Best Life Insurance Broker, Does It Exist?

Who is the BEST Life Insurance Broker?

That is sort of a trick question isn’t it?  Who is the best at anything really?  Is there a best life insurance broker?  

You got me there really isn’t a single best life insurance broker out there.  But there is certainly a BEST for YOU.  And isn’t that really what matters most?

Lets explore what that means and how to make the best decision when shopping for the best life insurance broker for YOU!

What is a Broker?

So what is a life insurance broker anyway?  What does that really mean?  And how does it impact you as the consumer?

Customer focused!

A broker will operate in a way that puts the wants and needs of the client they serve above all else.  This should be universally most important when shopping for the best broker.  

I understand that most business “say” they put the customer first.  Lets face it we probably wouldn’t give them a shot if they were promoting how terrible the experience was going to be. 

But what do their actions SHOW you?  Are they more interested in making a sale than they are learning about your needs?

The BEST life insurance brokers will be interested in what you are trying to accomplish.  They will want to know more about your goals for the insurance you are trying to purchase. 

How We Work

We start with a friendly conversation!  We want to talk to you and get to know you.  We know that we are not the best fit for 100% of the people we talk to.  But instead of slamming a sale to make a commission we will actually tell you that!  

Our conversation is designed to learn some key information about you, the questions we ask are specifically to help narrow down IF you are a good fit for our process and HOW we can help. 

What types of things do we need to know?

• What is the purpose of the insurance?
• How much insurance do you feel that you need and why?
• What type of insurance do you need?  
• How long do you need the coverage?
• What type of health history do you have?
• Do you participate in any dangerous activities like SCUBA or Skydiving?
• What does your driving record look like?  (we have seen it all)
• Are you looking for coverage with living benefits? 
• Do you want to opt out of the medical exam?

You get the idea.  These are just a few of the things that can make an enormous impact on the rates you qualify for.  We don’t jump straight to rates in the first 30 seconds of a call.  We need to know about you and what your expectations are.  No bait and switch with the best life insurance brokers.  If you don’t qualify for Super Ultra Mega Preferred rates we aren’t going to promise them to you.  We don’t want any surprises later either.

Independent!

Sometimes referred to as independent agents, life insurance brokers work with several companies.  We are not employees of the insurance companies that we work with.  We have the freedom to represent the companies that best serve the client we are working with needs. 

Contrast that with Captive Agents, these agents are the ones that have a single company to work with.  Think of most of the T.V. commercials that you have seen for life insurance.  Those agents are actually employees of the company in most cases.  Not only does this limit the number of options they have to offer, it creates an opportunity for them to make a poor recommendation.  Most of the time it is not something malicious they just don’t have any better fit.  But on occasion these agents do make a suggestion that they know is not the best out there, they just simply decide that they would rather make a commission than put the client first. 

This can vary widely from one agency to the next.  Some offer a couple companies and some claim to offer hundreds.  The key here is really that the agency has access to a carrier that is a good fit for you.  Not just the carrier that pays the best commission or offers the best trips to the sales people.  

I recently had a client find me.  He had been declined by a great carrier that I happen to really love doing business with.  His offer was based on his history of treatment for sleep apnea.  After doing a little research I determined that his sleep apnea was not the problem it was the company that he was offered by a national call center.  I made a few calls and sent some emails to the underwriter of a couple companies that were more tolerant of his condition.  Wouldn’t you know that he is now the proud new owner of a PREFERRED rate!  He went from no coverage to great rates just from choosing the right company for his need.  If your agent doesn’t do these things they are not working for you, they are selling a product.

The Best Life Insurance Broker Has A Process!

We live in world with more info available than any other time in our history.  But with this infinite data driven world comes information overload.  

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What do you do with all that info at your finger tips?  How do you make sure that you are applying what you have found to your own situation?

Once you have found the best life insurance broker what are the next steps?

What do you qualify for?

We already talked about getting to know you a bit.  Once we have an idea for what you are looking for we have to determine what you will qualify for. 

This is going to depend on several factors some of which we discussed previously. 

There are plans now a days for almost every situation.  We will let you know what you qualify for and at what rate.  

We have over 15 years of history working with all sorts of conditions and financial situations.  We have a pretty good feel for what carriers are a good fit for each unique circumstance.

We have tools that help us identify which carriers have become more or less competitive in certain markets.  We follow these trends closely.  The only thing certain is change.  Companies are constantly tweaking benefits and pricing to try to gain an edge. 

Can you get great rates and skip the exam?  We will let you know.  Some carriers even offer coverage on the spot!  

Getting covered

Once you what you want, need and qualify for how do you get it?  How long does it take?  How much headache is it going to be?

Some carriers are still in the dark ages.  They still require that the agent sit down with you at the kitchen table or at a local coffee shop and meet with you face to face.  This can be difficult to coordinate schedules and add a lot of unnecasarry steps and time to the process.

Applications like a book that have to be faxed back and forth half a dozen times… 

There is a better way, let us show you.

We work with companies that offer electronic applications and signatures.  

Even better, more and more companies are getting on board with no medical exam underwriting.  This can save weeks during the approval process…  The typical no exam method is approved in 7-10 days!  Using the old fax and pray process, we were lucky if the first attempt was even received successfully by the 7th day.

Even better, more and more companies are getting on board with no medical exam underwriting.  This can save weeks during the approval process…  The typical no exam method is approved in 7-10 days!  Using the old fax and pray process, we were lucky if the first attempt was even received successfully by the 7th day. 

But there are still times that a full underwriting approach is best.  We have a streamlined process for that too.  We still complete things electronic for all the paperwork.  Many times even the policy delivery can be done online!

Staying in the loop

The best life insurance brokers have systems and teams to stay on top of your case every step of the way.  Any sales person can take your application and hope for the best.  A top notch agent will catch problems before they become a problem.  We have a team of case managers that stays on the ball from start to finish.  

Does your agent communicate the way you want to?  Sometimes a quick call is no big deal, but then there is real life!  We are all living a crazy life with work, meetings, social gatherings and all types of other stuff.  We have tools to help you move through the process no matter how you prefer to stay in touch.  Are you a text junkie?  Maybe an e-mail warrior?  It doesn’t matter we have you covered. 

The Best Life Insurance Brokers Will Be Around When You Need Them.

The best life insurance broker will be around for the long haul.  95% of new life insurance agents are out of the business in less than 5 years.  This is a tough business and it takes determination and drive to stick with it.  

When you find the best broker for your situation do you really want to have to start all over again later?  We do periodic reviews to make sure your coverage is appropriate through all the stages of your life.  From basic income protection to retirement asset maximization we have the knowledge and the expertise to make the most of your LIFE insurance.