How Your Business Can Succeed in Selling Life Insurance
We all know what a difference having life insurance can be. The feelings of relief and reassurance it can bring to clients and family members are immeasurable, yet it’s still not the easiest product to sell. There are many life insurance marketing tools that will make your job as an insurance retailer a whole lot easier. You will be able to save a great deal of time and energy when planning your marketing content with the tools that are available.
An Age-Old Provision
Life insurance is not a new concept. The idea of having a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer who agrees to pay out a designated sum of money in the event of the insured person’s death is not a new one. A very early form of life insurance dates to Ancient Rome when members of a “burial club” would have their funeral costs covered and their families looked after financially by the club. The earliest recorded life insurance policy was created in London in 1583 when a man was insured for 400 pounds in the event of his death. Life insurance began as a market in the mid-1700s when a Presbyterian Synod in America started the Corporation for Relief of Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of Presbyterian Ministers. In its early days, the insurance market didn’t do very well. Between the years 1787 and 1837 there were more than two dozen companies offering life insurance that were started up. Fewer than 6 of these survived. Since then, however, the market for life insurance has only boomed.
A Growing Market
By 2028, research predicts the life insurance market will experience tremendous growth. Around the globe, unstable world affairs and various crises have reminded us all how fragile life can be and the economic state of the world causes anxiety regarding the future of our loved ones if anything were to happen to us. The war in Europe, the COVID 19 pandemic, the effects of the environmental crisis – all of these current affairs are fuelling the desire for people to turn to life and health insurance as a safety net. The market is showing steady growth which is only forecast to keep growing in the future.
Marketing is Key
As in every field, the digital age of marketing is revolutionising the way people advertise and sell. With that being the case, it’s essential that you use technology in your marketing efforts. This isn’t just effective from a financial perspective, but from a success perspective too. With digital and online marketing, it’s something you can quickly and easily adjust and adapt to match changing needs. If you notice one tactic isn’t getting the success you desire, it’s not hard to change things up and quickly refocus your resources on another technique that will have greater success. So, what are some of the marketing tools that you can use as an independent insurance agent?
- A user-friendly website that encourages sales.
Without a website that focuses on the user, you’re going to lose a lot of potential customers straight away. Keep the end user at the forefront of your mind and with that insight, design and create a website that’s easy for them to use. With a search engine feature, they can find the information they need easily and quickly. Make it obvious what your business is about and make it easy for customers to contact you. If you don’t keep these key goals in mind, your website could end up causing more harm than good.
- A functional database of information.
Data is the backbone of every successful business. With knowledge comes power – the power to make informed, insightful decisions that will propel your business into a success. This database needs to store a range of information: current contact information, relevant subscriber information, up-to-date business information and then all the other details that give your customers an identity, such as birthdays and anniversaries. This data will help you with your marketing techniques as you can personalise your advertising to reach and connect with your recipients. With the right database behind you, you will have a secure and reliable place to store all the relevant information that you need.
- Analytics tools to make informed decisions.
With all the data you connect, it might feel like a mammoth task when it comes to turning that into useable, informative data that be translated into actionable moves. Therefore, with the right analytic tools, you can see just how many people are visiting your website, opening your emails, and engaging with your social media posts. With this analysis, you can clearly see which techniques are working and which are not. Without this resource, you could be channelling a lot of time and effort into methods that are not getting you the results.
- Use of social media.
Social media is still growing all the time so whatever kind of client you are trying to attract, it’s likely you’ll be able to do just that through some kind of social media usage. Social media is free to use and easy to maintain so it makes sense to put it to use as an independent insurance agent. You can also employ the use of a social media management tool to plan and automatically post without a lot of input from you. Although you’re most likely to target a younger audience, there are social media users of all ages who may be drawn to your interesting, visually appealing social media posts.
- Automate your email campaigns.
Email is also a great method of communication and by connecting it to your powerful database of information, you can automate personalised email advertisements to generate your client base. There are lots of tools available that will help you to do this so that you can keep on top of your game and ahead of the competition.
In a report published in 2021, 36 per cent of consumers said they planned to purchase life insurance in the next year – hop on this trend by making the most of the life insurance marketing tools available!
FAQs
Life insurance is a type of insurance policy that provides a death benefit to beneficiaries or financial assistance in the event of the insured’s passing away.
Selling life insurance can help businesses diversify their product offerings and provide financial security to their customers. Additionally, businesses can make profits by collecting premiums from customers and receiving commission from insurance companies.
Some important considerations include understanding the different types of life insurance policies and what the target customer needs, selecting the right product according to customer needs, and establishing effective communication channels with customers.
There are two main types of life insurance policies: term and permanent. Term policies provide temporary coverage for a specified period of time and do not accumulate cash value. Permanent policies include whole life and universal life policies, which provide lifetime coverage and can accumulate cash value.
Selling life insurance provides the opportunity to provide value to customers, as well as generate additional revenue for the business. Additionally, it can help establish relationships with customers, who are likely to turn to the business for other related services.
The process of buying life insurance involves assessing the customer’s needs, finding the right policy, completing application forms, and submitting them to the insurance company.
Businesses can promote life insurance products through various channels such as direct mail, email, social media, networking, and advertising.
Businesses can measure the success of life insurance sales by tracking the number of applications received, the number of policies sold, and the total amount of premiums collected.
Risks associated with selling life insurance include not having a clear understanding of the product and the customer’s needs, failing to educate the customer about the product, and providing the wrong advice or incorrect product information.
Resources which can help support life insurance sales include industry publications, webinars, and seminars. Additionally, businesses can partner with insurance brokers and work with an expert marketer to help promote their product offerings.
