In my previous article: Five Steps to Critical Illness Sales Success the first step was to identify your target market. With your target identified you can begin to list the various objectives that can be achieved with the use of a critical illness insurance policy. Some potential markets are:
- Self employed individuals
- The family market / Single parents
- The group insurance marketplace
- High income earners
While there may be some overlap in ultimate objectives the reasoning behind the objectives will differ. It is impossible to launch an effective marketing campaign without understanding your target market’s goals. And without a specified target market it is impossible to fill your calendar with high quality prospects.
The Self Employed
Perhaps no other target market needs Critical Illness Insurance more than the self-employed individual. Unlike an employee of a larger company this individual has no employee benefits other than what he purchases for himself. The objectives of this market segment may include: income replacement, money to hire a temporary replacement employee, money to pay routine business expenses, major medical gap coverage and freedom from managed care restraints. It is important to recognize that the self-employed individual most likely does not have disability income protection whether income protection or overhead expense. The Critical Illness Policy is a viable and less expensive alternative to disability income.
The Group Insurance Market
This marketplace offers numerous Critical Illness Insurance applications. Depending on the group size that you target some of the objectives might be: expansion of voluntary benefits, medical gap plan, executive benefits and expansion of employer-paid benefits. This market is more complicated than other markets because you may have to understand the objectives not only of the employer but that of the employees as well. While the employer must approve Critical Illness Insurance as a voluntary benefit, the producer will still need to understand the objectives of the employees to have a successful enrollment. To open a discussion of Critical Illness Insurance as an executive benefit it is important to understand the value to the executive. The employer market may have numerous challenges but it can be one of the most profitable.
High Income Earners
This category includes doctors, lawyers, consultants and other professionals with incomes above $250,000 annually. These individuals tend to have disability income protection but are limited in the percentage of their income that can be protected. Critical Illness Insurance can ensure that they do not have to deplete their savings and investments in the event that they are disabled by a covered illness. Individuals in this category tend to be less concerned with the potential out-of-pocket expenses that may be incurred then they are about protecting their financial future.
The Family Market / Single Parents
The need for Critical Illness Insurance here should be obvious. For working Americans, whether in a traditional family or as a Single Parent the need for cash when a family member is diagnosed with a critical illness cannot be overstated. The income replacement needs are far in excess of what disability income can protect. Parents want to be with their children should there be diagnosis of cancer, spouses want to be with each other when a critical illness strikes and everyone wants the freedom to seek out-of-network treatment when it is their best interest. Regardless of whether it is a $10,000 policy or a $100,000 policy there will be tremendous financial freedom for the family.
It should be obvious that there is a lot of opportunity in the marketing of Critical Illness Insurance. But beyond the sales opportunities is the chance to really make a difference in the life of an individual.