Final Expense Life Insurance
Final expense life insurance, sometimes called burial insurance, is a type of insurance that covers the expenses directly associated with the death of the beneficiary.
Why Sell Final Expense?
- Covered costs can range from funeral and burial services, to hospital fees and credit card debt.
- Unfortunately, the average cost of a funeral can range from $7,000 – $9,000, which exceeds the budgets of many seniors and their families.
- With roughly 10,000 Americans turning 65 every year, final expense insurance appeals to a massive market that is constantly growing. Premium rates for final expense are generally lower and are fixed from the date of issue.
- Your customers might also be interested in the ease of mind and rapid issue of benefits afforded by final expense, and you will certainly appreciate the easy application process.
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Sales Tips:
What You Need to Know About Selling Final Expense Insurance
Life Insurance vs. Final Expense Insurance
Final Expense & Medicare Compliance
Getting Started with Selling Final Expense Insurance: The Basics
Getting Contracted
Picking the Right Carriers & Plans for Your Portfolio
Tips for Selling Final Expense
Selling Final Expense Over the Phone
Final Expense Income Potential
Pros and Cons of Selling Final Expense Insurance
Like any other business venture, in order to be successful selling final expense insurance, you must make a serious commitment. It is best to have at least $5,000 – $7,000 of disposable income saved up before getting involved in final expense sales.
Common weekly overhead can reach over $1,000 a week for expenses like:
- Leads (20 per week recommended)
- Fax machine
- Errors & omissions insurance
- Mapping software for building efficient routes to your leads
- iPad or other tablet for electronic applications and materials
- Gas
- Internet
- Many of the most successful final expense agents started in completely different fields, so don’t be scared to try something new. But before you jump in, you should gain an understanding of the final expense field in order to maximize your selling potential.
What You Need to Know About Selling Final Expense Insurance
Life Insurance vs. Final Expense Insurance
Final Expense & Medicare Compliance
Getting Started with Selling Final Expense Insurance: The Basics
Getting Contracted
Picking the Right Carriers & Plans for Your Portfolio
Tips for Selling Final Expense
Selling Final Expense Over the Phone
Final Expense Income Potential
Pros and Cons of Selling Final Expense Insurance
Though it is classified as a type of permanent life insurance, final expense differs from standard life insurance policies in many important ways:
- Cheaper premiums – In general, final expense policies are cheaper and are made for those who may find typical life insurance too expensive. However, life insurance policies usually pay out a greater amount in relation to their premiums.
- Easier application process – Final expense insurance does not require an in-depth medical exam like traditional life insurance policies. After answering only a few questions, your client’s eligibility should be confirmed.
What You Need to Know About Selling Final Expense Insurance
Life Insurance vs. Final Expense Insurance
Final Expense & Medicare Compliance
Getting Started with Selling Final Expense Insurance: The Basics
Getting Contracted
Picking the Right Carriers & Plans for Your Portfolio
Tips for Selling Final Expense
Selling Final Expense Over the Phone
Final Expense Income Potential
Pros and Cons of Selling Final Expense Insurance
Whenever selling final expense insurance, especially over the phone, it is vitally important to stay in compliance with all federal and carrier guidelines. Any marketing materials used in your sales presentations will need to be up-to-date and compliant.
What You Need to Know About Selling Final Expense Insurance
Life Insurance vs. Final Expense Insurance
Final Expense & Medicare Compliance
Getting Started with Selling Final Expense Insurance: The Basics
Getting Contracted
Picking the Right Carriers & Plans for Your Portfolio
Tips for Selling Final Expense
Selling Final Expense Over the Phone
Final Expense Income Potential
Pros and Cons of Selling Final Expense Insurance
In order to be effective in final expense sales, you will want to follow some basic steps on the front end to ensure your success later on:
Getting Licensed to Sell Final Expense
The first order of business for final expense agents is getting licensed to sell life insurance. Depending on the state you are selling in, that may entail taking a moderated test, or having to attend an in-person course.
E&O Insurance, Certification, and Continuing Education
- E&O Insurance – After you are licensed, you need to look into errors and omissions (E&O) coverage for your business. It is a specialized liability insurance that can help cover claims of negligent acts, errors, and omissions that may be made against you. In most areas, E&O insurance is mandatory to sell final expense policies.
- Certifications & Continuing Education – Your next step should be to learn as much as you can from the experts, until you are the expert. In order to be licensed in each state, you will need to meet the continuing education (CE) requirements of that state.
- Taking final expense training courses can earn you CE credits toward achieving certification, and provide you direct information and insight into best serving your clients. There are many services that can provide this informative training, such as Webce and ADBanker.
What You Need to Know About Selling Final Expense Insurance
Life Insurance vs. Final Expense Insurance
Final Expense & Medicare Compliance
Getting Started with Selling Final Expense Insurance: The Basics
Getting Contracted
Picking the Right Carriers & Plans for Your Portfolio
Tips for Selling Final Expense
Selling Final Expense Over the Phone
Final Expense Income Potential
Pros and Cons of Selling Final Expense Insurance
In order to give your clients the most value, you need to be selling the best products on the market. This means contracting with whatever carriers fit your clients’ needs.
An FMO can help you contract with many national carriers that will not contract with individual final expense agents.
What You Need to Know About Selling Final Expense Insurance
Life Insurance vs. Final Expense Insurance
Final Expense & Medicare Compliance
Getting Started with Selling Final Expense Insurance: The Basics
Getting Contracted
Picking the Right Carriers & Plans for Your Portfolio
Tips for Selling Final Expense
Selling Final Expense Over the Phone
Final Expense Income Potential
Pros and Cons of Selling Final Expense Insurance
The market for final expense is expansive, and there are countless insurers offering these types of policies. No matter what insurance company you choose to contract with, it is most important that they meet the needs of your clients.
Compare the benefits of each carrier and choose at least four to contract with. This will give your book of business a strong start and give your clients more options.
What You Need to Know About Selling Final Expense Insurance
Life Insurance vs. Final Expense Insurance
Final Expense & Medicare Compliance
Getting Started with Selling Final Expense Insurance: The Basics
Getting Contracted
Picking the Right Carriers & Plans for Your Portfolio
Tips for Selling Final Expense
Selling Final Expense Over the Phone
Final Expense Income Potential
Pros and Cons of Selling Final Expense Insurance
Mastering the art of selling final expense insurance may not be simple, but all it takes is time and dedication. Here are some helpful tips for getting the most out of your final expense insurance sales:
Learn the ins-and-outs of Carrier Underwriting
There’s no easy way to gain the knowledge necessary to navigate carrier underwriting guidelines. You must learn the way individual carriers deal with different health conditions to effectively serve your clients needs.
We recommend making yourself a cheat sheet as you read up on these underwriting guidelines and keeping notes on each for later reference.
Learn How to Work Final Expense Leads
As an agent, you can easily double or triple your revenue by learning how to work your final expense leads. In order to address common issues with working insurance leads effectively, establish a plan and stick to it.
Have A Solid Sales Presentation Outline
Find a method of sales presentation that works for you, then work to make it better. Outline and practice it so you can be practiced and confident when presenting.
If you covered the benefits and plans correctly, built a rapport and used open ended questions, closing the sale should be a reliable process.
What You Need to Know About Selling Final Expense Insurance
Life Insurance vs. Final Expense Insurance
Final Expense & Medicare Compliance
Getting Started with Selling Final Expense Insurance: The Basics
Getting Contracted
Picking the Right Carriers & Plans for Your Portfolio
Tips for Selling Final Expense
Selling Final Expense Over the Phone
Final Expense Income Potential
Pros and Cons of Selling Final Expense Insurance
More final expense sales are made over the phone now than ever before. The trends of declining engagement from direct mail and increasing online lead generation have driven many final expense insurance sales agents to telesales.
The senior market is increasingly active online and on their phones, so here are some factors to consider when approaching final expense telesales:
Compliance
This is the first major concern for any agent selling over the phone. Telemarketing activities are governed by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and you MUST remember to stay compliant with its guidelines.
A reputable lead vendor will typically have TCPA compliance already in place, but it is best to review their TCPA disclosure to be sure.
Technological
Successful final expense telesales will also entail a significant technological investment. A sales dialer, for example, is extremely important to working your leads efficiently.
Online leads are time-sensitive, so the quicker you can call on them, the better. This dialer will also need to integrate with a CRM solution to keep your book of business organized.
What You Need to Know About Selling Final Expense Insurance
Life Insurance vs. Final Expense Insurance
Final Expense & Medicare Compliance
Getting Started with Selling Final Expense Insurance: The Basics
Getting Contracted
Picking the Right Carriers & Plans for Your Portfolio
Tips for Selling Final Expense
Selling Final Expense Over the Phone
Final Expense Income Potential
Pros and Cons of Selling Final Expense Insurance
Final expense agents are not paid based on a salaried basis, but depend completely on commissions, for which agents can earn a 100% – 125% rate.
These commissions rates deliver experienced agents an income well into the six-figure range, but even those new to the field or selling final expense part time can earn high commissions, in addition to sales incentives like:
- Trips across the world
- Cash awards and gift cards/gas cards
- Monthly lead credits
What You Need to Know About Selling Final Expense Insurance
Life Insurance vs. Final Expense Insurance
Final Expense & Medicare Compliance
Getting Started with Selling Final Expense Insurance: The Basics
Getting Contracted
Picking the Right Carriers & Plans for Your Portfolio
Tips for Selling Final Expense
Selling Final Expense Over the Phone
Final Expense Income Potential
Pros and Cons of Selling Final Expense Insurance
There are pros and cons to every type of business, and final expense sales is no exception. Every organization will differ in terms of its needs, and you should examine the benefit and drawbacks of final expense sales before deciding if it is right for your business.
Pros of Selling Final Expense Insurance:
- Flexibility & Freedom – Selling final expense insurance will provide agent with the freedom and flexibility to choose their own products and their own hours.
- High Income Potential – The market for final expense insurance is growing all the time and that trend shows no signs of slowing down. Dedicated agents can make reliably high income from their final expense business.
- Easy Application Process – Applying for final expense policies does not require the lengthy medical exams involved in traditional life insurance applications.
Cons of Selling Final Expense Insurance:
- The Responsibility Is Yours – If your final expense sales are not ultimately profitable, the responsibility is on your own shoulders as an independent agent.
- Unpredictable Income – The final expense market is stable and lucrative but future income can be very hard to plan for in the insurance world. Your income is solely based on the sales you make.