When life gives you lemons…plant more lemon trees
-Brian Leet, MBA, FLMI
To say that the past few weeks/months have presented some challenges to folks would be monumental understatement. Neighbors, family members, friends and the global community have been rocked by the impact of the Novel Coronavirus. Individuals and businesses alike have been faced with unforeseen obstacles.
Many people are using this moment in history to take inventory of what is most important and shift priorities. Not only does this prioritization take place at home, but we’re seeing many businesses address the way that things can be done in order to keep the doors open. For example, there is a local restaurant who was concerned about having their food inventory spoil. Their creative solution involved creating DIY kits and recipes so that people and families could re-create amazing food at home. This helped the restaurant continue to pay their employees.
Financial professionals also need to take inventory. Some in the financial professional world feel that the sudden shift has created obstacles in finding business success. Clients may be reluctant to invest in the stock market, hire new employees or invest in new equipment. And while these changes creates undeniable challenges for some, it’s important to take inventory of the opportunities that are out there. These opportunities will allow you to serve your clients with protecting their incomes AND will help better position you and your business for long-term success.
Inventory of Income Protection Opportunities
- Consider the industries that are thriving right now. Aside from essential physicians and other healthcare providers, mortgage brokers, engineers and accountants are great prospects.
- In the current environment your clients and prospects are acutely aware of the impact a loss of income can have. There could not be a better time to have a conversation about income protection.
- Consider the prior clients that were too busy to prioritize planning. We’ve seen specific examples of business owners and other clients that were too busy to meet. Many of these individuals recognize that proper planning could benefit them and now is a great time for them to take inventory of their own plans
- Leverage technology that’s available:
- Virtual meeting/screen sharing such as Zoom, GoToMeeting, RingCentral
- Electronic applications
- Electronic policy delivery
- Take advantage of the new limits the carriers have offered without requiring an exam. Carriers are now willing to consider up to $10,000/month in coverage without an exam. This is a huge opportunity to help speed up the underwriting process.
The sincere hope is that this time of uncertainty is short lived. Continue to prioritize personal health and safety above all. Our thoughts are with each of our advisors and their clients during this time and our hearts are with those who have been directly, or indirectly impacted by the Coronavirus.
