Insurance Info

There are several kinds of insurances around, and no, we are not talking about life, general and so on!

In life insurance itself, there are so many specialties that a new person would get lost in the labyrinth of them all. And the rules and regulations for them all are so complex and different from one another. If you are an insurance professional, you will agree with us, and you would have experienced that first hand. Also, the laws of insurance are different from state to state, and if you are changing states for a career, you have a lot of unlearning to do before you start learning!

With insurance – in every state – there is a great thing; and that is mandatory continuing education. Unlike many other fields where learning really stops once the profession begins, insurance requires a mandatory number of hours of training every couple of years, and that is what makes insurance agents so well informed to help us take financial decisions. The laws are not constant, and when they change, the mandatory education ensures that the professionals also update their knowledge.

Illinois is no different, and that is why there is such a comprehensive Illinois insurance continuing education program. Continue reading ‘Insurance Continuing Education – Of All Types!’ »

Over the last few years, several people have shifted to the online insurance continuing education schools to fulfill their mandatory number of training hours as required by law.

If you are in insurance, you would know that each state has a specific number of training hours that need to be logged every two years in order for the license to stay active. Each agent needs to get through that, and there are a wide range of topics which can be added to the portfolio each year. There is only one subject which is compulsory in most states, and that is insurance ethics. Even that can be taken online, and the rest of the topics can be chosen as per the interest of the professional insurance advisor taking the test.

The reason we say that insurance continuing education online is risk free is because the best online insurance schools allow visitors to choose the subjects they wish to appear for, read through the material online, and even take the test without paying a single dollar!! Only after they pass the test do they need to pay the prescribed fees and get their certifications immediately online. Where else would such an option be available? Continue reading ‘Insurance Continuing Education Online’ »

First of all, you should consider your demands and needs: what exactly you want from your agent. What do you want to insure? life, health, disability, your car, your home or some other coverages. After you consider your needs, it is better of you to work only with one agent. If he has the enough expertise, he will provide you with the best program that can give you the coverage on all the major risks or at least he can fulfill your demands. By the way, it will be good strategy of you to regularly make a yearly review over the new plans for insurance.

Then you can use some other tools to find that perfect agent; you can use the word of mouth to ask about that agent. It can be the best and the easiest way, but be careful not to pay all your attention just on the price. Otherwise, you should be specific in asking for the one who can give you the best professional advice.

You can also be sure about some of the insurance courses that the agent may have been completed such as ; Accredited Advisor in Insurance ( AAI) ; Certified Life Underwriter (CLU), Certified Insurance Couselor ( CIC ) and also Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter ( CPCU ) . In fact, these courses can be a very strong proof for reality of the agent that you are going to deal with, as it would refer to the degree of his expertise and his ethical behavior. If you have trusted a certain company by recommendations or by gathering information, you can get their help to give you that agent. Continue reading ‘Insurance – How to Find the Perfect Agent’ »

Insurance is a wholly unique field – one that is tremendously challenging, and enormously rewarding. The reasons the rewards are so huge in the field is because it is not just a policy that is being sold by the insurance professional. It is a whole set of knowledge that helps the customer make a proper plan for his future, and hedge his investments accordingly. In fact, that is the reason a lot of insurance companies call their agents as financial advisors! That is exactly what they are.

But to be capable of that title, there needs to be constant and high quality knowledge upgrading, and there are very few sources which are capable of doing that. For insurance continuing education, the internet is the premium source of information, primarily because it is a dynamic medium which can be updated in real time. As soon as there is a new announcement about some new change in the way insurance is perceived, the internet is where it’ll come up first, and like they say – knowledge is power.

There are some wonderful insurance continuing education online programs in the country (and around the world), and most of the best insurance professionals are all part of these programs. The ones who regularly hit Million Dollar Round Tables and Top of the Tops are all from these clubs. Not only does insurance CE provide the professional with information he can use to increase business, but also helps in various other things which will come in handy as business scales up. Continue reading ‘Insurance Continuing Education – Why You Need It’ »

One of the key guiding principle of insurance is Don’t Risk More Than You Can Afford To Lose, which means having all major risk areas in your life well covered with insurance and it requires choosing a right professional insurance advisor.

Automobile, home, boat umbrella and other personal policies, as they’re sold off the shell, rarely, if ever, cover all your major property and liability risks. But they will cover most, if not all, of those major risks if they’re customized to your needs with proper coverage limits & appropriate coverage endorsements. Customizing a policy requires a great deal of coverage expertise & care. And that’s why, for most people, locating & hiring the best possible advisor has to be the very highest priority when it comes to buying insurance.

We’ll try to understand the insurance with the help of the following story before finding a right advisor:

Suppose you’ve been told you need brain surgery. If you shop for it the way many people shop for insurance, here’s what you do: You start calling around town, getting quotes over the phone. You probably aren’t exactly sure what kind of brain surgery you need, so you decide to get a price for the type that you think you probably need. You get quotes from all over – from surgeons, clinics, hospitals and even medical school interns. You’re not concerned about skill – just price. After all, it’s only brain surgery.

You find a clinic that will do the surgery you think you need for the lowest price. You sign up for the brain surgery. The intern who answered the phone when you called does the surgery, even though one of the top brain surgeons in the area works for the clinic and would do the surgery for the same price as the intern. The intern, lacking the expertise to diagnose the exact type of surgery you need, performs the surgery you asked for in the quote. The top brain surgeon would have known enough to recognize that what you requested was the wrong procedure for you and would put you at the risk for serious brain damage. She would have recommended a different, more expensive, but much more helpful surgery instead. Continue reading ‘Choosing Right Professional Insurance Advisor’ »

Insurance is a basic investment for everyone to keep things going under any eventuality. Some of the basic insurances are-

1. Life Insurance
2. Health Insurance
3. Home insurance
4. Auto Insurance
5. Travel Insurance

There are hundreds of insurance companies in the market offering varied kinds of products for the customers. The prices vary according to the services offered. It is a difficult task for the customer to decide which insurance company to sign up for the long run. Comparing insurance rates of different companies can be a very tedious task.

One of the easiest methods of getting affordable rates is by going on-line and request for insurance quotes from a third party comparison website. These website specialize in comparing insurance quotes of different companies and list out the features offered by each company. Continue reading ‘Compare Affordable Insurance Rates – Get the Cheapest Insurance Rates Online’ »

In this chapter I will give my strategies for how I configure my client’s coverage. Over time you will develop your own model for what you believe to be the ideal configuration based on your client’s wants and needs. What I share here is only meant to be an example. By no means do I think “my way” is the only way! My strategy is centered on finding the best overall plan configuration for my client taking into consideration their budget, desires, needs and unique circumstances. I also consider my compensation for both my time and knowledge. From the VERY beginning I teach the client what to look for when evaluating health insurance.

In order of importance:

1. Annual out-of-pocket maximum (this is by far the most important item to look at in any health insurance plan).
2. Plan deductible.
3. What is the co-insurance for lab, x-ray and other tests?
4. Is there a deductible for brand drugs and is there an annual cap on RX drugs.

In my opinion everything else in a health plan is “fluff”. For example office visit co-pays, wellness visits, ambulance deductible etc. Basically those items are inconsequential when evaluating out of pocket risk. What you want the prospect to understand is that health insurance was designed to protect their assets from a catastrophic medical expense AND to allow their loved ones to seek the best medical attention should they get SICK! That’s it! You don’t get car washes, oil changes, tires or and routine maintenance with your auto insurance, so why would you expect to get those ancillary services with health insurance? Because the health insurance companies have conditioned people to want those things so they can charge more on a monthly basis. Most individuals are accustomed to $10 office visit co-pays with their employer sponsored group HMO, but those “extras” are exorbitantly expensive when included into individual health insurance and you need to educate the prospect of that. Continue reading ‘Strategies For Designing Your Clients Health Coverage to Maximize Coverage and Minimize Cost’ »

Diamond In The Rough

Words barely begin to describe how excellent of a read this e-book is. I had to make the e-book its own category! That’s right, it’s that valuable. Ann Sieg really has gone above and beyond with this manifesto, and the best part about it is that its FREE. This e-book is about how the old school ways of marketing just wont cut it anymore. It’s about showing you how proper communication of your message is far more credible then posting an advertisement anywhere. The manifesto talks about a very unique way of prospecting your clients. It’s about giving people a reason to follow you instead of following someone else. The e-book will really expand your horizon on marketing no matter what field you are in.

Why The Old School Marketing Wont Cut It

Everyone has done some form of marking in their life. I have put fliers on cars, had spent thousands of dollars on seminars that had a nice dinner for my clients, mailing lists, call lists, brochure blasts, you name it. The bottom line is those routes do produce results, but they are money sinks! Individuals are tired of being advertised to, they are tired of being sold to, and they are tired of pitches. People nowadays crave valuable information, no matter what industry you are in! Continue reading ‘Review – The Attraction Marketer's Manifesto by Ann Sieg’ »

There are many ways of getting annuity insurance leads. Annuity sales lists are a great source of clients. Depending on what type of list you choose and your ability to close in sales, you can save a lot time and money. Don not ignore advertising. Internet advertisements and press adverts get a lot of attention.

General guidelines for converting annuity insurance leads into sales. Following these guidelines will reduce your learning curve. First, do not neglect your annuity lead list. It cannot grow by itself. You have to gradually develop the list. Lists can take 3 months to 10 years to grow. When you have money to spend, you must advertise your insurance service. There are many people out there who are searching for insurance annuities. Proven techniques are effective in closing in sales. Marketing experts use proven techniques in combination with other methods.

Are you tired of building up a lead generation list that never grows or a list that never gets sales? There are experts in this field who can make your life easy. You should consider outsourcing your annuity lead generation needs. This will give you more time to concentrate on what you do best. Annuity lead generation consultants have affordable rates. Most people are turning to outsourcing to save costs. Continue reading ‘Annuity Insurance Leads Guide’ »

It is often amazing how well insurance carriers do with their branding and marketing. After all, Geico has their own gecko, and we’ve all seen those cool Caveman ads; and we all know we’re in “good hands with Allstate,” or at least were told that, and “like a good neighbor, States Farm is there.” It never ceases to amaze me how creative and brilliant some of these marketing programs have been.

If you read Advertising Age Magazine, they are constantly giving awards to marketers, and public relations companies for their wonderful work in the insurance industry. Of course, there is a new ad with Allstate now, Allstate insurance tells new potential clients, that if they decide to switch insurance companies that they will break the news to your old insurance company or agent so you don’t have too.

Just imagine your new insurance agent, calling your old insurance agent and saying “Ha ha ha, we just took your client, and we’re gonna take more.” Because basically that’s what they’re telling the customer they will do for them. Worse, imagine being the old insurance agent in getting a call?

Continue reading ‘Allstate Insurance and Brilliant Marketing Tactic’ »