How to Be an Independent Final Expense Life Insurance Agent
July 10th, 2010 | 
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If you are looking to be an insurance agent or you are looking to be an independent insurance agent, rather than captive, then this article is for you. Final Expense Life insurance is the easiest insurance product to sell. It’s very simple to understand, explain and it is in great demand. Plus, the underwriting is generally just a few questions and if the client can truthfully say no to these questions, then they will be approved for the insurance.
First, you must understand what Final Expense Life Insurance is. Final Expense Life Insurance is a small whole life insurance policy that is designed to pay for the final expenses; mainly, the funeral and burial cost but also including other bills that come along with someone’s death. You may have hospital bills, credit debt, transportation costs, etc. However, the largest part of the final expense is the funeral and burial which generally cost around $10,000. Sometimes more and sometimes less.
Second, you must know the best products to sell. There are probably over 100 insurance companies selling final expense life insurance. Most, in my opinion, being overpriced and just plain junk insurance. Your job as an agent is to know these companies and to have the best companies to offer to your customers. You want companies that are solid financially and have products that fit your needs. I always look at price first. You want companies that are cheap for smokers and non smokers. Then you want to take the application for each company and compare the underwriting guidelines.
Some companies will allow medications that other companies will not allow or they will accept someone with a recent heart stent implant, whereas another company will deny them… and so on! The point is, you need a company for every scenario. You don’t want to find yourself in front of someone that wants insurance, but you can’t offer them anything. Also, you will often times find yourself in a situation where someone already has insurance and if you can offer them a much lower price or better coverage, then you can easily make a sale.
Third, you need final expense leads. Leads are people who are interested in buying your product. They have already said they are interested. In my opinion, this is the hardest part of the business; however, by simply knowing where to get your leads, from companies that have great success in the business, you can have an endless supply of fresh, hot leads.
Fourth, you need a great sales presentation and since this is such a simplified product, it doesn’t need to be long and drawn out, it just needs to feed on their emotion, build value in your product and it needs to break down the wall of rejection. If you have the right sales presentation, you will eliminate almost all objections and you will have seniors signing on the dotted line before they even know what they are doing. It’s just all about how you present it.
Fifth, you need a follow up process. You will need to keep in contact with your clients on a regular basis. There are several programs designed to help you do this. They will remind you of birthdays, holidays and any other reason you may have to contact your client. These programs are essential and the best way for you to keep your book of business for the rest of your career (which many agents claim is the secret to success).
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