Message from the President & Chairperson
Temperatures are rising and so are your sales opportunities!
A hot topic in our industry is selling insurance to Millennial and Generation Z clients. There’s no question that these generations are vastly different than clients of the past. Their interests, preferences and idiosyncrasies can often seem to be the opposite of everything we “know” about selling. This Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM), we will take a look at tips and tricks for working with these generations and best practices to help you sell.
Also in this issue, you will get a glimpse of our life and disability income insurance (DI) bonus incentive program, as well as eApps tips and training opportunities that can help you become more efficient and grow your business simultaneously.
We may be halfway through 2024, but serving our loyal agents and policyowners is never done. Thank you for your continued partnership as we work to help people achieve and safeguard their financial security.
Katie M. Jenkins
President & Chairperson
Inside this Issue...
Agent Portal: Tips to Help You Sell
Have you logged into your portal lately?
If you aren’t using our Agent Portal, you may be working harder than necessary.
Here are some tips to let the Agent Portal work for you:
- Create an illustration—it will directly transfer all the client information into an application!
- Once the application is submitted, you can track the status of your client’s underwriting process!
- Manage your commissions and learn about opportunities to earn more and qualify for other incentives.
Registering for the Agent Portal is easy!
Go to Agent.IllinoisMutual.com
Click “Sign Up” on the login page, and then choose “I am an Agent”. You will then receive a registration link via email with further instructions.
Contact Your Sales Team With Questions:
(800) 437-7355, Option 2
[email protected]
Accident Insurance Can Help Clients Be More Prepared!
The below scenario illustrates how Illinois Mutual’s accident insurance can be used to help a family.
Amari’s employer offered employees worksite accident insurance at the Preferred benefit level with 24-Hour coverage. Amari chose to purchase accident insurance for his family.
One day, Amari’s son fell on the playground. An ambulance took him to the emergency room, where a CT scan revealed his leg was fractured. He needed crutches and physical therapy, but eventually healed.
During his son’s recovery, Amari encountered co-pays and other expenses not covered by his medical insurance, which could have put financial strain on the family. However, accident insurance helped relieve this strain by providing Amari a monetary benefit paid directly to him for covered services.
The benefit level amounts represented in this scenario include:
- Ground Ambulance Transportation: $390
- Emergency Room Treatment: $260
- Major Diagnostic Exams (CT Scan): $195
- Fracture – Leg: $1,040
- Follow-up Physician Treatment: $65
- Physical Therapy: $32.50
Total amount Amari received due to having accident coverage in place: $1,982.50
Your Worksite sales team can help you with more sales strategies and scenarios like this to make your next enrollment even more impactful!
(800) 437-7355, Option 2
[email protected]
For illustration purposes only. Refer to the policy for specific benefit information. The Accident policy does not meet the Minimum Essential Coverage Requirements of the Affordable Care Act.
Policy Form WSA07, Voluntary Accident Policy
Not available in AK, CT, DC, HI, NH, NM and NY. Coverage and availability may vary in other states.
For costs and details of coverage, limitations, exclusions and terms, contact Illinois Mutual. If any discrepancies exist between this communication and the policy, the terms of the policy will prevail.
Earn an EXTRA 20% on your 3rd Quarter DI & BE sales!
(July 1, 2024 – September 30, 2024)
Qualify for an additional 20% Bonus Boost on your Q3 annualized paid premium by achieving one level higher than you have for quarterly incentives in 2024 year-to-date.
Additional Qualifications:
- 100% of the bonus will be paid after the end of the qualifying incentive period.
- Only writing agents are eligible for the incentive.
- Qualifying products are DI105 and BE105.
- Illinois Mutual determines the final recipients.
- Must have active agent status, as defined by Illinois Mutual, at time of incentive delivery. Your agent’s contract with Illinois Mutual will control.
Here’s how to maximize your commissions during Q3:
If the highest quarterly incentive level for which you’ve qualified in 2024 is Level 1, you will have to qualify for Level 2 in Q3 to activate the Bonus Boost.
- If you have already qualified for the highest level (Level 3), then you can activate the Bonus Boost by qualifying for Level 3 again.
- If you have not achieved a quarterly bonus in 2024, then attaining Level 1 or above in Q3 will activate the Bonus Boost.
Ask your DI sales team for details.
(800) 437-7355, Option 2 | [email protected]
Policy Form DI105, Disability Income Insurance Policy; Policy Form BE105, Business Expense Policy
Not available in AK, CA, DC HI, NM, NY or VT. Coverage and availability may vary in other states.
LIAM: A Focus on Millennial and Gen Z Clients
September is fast approaching, and with it comes Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM), coordinated by Life Happens*.
This LIAM, you can focus on an underserved, but well represented, portion of today’s insurance market: Millennials and Generation Z (Gen Z) clients, who range from just entering the work force all the way to those in their early forties.
In the 2024 Insurance Barometer Study, conducted by LIMRA and Life Happens, these consumers expressed their views on purchasing insurance, as well as roadblocks that kept them from doing so.
"Year after year, consumers greatly overestimate the cost of life insurance; notably over half of Gen Z and Millennials combined overestimate the cost at over three times its actual price."
The survey results suggest that a generational shift is underway as more Millennial and Gen Z consumers are experiencing life events that can motivate an interest in purchasing insurance.
We are here to help you serve these clients with FREE marketing tools that can help you explain how affordable and simple life insurance can be.
*Illinois Mutual is a member of Life Happens.
Stay in touch with your Life sales team and monitor your inbox in the coming weeks as our LIAM materials begin to go live!
In the meantime, call us today for a quote or to register for Agent Portal.
(800) 437-7355, Option 2 • [email protected]
BOOST your Q3 earnings by 20%!
Ask your Sales team for eligibility details.
Compliance Corner:
Help Combat Insurance Fraud
You do your best to serve hard-working individuals who want to safeguard themselves and their families with insurance protection—and our goal is to provide products that help meet their needs at prices they can afford.
One way you can help us achieve this goal is by helping us combat fraud, which is costly to the insurance industry and, in turn, leads to higher costs for consumers.
Recently, Illinois Mutual’s Home Office employees took part in our 11th annual Compliance Awareness Week. This year’s theme, “Go for the Gold: Fight Fraud,” focused on combatting suspected fraud. As athletes from around the world prepare to compete this summer to become Olympic champions in sports of all kinds, we invited employees, and now we invite you, our valued agents, to become champions of a different sort: anti-fraud champions.
Here are six potential red flags of insurance fraud at the time of application that you, as an agent in the field, should keep in mind:
- The applicant is in a hurry for coverage to take effect.
- The applicant asks hypothetical questions about coverage in the event of a loss.
- The applicant wants to pay the premium with cash or a money order.
- The applicant is reluctant to answer application questions or submit to a telephone interview.
- The applicant’s health history seems unusually brief, given their age or obvious physical impairments.
- The applicant seems unusually familiar with insurance terminology or asks specific questions related to claims procedures.
This is not a comprehensive list, but we hope it provides food for thought. And, we understand that sometimes red flags have legitimate explanations—we just want you to be alert to situations that may merit further investigation.
Also, one of the most imperative aspects of your work as an agent is to know your customer and verify their identity. If you suspect a policyowner has not truthfully provided their identity, or if the policyowner has reported an incident or condition in an attempt to be paid for a loss that is not covered by the policy, please be sure to inform us.
Remember, in many states, any person who knowingly engages in insurance fraud, or has knowledge or reasonable belief that a fraudulent insurance act is being committed and does not take action, may face criminal penalties.
If you suspect insurance fraud has occurred, contact Heather Russo, Illinois Mutual’s Anti-Fraud Coordinator, at (800) 437-7355, ext. 491, or contact your state insurance department.
2024 Compliance Awareness Week
Mutual Updates
PRODUCT UPDATE: Please be aware that we no longer offer the One-Year Term dividend option on continuous pay whole life plans due to low selection rates.
My Policy: Are Your Clients Registered?
Encourage your clients to register for My Policy, our website portal designed just for our policyowners. Policyowners can view policy summaries and verify policy specifics such as beneficiary designations.
It’s a secure way to access policy information online!
Agent Best Practices Forums
Learn key DI sales strategies directly from other successful independent agents!
View the Agent Best Practices Forum recordings anytime by selecting DI On-Demand Webinars at: Agent.IllinoisMutual.com
Quarterly Incentives Available
Ask your sales team if you could qualify for our Life, DI or Worksite quarterly bonuses!
(800) 437-7355, Option 2
Digital Tools to Help You Sell
Want to strengthen your worksite knowledge? Check out this video for tips on enrolling employees.
www.IllinoisMutual.com/Worksite-Tips
2023 Annual Report Highlights
"…to be fair to the client, I present different proposals to them, but it always comes back to Illinois Mutual because I have trust, and it gives my customer satisfaction knowing that I’ve placed them with the right carrier. And, I think Illinois Mutual sets itself apart from the rest of the companies because they are easy to work with.”
- Agent Cynthia Aguilar-Granillo
Visit the Annual Report page.