Archive for August, 2009

Many people are skittish about life insurance, because they feel that it is useless, or it makes them face their mortality, or they may arrogantly think that they won’t die. But let me reassure you, life insurance is not only useful, but also essential if you’re young or old, or have a young family. Life Insurance should definitely be one piece of your financial portfolio.

BENEFITS OF LIFE INSURANCE

1) Protects your family - If you should die prematurely a life insurance policy will give your young family and spouse a financial buffer. The lost income can be devastating.

2) For children and young adults - accidents are a leading cause of death.

3) As you get older - it can help to defer funeral costs.

Life Insurance can help fill the gaps when you or someone you love passes away, as well as, helping to eliminate the stress and uncertainty of their future.

TYPES OF LIFE INSURANCE

There are different types of insurance, which can fit each individual’s needs and situations. The different types and explanation of each are as follows:

Term Life Insurance - Term life gives you coverage for a particular period of time. (Builds No Cash Value)

Whole Life Insurance - Whole Life can give you protection for your entire life at a fixed rate. Whole Life builds up cash values, and in some cases, paid dividends.

Universal Life Insurance - Universal Life gives you more flexibility — allowing you to adjust your premiums and to increase or decrease your death benefit.

Accident Insurance - Accident Insurance gives your family an income in the event of your accidental death.

To conclude, when I was younger, I felt that life insurance was a waste of my money. But that changed when I seen the results of what happens when a father of three young children died unexpectedly. He had no insurance to care for his three children. Not only did his wife and children have to deal emotionally with their loss, but it also left them financially crippled. From that moment on, I realized the importance of Life Insurance and what it can bring to my family - a financial safety net, and for me, peace of mind.

Vickie J Scanlon has a BBA degree in Administrative Management and Marketing. Visit her site at: http://www.myaffiliateplace.biz for free tools, articles, affiliate opportunities, ebooks, and affordable insurance products

Get Free quotes on auto, life, homeowners, health, business insurance at: http://www.myaffiliateplace.biz/Affiliate_Netquote

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Insurance agents playing a numbers game are not playing with the odds in their favor when they are focusing on old-style marketing techniques. Without proven, cutting edge strategies; seasoned professionals and new agents alike will have little choice over investing their money in expensive marketing such as:
  • Direct Mail
  • Phone Dialers
  • Fax Blasting
  • Post Cards
  • Seminars

While these techniques can provide an agent with options, they do not put them in front of prospects that want to buy their products. The top reason to use an insurance lead service is it promises to deliver what all of these marketing techniques can’t. Prospects who want to talk to them; want to know more about their products and services; and can increase their earnings exponentially versus their investment.

Agents working in the insurance business whether they are with a career company or working independently can benefit equally for the following reasons:

  • Leads provide high quality prospects
  • Prospects can be turned into sales
  • Sales generate income
  • Income increases profits and competitive edge

A lead service gets an agent started by pre-qualifying prospects and delivering those prospects to the insurance agent. These prospects are ideal because their service, while being a numbers game, does require interested parties. Instead of cold calling or carpet-bombing an area with direct mailers, the agents are put into contact with people who are already looking for what they have to offer.

Leads can play into the numbers game by generating a quantity of prospects that are already quality. Agents who understand their business know that the more people they see, the greater their chances are of making sales. The chance for making sales is increased even further when the prospects are actually interested in the service or product the agents represent.

Higher Interest Equals Higher Income

By diversifying their marketing investment to include a lead service; agents can literally increase their opportunities to close a sale. While the odds favor sales when using a lead service, the agent still needs to speak to the prospect and close the deal. By recognizing that prospects may be shopping their insurance needs for a number of reasons, the agent must demonstrate knowledge of their product or services as well as generous people skills.

Focusing their target market to prospects that are already qualified will limit the amount of time that might otherwise be wasted spent chasing the wrong prospects. When an insurance agent chases down the wrong prospects, they not only face discouragement, but also frustration and a loss of time they can ill afford to waste. While there are no magic cures to finding the perfect sale, an insurance lead service maximizes the opportunity.

Realize that over 90% of the insurance agents chasing the wrong prospects in the insurance business are out of business in less than 5 years. The average insurance agent generates less than $40,000 a year in income. Mounting frustration and time wasted contributes to that number. So if 90% are out, why are 10% still in the business?

The Ten-Percent Solution

The ten percent still in the business aren’t wasting their time on the wrong leads. They diversify their marketing budgets to include a lead service. That lead service gives them ample opportunities to speak to prospects that are primed to buy what they are offering. They are not treating their business like a numbers game. They are focusing on personally touching base with an interested market. They can then turn those interested prospects into real sales that generate real income.

Higher income gives an agent a competitive edge. A career company agent can improve their leverage and position within a corporation. This gives them the opportunity to gain promotion within their corporation. For the independent agent, this can increase their independence. They set their own hours; using their time wisely and still see their profits increase.

No matter what area an insurance agent is working in, a lead service will provide them with the best business opportunity to maximize not only their investment but also their time. Insurance agents, not limited by preconceived marketing notions, can still play the numbers game. The game they play, however, will be stacked in their favor.

Insurance Leads has provided high quality insurance leads to help grow businesses through closing sales. http://www.insurance-leads.com.

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Today, 1 in 4 children has an undiagnosed vision problem. Although, the chances of developing a vision problem are greater if there is a history of eyesight problems in your family, many children with no such family history encounter a troublesome vision issue.

Television is not the only culprit responsible for the deterioration of your child’s eyesight. Children are now spending an alarming amount of time in front of the computer screen. Optometrists warn that heavy computer usage is known to increase your chances of developing blurry and double vision.

Loss of vision is not to be taken lightly and the individuals who are most affected are children. A child’s untreated vision problem can lead to learning and behavioral problems. Teachers and parents often struggle trying to understand why a child is not doing well in school or why they are acting out in the classroom and at home. Many times the simple explanation is that the child cannot read the blackboard or even the pages in front of them. This frustrating situation can easily spiral out of control if not attended to.

Currently in several Canadian provinces, coverage for eye exams has been implemented. Provincial coverage differs, but most terms specify that eye exams are only covered once every two years and only if your child is under the age of 10. There are many healthcare specialists who believe this to be inadequate. It is impossible to gage when a child’s vision will begin to deteriorate, if at all, but factors such as heredity and increased exposure to computer and television screens may speed up the process. In order to properly monitor the health of your children’s eyes, it may be wise to plan a vision check-up more often than every two years. Unfortunately, visiting an optometrist every year can cost you as much as $150 for every eye examination if your province does not provide coverage. In order to fill the gaps left by provincial health coverage, it may be sensible to purchase health insurance for your children.

Without an employer health insurance plan, parents might want to consider supplemental vision insurance through a plan such as Flexcare offered by Manulife Financial which allows you to individually customize your coverage. Plans such as DentalPlus Basic or Enhanced allot you a specified amount of money towards vision-related services, or additional add-on vision insurance coverage.

In many cases, children are unaware that their eyesight is deteriorating. The untreated eye problem can result in learning and behavioral problems that negatively affect a child’s life. With proper attention to vision care, including regular check-ups, unforeseen problems can be avoided.

Anna Dorbyk is the editor for Canada Health Insurance and is a graduate student in Communication Studies at Concordia University. For more information on health insurance for Canadians please visit http://www.canada-health-insurance.com.

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