Insurance Insights: Industry Trends & Life Insurance Must-Knows!

Morning everyone. My name is Amy Gill, your pharmacist that cares. How is it the middle direction? I'm in the middles toward the end of October. I don't know where the year is flying and that's kind of what ties me into what we're going to talk about today. So you guys are in for a treat. So we are going to do another interview today and it really, it ties into, you know, the days just go, seem to go faster and faster, right? So we are going to speak with Alex Edwards with American Family Insurance and he's got some wonderful insight as to how you need to act now. You don't need to keep putting things off because those days do keep going faster. I think as we get older, the years go faster, don't they Alex? It seems like it. It's all one big blur and you look up and years pass. So you're, you're absolutely right. Yes. And that's why I really want to talk with you today and have people listen to what such important things do you have to say? Because these are things you don't want to put off because it's so easy. It's like, Oh, it's just insurance. It's just life insurance. I don't need to worry about those kinds of things. But I really want to delve into those things and just for you to give your expertise, Alex is amazing. You guys, he's located in Ellisville, Missouri. His office number is going to be down in the description. So make sure that you reach out to him because he is a wealth of knowledge about so many things. But obviously we're here to talk about insurance today. So tell us a little about what's trending in your industry right now besides the prices. Great question. I mean, it seems like everything comes back to prices. Yeah. I just think I think a lot of companies out there are a little less likely to take on more risk or new risk right now, especially with home and auto insurance and more personalized items forecast for the next six, 12, 18 months. I could see some companies merging. I can see a lot of companies that are looking to come together so they can mitigate risk and protect their bottom line. So obviously that affects us as the, as the customer in our, in our bottom line. So it's just, it's just getting with a good agent and making sure you're with a representative who's going to find the best value for you. And you want somebody that has your best interest in mind, that you know there's a face that you can put with it, not just a hundred number that you call. And that's exactly what you provide. Absolutely. Yeah. I, it's funny to say that I've, I've, I've worked really, really hard to build my credibility over the years. And an example of that would be if, if somebody inquires about insurance and I quote them I may tell them, Hey, I don't think American family is a great fit for you. I may refer you to company ABC. So I've actually referred business out because I think it'd be a better fit for the client. I know that comes back and then some for on, on my end. But yeah, I just, it's very chaotic. It's kind of an unstable market. I'm just trying to give people peace of mind, make sure they got the best fit possible. And that's just speaks to your integrity by those things that you're doing. Cause you're just looking out for the person and you're right. Those good things always do come back to you. So what are you really passionate about? What type of insurance? So you know, being married to kids I've become really passionate about life insurance. I know life insurance is kind of a out of sight, out of mind product for a lot of people. It's not a major, major concern as far as immediate bills. But I have a four year old and one year old and I want to protect their financial future. So I, I'm very passionate about life insurance on kids because a lot of those products have living benefits where as you're paying the premiums over time, they actually build up a cash value, which is like your own private bank. Kids are going to be adults someday and they they don't want to be in a ton of debt or take on a bunch of debt. So what are some financial tools that we can provide for them? Life insurance has been amazing. I've seen people use it to pay off major medical bills. I've seen people use it to help put a down payment on their first home at 25, 28 years old. So you know, a lot of people it's life insurance. It's a, it's a death benefit. God forbid something happens. Here's the payout. There's so much more to it and I've become well versed in it and I just, I love sharing my passion with, with other people. Now with the life insurance, I found one thing interesting is you just spoke on it a couple of weeks ago at our networking meeting. How does that work to go into an adult policy once they turn 18? Yeah. So now, so if you get a, what we call juvenile whole life policy, which is basically you get it as a minor, whether it's as you're born at age five, age 10, whatever, you can actually keep that policy active for your entire life. If you don't want to convert that to anything, still going to build cash. It's still going to be active. It's still a financial tool for you. As an adult though, we, we get married, we start careers, we take on our, our financial situation changes. So if you need something that's, if you need a larger face amount, a significant amount we offer free conversion. There's no medical exam. There's no jumping through hoops to get there. If you get the juvenile whole life at a young age and then you find out that you have a health issue a few years later that would forbid you from getting life insurance as an adult. Well, that's not factored in. You're automatically insurable and insurable at the best possible rate. So it's basically an opportunity to kind of get ahead of all that. God forbid, you do take on some health issues. There's just all kinds of some perks and incentives involved to where people would want to act on it now compared to later. Right. So to me that I found that very fascinating because when you get life insurance and you're our age, there's all kinds of hoops you have to go through, you know, on blood work and all different physicals and all these different things you have to do. But this, this was amazing to hear that. Cause I thought that was an interesting fact, kind of something that would prompt people to do that for their children at this age, because they're setting them up, you know, for success later on and already to have that. So they don't have to worry about setting that policy up. Now, is this something that grandparents can do as well? Absolutely. I see more grandparents actually purchasing this than actual parents. Again, for newborns, it makes a great Christmas gift. And again, it's the very we have obviously policies that can fit any, any budget. So yeah, any grandparents, parents, legal guardians are all eligible to purchase this kind of product. Okay. Excellent. So do you see this, the parents are trying to do to protect the financial future of their children by doing this, or is that by getting their own life? They're, they're trying to provide financial avenues for the future. I mean, if you're anything like me, for example, I went to college, I had to work full time while in college. I had to quit college for a while so that I can work to pay, to go back to college, not getting my bachelor's degree till mid twenties. A lot of parents see that and they go, I don't want to put my child in that position. You know, I want them to have enough cash value in a policy where it could cover tuition or it can cover room and board. So there's a lot of forward thinking when it comes to these type of life products. So I do see a lot of parents and legal guardians acting on it now. Excellent. And you know, I, when it comes to life insurance, I always think about you because I think of your tagline at the end of our networking. When you say, you know, when it comes, you should be grieving, not fundraising. And I think, and that's so what I think of life, life insurance, I automatically think of you because you are so passionate about trying to get people to do these things now and not wait because you know, we, we all know these things are going to happen. We have no idea when the impact is going to happen, but it's better to be prepared for it. And by doing that, it's just less stress on the ones that you're leaving behind. Absolutely. I'm sure you have those people, those clients, they're just shopping purely on price, right? That's just the way it goes. That's just how some people are. So what do you say to those people? How do you deal with people that are just looking for price and they're not, they don't understand all the other things that go into it. Right. That's a great question. Yeah. Especially in this environment. A lot of people are just looking to protect their bottom line and rightfully so I totally get it. I see a lot of people in my industry that are selling packages that are, they're kind of like a one size fits all policy and everybody's completely different. We have completely different situations. For what a lot of what I see it's, it's people paying for items that they don't have or necessarily have a need for or I can come in, customize it, saying, Hey, based on your specific situation I can provide A, B and C the price is competitive. So on and so forth. So that's how I provide value to the customer. It's not a one size fits all like, Hey, this is catered to you. If we need to make any changes, great. But I want to make sure it's customized to your situation. Right. Exactly. So why there's, I mean, of course, insurance agents, they're everywhere, right? I mean, kind of like a pharmacy, they're in every corner. So why would, yeah, exactly. So why would somebody choose you? I mean, I know why I would, I mean, you can just see that just from what you're saying, but why would somebody choose you over somebody else? Well, I think on the personal side, like I mentioned before, I'm, I'm value over I'm a value agent rather than a transactional agent. I'm not just going to say, Hey, let's just compare coverage as apples to apples with your current carrier. Let's let's pray that I'm, that I'm cheaper. I may go, Hey, here's our price. The reason that it's this price is because you're going to get A, B and C, which is significantly more coverage than the past company or whatever that looks like. Um, on the business side, uh, like I said, I see a lot of packaged policies. I'll give you an example. I insured a gym owner this last year and they had me look at their information. Like, Hey, take a look at it. Let me know if I need to trim some of the fat. Well, I found out that they have, they were paying for commercial auto insurance for years. Well, they don't have any work vehicles. They all drive their personal vehicles to and from the gym. Uh, they don't have a, uh, a fleet, uh, a fleet of vehicles to drive around and promote their promote the product. So they were paying $1,200 more a year in premium, uh, for stuff they didn't need. So that's where I come in and provide the value. It's like, Hey, this is your baby. Let's customize it. So you have A, B and C and make sure it's not a, a one size fits all products. I, I take a lot of pride in that. And, uh, I think it's, it's the reason why people either come back to me or refer business to me. Well, it's just, it's taking that extra time that I think people appreciate. They want to put a face. They just, like I said, they don't want to call any number. They don't want to pick somebody off television because it says the price is cheaper because to me you get what you pay for. Right. Exactly. And that's, and that's so important because these things that you need them to be there when you need them. And that's why you need somebody in your corner that has made sure your policies are exactly what you need or that you've got that life insurance policy there for the ones you're leaving behind, which just provides so much for for the ones left behind less stress. And it just makes things go so much smoother. So is there anything else that you want to tell everybody before we sign off? Uh, just make sure you're constantly reviewing your insurance with your agent once or twice a year. Um, like, like it, like anything else, the cost to insure anything or fix anything or is always increasing and you'd obviously don't want to be under insured. So just a lot of reviews, a lot of followups, make sure your agent's doing their due diligence, uh, making sure you're adequately covered. Uh, God forbid you have a situation where you have insurance, you have a total loss. Insurance only pays so much. You're coming out of pocket a couple thousand bucks on top of that. Now you're mad at your agent. Um, I always encourage people to avoid that situation, get with your agent, have that conversation. No, that's excellent. And I really think the advice about the life insurance and thinking of it as a Christmas gift, you know, even for grandparents to give is, I mean, it's, it's right around the corner. It's something that, I mean, it truly is the gift that keeps on giving because it's there for them. It's in place for them. And I think that is so important. So thank you for highlighting all those things about the importance of the juvenile whole life. Because I think that really is a lot of things people don't know. I had no idea until you spoke at the network meeting the day about that. And you know, the benefit of doing it now and even rolling it over later. So thank you so much, Alex, for jumping on with us today and providing all this amazing information. Cause you are an absolute wealth of knowledge. Well, I appreciate you having me on and allowing me to use your platform to kind of get the word out about life insurance. So, uh, I just, I appreciate your continued friendship and, um, yeah, I want to help in any way. So let me know what that looks like. Well, thank you so much, Alex. And if you guys want to reach out to Alex again, like I said, his office phone number is down in the comment section. So please reach out to him. He can answer any questions and he is so full of just good information. It's just nice to have a conversation with somebody that really has your best interest at heart. Again, Alex Edwards with American family insurance and my name is Amy Gill. Your pharmacist that cares.