Wallets as big as our hearts
Fast forward to today and stop and think about it, do you ever feel “charitied” out? We buy
the Boy Scout popcorn, the Girl Scout cookies, we donate to the church and all of the fund
raisers they do and I promise you, any kid that walks up to me willing to tell me why he or she
is raising money, whether it is for Jump Rope for Heart, new playground equipment, or new
band uniforms, I’m giving, you know why…because that’s a salesman at its finest! If our wallets
were as big as our hearts, the world would be a helpful place.
So why is Disability Insurance so hard to sell when so many people are relying on the heart
strings of others and health insurance is the law? I contend that disability income insurance
is as difficult to sell as Long-Term Care insurance because everyone thinks that if you peel
their shirt back, there is a red “S” tattooed across their chest (Superman) and it’s not going to
happen to them.
Well according to the numbers, there is a pretty good chance that it can happen to you. I
think now is the time to talk to every person between 25-45 so long as they have a full time
job, that is, because everyone is living for the “experiences” and the best photo memories
they can get but what we fail to see is that those opportunities to see and explore the world
can be gone in an instant. Just over 1 in 4 of today’s 20-year olds will become disabled before
they retire. Accidents are not the main culprit. It’s back injuries, cancer, heart disease.
A 2014 study of consumer bankruptcy filings 2 identified the following as primary reasons:
26% medical bills
20% lost job
15% illness or injury on part of self or family member
More than half of employees could not pay their bills for more than a year without an
income to the tune of 65% of working Americans. 2 Disability Income insurance isn’t just for
the high income earners, it is equally important to the bread winner that falls of a ladder while
cleaning the gutters, the weekend warrior playing in a charity football game and has a spinal
cord injury, the terrible car accident during the morning rush hour commute or the day the
world stopped when the doctor said the “C” word.
Adult responsibilities
You can’t sit in a room and ask for a show of hands of those impacted by cancer just like you
can’t ask if anyone has been impacted by a long-term care event without seeing every hand go
up. It’s all about having a planning discussion and if you’re looking for clients for life, you must
start with disability income insurance and then it leads to long-term care insurance.
So, when I’m talking to prospects or my daughter’s friends, the first thing I say to them is:
Don’t forget to buy your disability income policy. It is critical in my mind because one: it is
being a responsible adult and two: it helps cover you when life happens. Now I get it, it’s not
fun being responsible but it is smart.
So, my advice to you is to talk more about disability income by simply explaining that it is
nothing more than your own personal GoFundMe and protecting your paycheck. The reason
you spent all that time in college or trade school is so that you can get done, get out and earn
that almighty buck! Now just protect it and you do that with Disability Income Insurance! Go
Fund Yourself!
Sources:
1. GoFundMe
2. https://disabilitycanhappen.org
“So, my advice to
you is to talk more
about disability
income by simply
explaining that it is
nothing more than
your own personal
GoFundMe and
protecting your
paycheck.”