Ask the Right Questions To Build Trust with Your Life Insurance Broker

When meeting with a new life insurance broker here are some key questions to keep them honest

If you are reading this article, then you are probably shopping for a life insurance broker you can trust. Well, how do you know you can trust just any life insurance broker you meet? Because you found them on the internet and they have a pretty website? Probably not good enough when you’re about to invest a great deal of money over a long period of time into a life and/or health insurance product with a person you met online.

So, I put myself in your shoes. If I was shopping for a professional, experienced and qualified life insurance broker, what questions would I have for him or her that would make me comfortable to put my money in their hands? I came up with these top 7 questions:

1. How long have you been in the life insurance business?

The answer to this question is interesting, and should be one of the first things you pay attention to. If the person is brand new to the life insurance business, i.e. in their first 1-2 years, then he or she should have support from an agency or senior advisor. Such a new advisor should never be out there alone trying to build a life insurance business.

However, if the life insurance broker has been in business for over 20 years, chances are that he or she is very comfortable with the present status-quo and not actively trying to add clients to their business. Taking on a new client could be a real inconvenience as they probably have more than enough income from trailers on the insurance and investments of their current client base.

What you really want is someone who is in the early to mid stage of their career, still full of energy, eager to work hard and grow their client base, and wants to see new customers and build relationships. A life insurance broker like this has enough experience to service most common family needs and knows where to get help when the complexity of the case is beyond them.

2. What did you do before becoming a life insurance broker?

It’s funny how life insurance brokers come from all walks of life. I have met ex-grocery store clerks to ex-boardroom executives all in this business. What someone did before becoming a life insurance broker is not the be-all and end-all reason to deal with them, but it helps round out their profile. I used to recruit people coming into the life insurance industry. Many of my fellow recruiters at Clarica (now Sun Life Financial Career Sales) would talk to anyone about becoming an advisor – the waitress, the gym trainer, car sales man, anyone. What they looked for was “personality”.

I always focused recruiting on university and college students, career changers like ex-military, and people who truly wanted an entrepreneurial opportunity. People who become life insurance brokers because they are generally a good salesperson and like the high income potential of the industry do not have a good enough reason to join. It isn’t the kind of broker I would want. Someone who believes in the product, wants to help others, be their own boss, learn and grow. These are the qualities I would seek when recruiting new life insurance brokers, because it is the type of broker I would want to have take care of me.

3. How did you get your initial training in the life insurance business?

Unfortunately, there are very few organizations left in Canada that provides basic core life insurance training for new advisors and brokers. It is one of the fundamental flaws of our business that must be addressed. In the mean time you should ask your broker how he or she got their basic training in the industry. There are a few “career shops” that provide excellent training; namely Sun Life, London Life, Desjardins, RBC Insurance Career Sales and even World Financial Group. Very often, and often very quickly, good advisors in these shops outgrow the single product line and managerial/corporate control and strike out on their own. This is where many of the best independent life insurance brokers come from.

4. What made you become a life insurance broker?

No one will answer you “for the money”, but for many that is the underlying reason. If you are a good salesperson and can sell many life and health insurance policies, you can make a lot of money. But if all you do is sell new business and never look after your existing clients, then things can fall apart rather fast. Here are some good reasons to become a life insurance broker:

• They believe in the product – usually through personal or close acquaintance experience with death, disability or critical illness
• They like to help people with financial planning – a numbers geek
• They want to be an independent business person
• They want to be in control of their career
• They don’t want to be part of a large corporation but would rather build personal relationships with clients

These are all good reasons to become a life insurance broker.

5. How many clients are you looking after?

Too many clients and you just become another number to your broker. Too few and you know they are struggling to make a living. A successful number that is usually celebrated in the life insurance industry is 100 new sales per year. This is a benchmark of a successful advisor. If your new life insurance broker is selling 70 – 100 new life and health insurance policies per year then they are doing very well. Selling over 200 policies and they probably don’t have time to sit down with existing clients each year. You should be looking for a successful and stable life insurance broker.

6. What is your ongoing service commitment to existing clients?

How is this life insurance broker going to look after you over time? Maybe you don’t want a full sit down meeting and review once every year, but looking over things every 2 – 3 years as life changes is very important. There are also new products being introduced onto the market, conversion options you can exercise, policy changes that might need to be done. Your life insurance broker should be available to help you with these things, and in fact should be initiating contact every so often.

Does the broker also have a way to stay in touch with their clients regularly, like an email newsletter or website that you can easily keep in touch with them. Do you get at least an annual phone call from the broker or his/her administrator once a year to check up on you? These are some basic customer service standards that should be expected in this day and age.

7. Do you love being a life insurance broker and why?

I think everyone has a unique answer to this question, but they should at least answer in the positive. If they can’t identify why they love what they do, then chances are they won’t be around in the business a few years from now. I’ll tell you why I love being in the business as an example of what you should expect.

“I love being a life insurance broker because it gives me a chance to protect people from those unforeseen disasters in life. I believe in risk. I’ve watched 4 family members deal with and be taken by cancer and Alzheimer’s. I’ve even lost a cousin to violence. Everything was a shock to our family. Sometimes there was adequate planning in place, and sometimes not. I want to make sure my clients are protected from the trials in life that I know are there. I’m ready to answer the tough questions and help my clients face some tough realities that most people find are taboo subjects for dinner conversation. If I’m not going to help my clients ask these hard questions, then I’m not doing my job. But I know when we have answers and a plan in place my clients are financially secure from whatever life may throw at them. That is why I love what I do.”

Life Guard Insurance can help you find a great life insurance broker

At Life Guard Insurance we have a team of professional and experienced life insurance brokers across Canada who can help you. Feel free to contact us to be connected to a local life insurance broker in your area for a no obligation review of your life and health insurance plan.

The article was written by +Mitch Reynolds. If you found this article interesting or it made you think, please feel free to share your comments below. Liking us on Facebook, giving us a +1 on Google or Tweeting this article about trusting your life insurance broker would be very much appreciated.

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