While many know the important reasons for having life insurance, some are unaware of additional benefits that may be included with coverage. Some carriers offer services to help employees take care of important financial matters.
One often underused service is financial planning assistance, which can help with everything from will preparation and funeral planning services, to basic financial planning and identity theft assistance. Some carriers also have travel assistance benefits, which can help plan trips, assist with replacing lost passports or credit cards, and help out if an emergency situation arises away from home.
Employers should bring up these additional benefits — which usually come standard with a group carrier's policy — as it can encourage enrollment and help employees ensure their financial matters are taken care of, should the unexpected happen.
Brokers who are looking to refresh their life insurance sales approach can also use these underpromoted benefits to differentiate themselves by helping their clients offer valuable services at no extra cost to their bottom line.
The following is excerpted with permission from a Life Happens video “Amy McNeely: Protection Is Paramount.”
Amy Brunkow-McNeely: Sam had life insurance through his employer, but when I found out we were pregnant, we decided that wouldn't be enough.
Juli McNeely, CFP, CLU, LUTCF: We sat down and did a full financial plan and discovered that they needed some additional coverage as their family began to grow.
Juli: Sam was at work and he started to not feel well. An ambulance was called and he was taken to the hospital.
Amy: He got to the hospital and they were already doing resuscitation.
Juli: Sam passed away that morning from a dissected aorta—he was 38 years old.
Amy: It never really crossed my mind that we had life insurance and Juli of course came to my rescue, as always.
Juli: I was grateful that we were going to have enough coverage to make Amy and Charlie comfortable financially. We certainly couldn't take away the emotional pain, but we could at least help financially.
Amy: Life insurance policies have helped us live without worry or struggle. I can't stress enough how important it is.
Juli: He was a strong man, he had a great job, great family. No one would have ever guessed he would be gone.
Amy: Sam would be happy knowing that his life insurance policy has helped us get through this. Sam will always be taking care of us.
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Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson is the editor-in-chief of BenefitsPRO Magazine and BenefitsPRO.com. He has covered the insurance industry for more than a decade, including stints at Retirement Advisor Magazine and ProducersWeb.
