Message from the President & Chairperson
As spring approaches and brings new opportunities for growth, I am inspired and hopeful about what we can accomplish this year. Thank you for placing your trust in us to help protect your clients with important life, disability income and worksite insurance solutions.
The first quarter of 2024, our team has been working hard to provide the quality, personal service you and our policyowners expect. You’ll have a chance to hear some remarkable stories of those who have been a part of the Illinois Mutual experience in our 2023 Annual Report.
Also, now is the time to prepare for the next Disability Insurance Awareness Month (DIAM) coming soon in May! This opportunity offers extra resources available to boost your efforts to help spread the message about income protection solutions. Thank you for continuing to share our commitment to serving those who need us most.
Of course, we can’t do any of this without you. As we work together to protect more loved ones and plan for the future, we will continue to focus on the firm foundation of compassionate, caring service that Illinois Mutual is known for.
Katie M. Jenkins
President & Chairperson
Inside this Issue...
2023 Annual Report Available Now!
We’re driven by our desire to genuinely meet our policyowners where they are, and to serve them with life, disability and worksite insurance solutions which can help them realize their financial goals. This year’s Annual Report features some inspiring stories from fellow agents and policyowners, who work hard to protect their families’ futures.
Visit www.IllinoisMutual.com/AnnualReport to view and download our Financial Report!
Share these stories with your clients to show how you’ve played a pivotal role in helping more people achieve and safeguard their financial security!
Hear these personal stories!
www.IllinoisMutual.com/AnnualReport
Offer Nontraditional Groups Additional Benefits with EFT!
Some groups may not have payroll deduction options for their employees or members. You can still help them offer worksite voluntary benefits, at no direct cost to the business or association, via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)!
Show them how they can offer worksite voluntary benefits, such as individual disability income insurance (DI), through EFT deductions!
Advantages of Illinois Mutual worksite individual DI:
- Choose between 24-hour or Off-Job Only coverage.*
- Giving birth as the result of a normal pregnancy is covered after the policy has been in effect for nine months, and pregnancy complications are covered the same as any other sickness.**
- Benefits are not reduced by Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) or workers’ compensation.1
- Portable – Policyowners may keep the coverage, even if they leave the group.
Partner with a local group for your next worksite sale!
Your Worksite sales team can help you sell to these nontraditional groups!
(800) 437-7355, Option 2
[email protected]
*24-hour coverage not available in ME and OR.
**In NC and OR, giving birth as the result of a normal pregnancy will be covered as of the policy’s effective date.
1 In selecting coverage amounts, members should review their other disability coverages, which may offset amounts they receive under individual disability income policies.
Policy Form WSD07, Voluntary Short Term Disability Income Policy;
Policy Form WD13 in GA, MD and SC
Not available in AK, CA, DC, HI, MT, NH, NJ, NM, NY or VT.
Coverage and availability may vary in other states.
DIAM is Here!
May is Disability Insurance Awareness Month (DIAM*)! It’s the perfect time to start income protection conversations with your clients.
Throughout DIAM, we will support you with:
- DIAM marketing assets and sales concepts to start conversations with DI prospects.
- Full access to our underwriting and sales teams—for applications, proposals and anything you need to write business.
- DI social media posts you can share from our channels to your own pages!
Start your DIAM planning today by downloading the Planning Guide (A9669) from our Resource Library on the Agent Portal at Agent.IllinoisMutual.com!
A9669
Use DIAM as a prospecting tool with new and current clients to open up the conversation about these important income protection solutions!
*DIAM is an industrywide event coordinated by Life Happens. Illinois Mutual is a member of Life Happens.
Policy Form DI105, Disability Income Policy; Policy Form BE105, Business Expense Policy
Not available in AK, CA, DC, HI, NM or NY. Coverage and availability may vary in other states.
For policy costs and details of coverage, limitations, exclusions and terms, contact Illinois Mutual.
Be more social this DIAM!
Your clients are likely on social media every day—share content regularly to provide your followers with a consistent message, and watch your sales activity grow!
We make it simple for you to engage clients during Disability Insurance Awareness Month, and all year long, with shareable graphics and messaging.
You could earn a $100 DIAM BONUS for every qualifying DI application!**
Contact your DI sales team to learn how much you could earn by adding DI to your portfolio during DIAM and beyond!
(800) 437-7355, Option 2 | [email protected]
**Specifications apply. Contact your DI sales team to determine eligibility.
Term + Whole Life = The Blended Plan!
A simple approach to covering an entire family with life insurance.
Many of your clients with younger families may not actively seek life insurance coverage even if they recognize the need for it. They may have budgetary concerns, or they may believe there are no policy options that can cover their whole family.
Look at this simple approach that can help you offer a plan that provides the right combination of coverage, cost and value to suit their needs:
Mark, 32, and Amber, 30, have two young children, ages 7 and 5. One of Mark’s co-workers recently had a major medical event that prompted Mark to take action to make sure he was doing all he could to protect his family.
Mark decided to look for insurance that could help him cover his final expenses while also providing additional death benefit coverage for himself and his wife through their children’s college years.
Solution:
Using the Continuous Pay Series 100 plan, Mark obtained $50,000 of whole life insurance that provides coverage to age 121, as long as premiums are paid. Using the Term Insurance Rider, he added $200,000 of death benefit protection for 20 years, and Amber was covered under a 20-year Other Insured Term Rider with a $250,000 death benefit. Both children were covered under a Child Term Insurance Rider with a $20,000 death benefit each.
For a monthly premium of $92*, Mark’s agent has helped him blend our term and whole life plans to cover his whole family with up to $540,000 in life insurance protection!
Additionally, as their protection needs change, they can consider converting the term riders to permanent whole life policies by using the conversion options!
Call us today for a quote, and let us complete an illustration for you!
(800) 437-7355, Option 2 • [email protected]
*For illustration purposes only. Subject to underwriting. Example assumes proposed insured’s rating classification is Preferred Non-Tobacco and monthly EFT is the selected premium mode.
Policy Form LWL18, Whole Life Insurance Policy; Policy Form 5787, Other Insured Term Rider; Policy Form 5789, Child Term Insurance Rider; Policy Form 5791, Term Life Insurance Rider
Not available in AK, DC, HI, MT or NY. Coverage and availability may vary in other states.
For policy costs and details of coverage, limitations, exclusions and terms, contact Illinois Mutual.
Updates from Underwriting
Electronic vs. Paper Applications
When submitting applications for insurance to Illinois Mutual, agents have two options:
- Electronic Applications (eApps)
- Paper Applications (Email, Fax, U.S. Postal Delivery)
While paper applications have been the traditional, and sometimes preferred, method of submitting applications, there are challenges with paper applications which can be overcome through the use of an electronic application.
When an application is submitted electronically, agents generally receive faster underwriting decisions, because the application moves from the application system into the underwriting system within a matter of seconds. Paper applications require manual entering into the system, which could take hours or days.
In addition to the process starting much sooner, completing an electronic application (eApp) has many benefits including:
- Additional required forms are presented to you as the application is being completed, so you can’t forget to bring paper copies of each required form.
- Follow-up questions are prompted in certain sections, which could avoid the need for additional requirements, such as medical records, labs or exams.
- All required fields in the application are complete, resulting in less back-and-forth with you or your client to clarify missing information.
- Application information and automated agent notification is immediately available in our Agent Portal, including pending underwriting requirements.
- Electronic signature is available, avoiding the need to print and physically sign the application and required forms.
Submitting an electronic application not only saves time from an information gathering standpoint, but also results in faster decisions for you and your clients.
Contact the Illinois Mutual Underwriting team with any questions about submitting electronic applications!
(800) 437-7355, ext. 810
Mutual Updates
New Video: Starting Professionals Can Get DI!
Help people secure their financial future – even before it begins! Share this video with clients who are just starting in certain professional occupations.
Agent Training Available On Demand Now!
Interested in breaking into the DI or worksite market? Not sure where to begin? Our agent training videos provide an overview of the process of writing these important benefits, as well as answers to common agent questions and sales strategies.
Over $200M of Premium Returned
Illinois Mutual proudly announces that our DI Return of Premium rider has paid out over $200 million to policyowners!
(As of 12/31/23)
Quarterly Incentives Available for All Product Lines
Ask your sales team if you could qualify for our Life, DI or Worksite quarterly incentives!
(800) 437-7355, Option 2
Life & DI: [email protected]
Worksite: [email protected]
DI + GIO Rider = 6 Sales in 1
As your clients’ income increases, the Guaranteed Insurability Option (GIO) Rider gives them options to get more DI coverage with no additional medical underwriting. Ask how you can turn 1 sale into 6!
Contact your DI sales team to learn how you can use this sales strategy with new and current clients!
(800) 437-7355, Option 2 | [email protected]