Taking the Complexity Out of Disability Income Insurance 

As we celebrate DIAM, consider helping your clients by taking the complexity out of disability income insurance. As a marketing strategist, I’ve sat in several disability training sessions and seen the eyes of new agents just gloss over. There are many policy provisions, benefits and riders to be aware of and all that information can be overwhelming or simply feel like information overload in such a small amount of time. The feeling is the same whether you’re an agent learning to sell DI or a consumer trying to understand this type of protection.

Education is key to helping people make informed decisions. Removing the feeling of “information overload” from your discussions is an important step to helping your clients feel empowered to select the right protection and amount of coverage they need. Separating disability income insurance into sections of information can make it less overwhelming. Consider guiding your client through this three-step approach to designing income protection.

PICK A PLAN

While the traditional basic DI plan has many features that provide quality coverage for your clients, they pick a plan based on the risk they are comfortable with. Are they interested in a plan that guarantees premiums can’t be altered or changed, or are they comfortable with a plan that states premiums are subject to change? A non-cancelable premium can offer peace of mind knowing premiums will never increase over the life of the policy. On the other hand, a guaranteed renewable premium can offer immediate cost savings, but with a risk that premiums are subject to increase at any point in the future. Present the options available and how the different plans work.

PICK A DEFINITION

The definition of disability determines whether benefits are payable in any specific instance. So, it’s important for clients to understand how disability is defined in the policy they are considering. As you point out the definitions available and how each definition works, this is a good time to introduce the elimination and benefit period options, as these periods determine when benefits begin and how long they will last.

ADD OPTIONAL RIDERS

Riders enhance and customize your clients’ protection and can be added for an additional charge. Present the riders available and how each one works. These extra features help build a stronger policy.

Although this three-step approach to building income protection may not apply to the various plan options with all carriers, the concept of presenting smaller sections of information via a step-by-step approach is still applicable and can help prevent your clients from feeling overwhelmed.

Tara Mallaley
Ameritas®
Marketing Strategist - DI