving their money during retirement and you have both a challenge and an opportunity.
As Baby Boomer advisors age, business continuity and succession planning are on everyone’s radar. The average age of financial advisors in the United States exceeds 50, and, according to Cerulli and Associates, less than 12% of advisors are under the age of 35.
Ways to make your insurance sales process more efficient while increasing customer satisfaction.
With “normal” finally within sight, brokers and their customers are coming to grips with the ripple effect the COVID-19 pandemic has had on every aspect of the health care industry — and, in many respects, how America does business.
Why offering better vision benefits will help boost employee usage, lower benefits costs for employers and workers, and retain the best employees.
It’s not uncommon to hear responses like “I’ll think about it,” “I have enough insurance” or even “I don’t like insurance.”
Here are some of our lessons learned that might be helpful to those already in this business, and to those contemplating entry into it.
Even among workers who have access to disability insurance, there’s a disconnect between their financial concerns and how to use insurance products to address those concerns.
Amid a challenging labor market and unsettling unemployment figures, the insurance industry may provide opportunity for job placement and career growth during this challenging time.
Despite consumers’ widespread adoption of digital channels to engage with insurers, most insurance sales still finalize offline or in-person.
By guiding your customers through their digital journey, you can build your customers’ confidence in their purchasing decision.
Can government have a role in health care and still preserve the advisor? One insurance professional shares his ideas.
The cannabis industry is growing rapidly, but getting the necessary insurance coverage for this business can be tricky, thanks to a slew of complicated regulations.
A customer-centric claims process is exactly as it sounds: a claims experience that puts the customer at the center of the process.
What are the barriers keeping women from entering and staying in the financial services industry? One industry leader shares her experiences in identifying roadblocks and knocking them down.
But as we hit the one-year anniversary of pandemic-related lockdowns, the lack of clarity in applying business interruption insurance persists as insurance carriers and courts apply policy considerations in strikingly differing manners. This is resulting in wildly varying outcomes for insureds.
The realization that most Americans aren’t ready for retirement has caused many states across our country to take initiative to help increase retirement plan access and savings by implementing state-run programs.
In a competitive market in which advisors are squeezed for costs, the means for differentiation are an advisor’s time and attention.
Some of the proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act could fundamentally shift the way people in our country get their health insurance.
Think about clients who have money in IRAs, annuities or other brokerage accounts that they are using for emergency funds. Instead of leaving the money in a taxable account, consider repositioning those tax-inefficient dollars into a tax-free solution that offers additional leverage.
Although no insurance professional should provide legal advice to clients, they often can provide a nudge to clue the client in on issues that may require legal representation or, at minimum, some legal advice.
Every American knows how critical video meeting platforms like Zoom have been holding our families and workplaces together in the past year. For many agents, learning how to use such programs was the push they needed to catch up with a key technological trend.
There are benefits to controlling an index’s volatility for purposes of index-linked annuities and life insurance.
COVID-19 shed light on several overlooked aspects of health care, such as employee well-being benefits and telemedicine services. In turn, workers started paying closer attention to their health care benefits and asking, “Do I have the coverage I need?”
In our evolving digital world, there is a growing demand from consumers to meet them where they want – and increasingly they want to meet in the social space.
Planners spend their days meeting with clients, working on plans, educating themselves, keeping up with responses to calls and emails, marketing, and trying to find moments to gather their thoughts. The to-do list can feel overwhelming and unapproachable. But, it is possible to organize these tasks and take back control of your time.
To the surprise of many, the Department of Labor allowed the previous administration’s final fiduciary advice regulation to take effect. Financial professionals should consult with their compliance officers or legal advisors for specifics, but here are some key items to address.
Given the current constraints of COVID-19, face-to-face meetings are logistically impossible, and the market is increasingly unpredictable. So how do registered investment advisors learn to navigate the current virtual M&A market?
The outlook for the year ahead is on the upswing. With the Federal Reserve continuing to maintain short-term interest rates near zero and vaccinations increasing in number and availability, the prospect for reopening the economy and returning to normalized growth seems likely.
Digitalizing processes should not be seen as a replacement for the existing agency model. On the contrary: Digital technology should help insurers to automate standard processes and enable the agent as they advise the client to add an extra layer of personalized services.
The Securities and Exchange Commission released the first proposed changes in the rules affecting advisor advertising in 40 years. But what did they change?
Here are four ways to calibrate your team’s culture and help your clients find success.
According to estimates from recordkeepers and employee benefit research organizations, the average retired couple will spend over a quarter million dollars for healthcare and medical expenses in retirement.
If clients become disabled and no longer have an income, it hinders their ability to afford other financial products and can throw a wrench into their retirement planning.
When you consider the real returns of indexed products over a long period of time, including those magic zeros, how much has the purchaser really gained or lost relative to other options such as whole life?
Retirement planning is a long-term strategy. Here are some ways advisors can support their clients’ retirement readiness during times of market uncertainty.
The pandemic has brought numerous struggles and challenges for advisors. But it has opened new opportunities to make connections and to communicate with prospects.
Since today’s customer expects fast and relevant services from any provider, it is time for insurers to ask themselves what they know about their customers, and what they can predict from their customers’ behavior.
