Advisers can pitch life insurance cover as “peace of mind” as a way to tackle the challenging mindsets of the Australian population when it comes to taking out adequate cover.
“When you talk to people about the future there’s always one thing that they always talk about in terms of their hopes and dreams, which is the feeling of peace of mind,” Macquarie Adviser Services head of research Gary Lembit said at the Macquarie Life Roadshow in Sydney yesterday.
“What’s the number one thing that life insurance gives you? Peace of mind.” he said.
“Look at how important life insurance is to people [because] that’s what they want in their lives and here’s a product that happens to give it to them – that’s a really powerful position to be in.”
Macquarie conducted surveys on Australians across the country about their lives and their perceptions and expectations of life insurance.
The results found almost half of all Australians feel cautious when making big life decisions and half of all Australians want to be seen as confident when making decisions.
Furthermore, Australians were not at all confident about getting life insurance, Lembit said.
“They’re not seeing the benefits because they haven’t made the link between the peace of mind, having the insurance and feeling good,” he said.
“You guys have the opportunity to sell peace of mind to the people.”
It’s vital that the issue of life insurance is discussed with the family before any discussions or decisions are made, Lembit said.
“If they’re not talking about it at home, what are you going to have to deal with when you greet them at the door?
“The first question I’d be asking them is, have you spoken with your partner?
“It will make for a much better experience.”
The survey also found that Australians considering life insurance are more proactive in their search for an expert to guide them through the process.
Advisers must be the person they think of as being knowledgeable, an expert and the one who can give them really good advice for life insurance, Lembit said.
“You’ve got to translate life insurance into common language for people and you’re the only guys that can do that properly,” he said.
“You’ve got to talk to your clients now and don’t be frightened to give them knowledge because the more knowledge they have the better they’re going to feel.”
Following adviser feedback, Macquarie announced enhancements to its life insurance offerings.
The extended activities of daily living criteria found in the Active product are now identical in FutureWise as an alternative tier with the any occupation, own occupation and domestic duties definition of total and permanent disability insurance.
