The Insurance Agent's Resource
Let’s start off with some key facts about disability and its impact from the Council for Disability Awareness: Just over 1 in 4 of today's 20 year-olds will become disabled before they retire. More than 30 million Americans between the ages of 21 and 64 are disabled. Back injuries and major illnesses cause the majority of long-term absences, with lifestyle choices and personal behavior that lead to obesity becoming major contributing factors. The average long-term disability … [Read more...]
Social Security disability claim denials affected over 1.8 million disabled Americans in 2010. More than 65 percent of initial Social Security disability claims were denied, plus, it’s estimated that more than 20 percent of commercial insurer claims with one major disability insurer were denied in a recent year. So is this the wrong time to be disabled in America? In 1999, 1.2 million Social Security Disability applications were filed (48 percent, or 579,000, of which were declined). In … [Read more...]
There’s literally billions of dollars of disability benefit claims being denied every year unnecessarily, according to Allan Checkoway, the author of Getting Paid. Reportedly more than ten percent of commercial insurer disability claims are turned down every year. When added to the 1.8 million Social Security disability claims being denied this year at a 65 percent denial rate, the lost claims dollars quickly approach trillions of dollars. Allan stresses early on that a multitude of these … [Read more...]
Webster’s defines “The Golden Rule” as: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” This is not only a good rule to live by, but also a good way to run your practice. I personally do not like being sold. In fact, most people do not like being sold, but they do like being educated. We like to discover things on our own. With this as the core of our process, along with keeping it as simple as possible, we have a recipe for success in adding a much-needed piece of the puzzle most … [Read more...]
In recent years, a new trend has developed in the life insurance arena regarding the creation of “combination policies” -- for instance, those that combine life insurance with disability coverage under one contract. At first glance, this may not seem like the best idea. After all, life insurance and disability insurance are designed to do two totally different things. How can both exposures possibly be adequately addressed in just one contract? Moreover, as the death benefit is normally … [Read more...]
Nearly every working American needs one type of insurance: Disability income insurance (DI) is a “must” for all individuals who earn a paycheck. Almost 90 percent of workers surveyed believe that it is important to plan for an income-limiting disability, but nearly 60 percent of workers have not implemented any safeguards to protect themselves.1 As insurance producers continue to build or fine-tune portfolios of financial products and form relationships with carrier-partners, the importance … [Read more...]
