Let’s be frank, picking low-hanging fruit suggests going after the easy sales. The ones just waiting to be plucked. All you need to do is reach out and grab them.
There’s one more step in life insurance sales. You need to know where to find the low hanging fruit. When you do, you’ll discover more than you expected: the opportunity for more sales and new revenue sources, while you enhance your relationship with clients you’ve had for years and keep the doors open for future sales.
(Related on ThinkAdvisor: How to speed up the underwriting process — and place more cases)
The secret is knowing where to look for the low hanging fruit. As it turns out, you don’t need to go very far since all the information is close at hand—it’s all in your records. Here’s where to find it.
In-force Term Life Plans
1. Term policies that are within 24-months of the end of the level period.
2. Term cases approaching the end of the conversion period, due to age or limited conversion options.
3. Term plans with carriers that are changing the conversion portfolio to the disadvantage of policyholders.
4. Term plans that are no longer needed: Is there a market to settle the policy rather than drop it, if it’s still convertible?
5. Term policies with temporary flat extras that are about to drop off and are good opportunities to pursue a term conversion.
6. Term applications that were rated and not placed or postponed in prior years.
7. Term plans that are still in force after the initial guarantee period. Surprisingly, there are quite a few of these on the books.
8. Show clients with 15 years remaining on a 20-year term plan a new 20-year term ledger.
Permanent Life Plans
1. Policies on which a company has announced increases in the existing cost of insurance for in-force policies.
2. Policies with carriers that have merged or been taken over by another carrier could be subject to internal cost increases.
3. Rated policies due to a recent medical issue might now be eligible for a better rating with another company.
4. New products and policy benefits, such as long-term care riders, return-of-premium, and longevity riders that were not available when prior permanent plans were issued could have appeal to clients.
Impaired Risk Cases