|
AppMan©
joined the team at Financial Markets, Inc. in early August, and since then
we have had a great response to the weekly broadcasts. Here are some of
the questions asked of AppMan©
and the proposed solutions by AppMan©.
Agent Question: I often have clients who have health impairments,
such as cancer or heart disease. I know the basics of such impairments,
but what are the important questions to ask a client in order to give them
to most appropriate rate class?
AppMan©
Solution:
You should always start with the basic questions including, date of birth,
any tobacco or nicotine use, height and weight, any medications
currently or within the past 5 years, any driving violations within the
past 5 years, any current or past health issues? If you have a
client who answers yes, don’t hesitate to ask for more details.
Wouldn’t you want to give your clients the correct information the first
time rather than explain why they did not qualify for the rate class you
quoted? When I would meet with clients, I had my handy laptop, and I
would log onto www.fm-inc.com and
“Ask the Doctor” with the specialized health questionnaires.
These questionnaires are also available for you on all of your sales
calls.
Agent Question: Just last week my client was given a tobacco
rating, but when we completed the application together, he stated he didn’t
smoke. I spoke to my client, and he forgot to tell me that he
occasionally has a cigar while playing poker. Are there companies that
will offer a non-tobacco rate for the use of occasional cigars?
AppMan©
Solution:
There are several companies that offer a non-tobacco rate for use of
tobacco other than cigarettes…even all the way up to a best non-tobacco
rate! When you are completing the application, instead of asking your
client if he smokes, you could reword to “Do you currently or
have you in the past used cigarettes, chewing tobacco, cigars, tobacco pipe or
any form of nicotine?” This will help you give your client an accurate quote and
could possibly permit your clients to receive a non-tobacco rate class,
as long as the client is upfront on the tobacco use. Each company will
underwrite your client individually. Keep in mind the companies may order
a urine sample or medical records to confirm nicotine usage.
Agent Question: I am a fairly new agent in the annuity market,
could you please explain how the Rule of 72 works?
AppMan©
Solution:
The Rule of 72 is a simple calculation to determine how long it would take
to double your money. You take 72 divided by the interest rate. Here
is a sample: 72 / 5% interest = 14.4.
So it would take 14.4 years to double your money at 5% interest rate.
Agent Question: I am looking into expanding my life insurance
business into an area that includes a military base. Can I actively
solicit military personnel?
AppMan©
Solution:
You can solicit military personnel, as each company has individual
underwriting guidelines to follow. As a general rule of thumb, if there
are no active orders to travel overseas or to a “hot spot”, you should be
able to include military personnel in your sales. Many companies now have
a Military Solicitation Form that needs to be submitted with the
application. If you do have a
military sale, check with Financial Markets, Inc. to see which company and
product would be most competitive for your client.
Agent Question: Can a client transfer funds from an annuity to a
life insurance policy or vice versa via Section 1035-Exchange?
AppMan©
Solution:
In simple words "Life to Annuity - OK. Annuity to Life - NO WAY."
Funds cannot be transferred via Section 1035-Exchange from a retirement
vehicle (such as a deferred annuity) to a life insurance contract. Your client,
however, can transfer funds via Section 1035-Exchange from a life
insurance contract to
a deferred or immediate annuity contract; but again, your client cannot transfer funds
via Section 1035-Exchange from a deferred annuity contract into a life
insurance policy.
Agent Question: My client has a life insurance policy with a child
rider. The child is turning 18 years old next month. What happens to the
child rider at that time?
AppMan©
Solution:
Most child riders expire at the child’s 25th birthday. Many companies that
offer child riders also include a conversion provision for this rider.
This provision may give your client the option to convert to a permanent policy without evidence of insurability.
Included in this conversion provision, most companies offer the option
to increase the face amount up to a specified multiple at the time of
the conversion.
Agent Question: You recently had an excellent article on Return of
Premium Term. Could you please reiterate how a Return of Premium Term
policy works.
AppMan©
Solution:
A Return of Premium (ROP) Term policy is a form of term life insurance policy. One great benefit of ROP Term is
that at the end of the designated term period, your client will be
eligible to receive a
refund for all premiums paid into the policy, TAX FREE! This is not only
a life insurance policy for your client, it can also be used as a
forced-savings tool. As an agent, this opens up an opportunity for a sale at
the end of the term period. You can present your client the option to
purchase a
single-pay life product or an annuity with the returned
premium. ROP Term provides a type of savings your client can count on, TAX
FREE.
These are only some of the questions asked to AppMan©.
If you have a question to ask AppMan©
directly, please email
AppMan@fm-inc.com, or you can always call your Marketing Team at
Financial Markets, Inc.
Written by: AppMan© |
