I believe there is a divine purpose in the work you do (and hopefully we facilitate). James 1:27 states that “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…” That happens to be my faith, but similar instruction runs through many of the religions of the world, and many who eschew organized religious institutions still embrace this as a moral ideal. I believe there is nowhere else in business that this is accomplished better than in the life insurance industry.
In the past, the biggest “PR” obstacle to overcome seemed to be the tenaciousness of the life insurance salesman-being trapped in an elevator with one portrayed as a thing of mock horror. Today our industry seems under attack as a greedy, uncaring, elite club benefiting only a rich and powerful clientele. Sound bites from the administration and many elected officials either subtly or directly seem bent on swaying public opinion to an “us against them” perception of the insurance industry-particularly evident most recently in the PR battle surrounding the Affordable Care Act. Although I have my own bias and set of fears surrounding Obamacare and its potential mutant offspring, relevant to this particular rant is the fact that party line pontificating most often sounds something like “We are no longer going to let your insurance company…”followed by whatever litany of perceived sins seems most appropriate for the mob they are seeking to inflame. Seldom if ever is the word “health” inserted immediately preceding “insurance company.” While I just as strongly object to the demonization of health insurers, my point here is that there is a trickle down (perhaps “torrent” would be more apropos!) to all forms of insurance, life insurance included.
Underlying this vulnerability is what I consider objectionable anti-capitalist dogma and a host of damaging suppositions becoming more widely treated as truths. Predominately that profit is inherently evil, rather than the fuel by which goods and services are able to be delivered. The natural extension of this is that those who have more are evil, jealously hoarding wealth while callously ignoring the needs of the less fortunate, rather than those who have worked hard, innovated, and justly deserve the fruit of their labors for their own use and to improve the lives of their heirs.
I harbor little delusion that my philosophy is fraught with its own set of inconsistencies, ignorance and faulty premises, but the question I pose is how do we as an industry combat what amounts to class warfare and reinforce the core benefit that only life insurance can provide: help to families in need due to the premature loss of a primary breadwinner. I’ll bet many if not most of you have had the bittersweet privilege of delivering a death claim to a grieving widow (or helping someone who’s become disabled or requires long term care file claims and receive those benefits). Few if any of those recipients view those policies as unnecessary, ill-advised or naively helping to feed a predatory, monolithic institution. But despite the best efforts of the Life Happens organization and others using real life examples of the benefits of insurance to sway the public to action for the benefit of their families and to change public opinion about life insurance (and disability income), these voices pale in comparison to the reach of ill-considered phrases broadcast on virtually all mainstream media outlets.
Every dollar that can be sent to Life Happens directly helps (www.lifehappens.org). But what else? On the company side, a shift back to consumer advertising focused on serving families in times of crisis rather than wealth accumulation and retirement security couldn’t hurt. What about you and your practice? Do you seek out middle and lower income individuals to help them protect their families from need and see their wishes for their children’s futures realized?
You have a responsibility to feed your own family and the right, I believe, to grow a legacy through hard work and dedication to service for your clients. Policies for the less affluent yield lower commissions, naturally, and the time commitment to see them through from prospect to application to issue is time that invariably could be spent more profitably. Some wholesalers have term platforms for agents that can help with these concerns, our friends at Broker’s Service Marketing Group and their tioTERM platform, to name just one. Those working diligently in worksite sales impact a great number of these less affluent consumers. But these things aside, the more pressing question is: Do you as a life insurance professional have a responsibility to seek out these prospects and work to find them coverage?
In contrast to the picture I believe many would paint of our industry and those working in it, I have found most agents, wholesalers and carriers I have come in contact with to be very generous in their support of a variety of charitable causes. I just returned from the BSMG charity golf tournament where their carriers, staff and agents raise an average of $70,000 per year to divide among several local charities in the Providence, Rhode Island area. I’m confident many of you are not slow in showing monetary support and likely volunteer time for causes you embrace. Many may tithe to your faith-based organizations to support the good work they do. Some churches and religious institutions have found that technological solutions, like Tithe.ly, have made it easier for their congregations to support them monetarily.
Let me float this as a way you can, one prospect and family at a time, both change the perception of our industry and fulfill the divine purpose of the protection life insurance offers: Tithe your time to reach those less-than-affluent families and help them find the protection life insurance offers. [SPH]
