PASSIONATE ABOUT DISABILITY COVERAGE? GET PASSIONATE ABOUT BENEFITS TECH By Alex Tolbert CEO, BerniePortal Nashville, TN Most brokers recognize the opportunity that disability income insurance represents to their agencies. Data shows that only a third of Americans have disability income insurance, which means industry dynamics are right for brokers to both drive ancillary commissions and provide better income protection to clients’ employees. Of course, there are some hurdles in the way of maximizing disability income coverage across your book of business. The two most common roadblocks are the cost of coverage and the transactional burden of administering this benefit. Here are a few ways producers and agency owners can think about both. POSITIONING EMPLOYERS AS THE AVENUE FOR DI COVERAGE Generally, most business owners with more than 30 or so employees will have an indi-vidual disability policy for themselves. They EMPLOYEES ARE OFTEN MORE LIKELY TO SIGN UP FOR VOLUNTARY COVERAGE WHEN THEY CAN SEE IN REAL TIME THE MINIMAL INCREASE IT ADDS TO THEIR PAYROLL DEDUCTION. might not have cancer or critical illness coverage, but they probably have disability income insurance. Why? The value of this kind of coverage is more widely accepted—the risk of being unable to work after an injury or illness is a concern for many Americans. According to the Federal Reserve and the Social Security Administration, less than half of American adults have enough savings to cover three months of living expenses if they lose their income—and more than a quarter of today’s 20-year-olds will miss a year’s worth of work due to a disabling condition before they retire. If you have clients who do hold an indi-vidual disability policy, you won’t have to convince them of the value of the coverage. Instead, present a case for the employer as the avenue for this kind of coverage for workers. 24 ABS | benefitspecialistmagazine.com
America's Benefit Specialist May 2019: Page 24
