Don ’ t take your eye off the ball
Debbie Hannam is the president-partner of Brokers Clearing House , a brokerage general agency in West Des Moines , Iowa , that focuses on life , long-term care , disability , annuities , and wealth management . I asked her about the advisors she works with , and specifically whether she ’ s noticing changes in who they ’ re approaching , in light of the changes wrought by the pandemic . She told me , “ At BCH , we have continued to stay with the same message : ‘ Don ’ t take your eye off the ball .’ While continually looking at opportunities and making adjustments where necessary , the certainty remains that we are all going to pass on from this life . Today more than ever , we need the benefits of what life insurance and long-term care ( LTC ) coverage can provide to hedge against many financial situations that can devastate our customers financially and emotionally if they are unprepared .
“ Our entire industry is based around unexpected events . Nobody knows when and how they are going to die or when and how severe they will be affected by a medical condition that will require LTC assistance or disability income . This pandemic is just yet another unexpected event .”
Communication is key . “ Our message to our advisors is keep talking to your clients ,” Ms . Hannam said . “ More than ever , get the message in front of them in whatever way works for you and them . Now is the time to recognize the impact of the unknown around the corner , and to show how we prepare to handle such risks with incredible services the life insurance industry provides to consumers .
Full-time focus
“ Now is the time to recognize the impact of the unknown around the corner , and to show how we prepare to handle such risks with incredible services ”
Debbie Hannam — President-partner Brokers Clearing House
“ We continue to work with all advisors who are capable of writing life insurance , LTC coverage , disability income , and annuities . Our entrée into the wealth management space has been a high-level focus for us . Acting as a fiduciary is not a parttime term or job . Our hope is that insurance continues to be part of everyone ’ s conversation . There ’ s been a spike in conversations with business owners , as they are faced with interesting times , but opportunities are on the rise with many while many others are faced with tough decisions . Times such as these bring a different perspective to everyone ’ s thoughts . I encourage everyone to open the dialogue and have those conversations .”
I posed the same question to a couple of top-notch advisors . Brian Heckert , CLU , ChFC , founder and CEO of FSM Wealth , Inc ., in Nashville , Illinois , was president of the Million Dollar Round Table in 2016 . As well as being a successful and involved industry leader , Mr . Heckert is the author of the book 401 ( k ) nowhow : An Insider ’ s Guide to Retirement Plan Options and co-author of the book A Study-Group Success Story : Best Practices from Our Give & Grow Group ’ s First 20 Years Together .
Best practices continued on page 12
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