How to Write a Bigger Case
By Alan Friedman
Writing a bigger case is not just about increasing the size of a policy; it’s about offering more comprehensive, value-driven solutions to your clients. By understanding their financial picture, identifying opportunities for wealth transfer and estate planning, focusing on business solutions and continuing to educate yourself, you can position yourself to write larger cases that benefit both the client and you.
Here are some ways that Watermark can help:
Understand Your Client’s Full Financial Picture
One of the initial steps in writing a larger case is to develop a thorough understanding of your client’s financial situation, goals and needs. By taking the time to learn in detail about their financial landscape — assets, liabilities, income and long-term objectives —you can identify more opportunities for higher-value policies that may not have been immediately apparent. This goes beyond just asking about their immediate life insurance needs. Consider issues such as estate planning, tax implications, business succession and retirement income planning. The more comprehensive your approach, the better chance you’ll have to recommend a larger policy that provides true value to the client.
Identify Wealth Transfer and Estate Planning Opportunities
High-net-worth individuals and business owners often have complex needs that can lead to larger life insurance cases. These individuals may require life insurance to help with wealth transfer, estate planning, or to fund a buy-sell agreement for a business.
For example, an individual looking to pass on their wealth to heirs may need a larger policy to cover estate taxes or equalize inheritances among multiple children. Life insurance policies can also be used as a strategic tool in estate planning to avoid the sale of family assets or to ensure that beneficiaries receive a tax-free payout to cover taxes.
Leverage Business Insurance Solutions
Business owners often require life insurance products to cover key person insurance, buy-sell agreements, or to fund employee benefits. These policies often involve larger face amounts and are a great way opportunity for you to write bigger cases. Start by speaking with business owners about their long-term goals and how life insurance can help protect their businesses in case of the unexpected.
For example, a business may need to purchase a large policy on a key employee or an owner to ensure the company’s stability should that person pass away unexpectedly.
Focus on Permanent Life Insurance Solutions
While term life insurance policies are often the go-to solution for clients looking for affordable coverage, permanent life insurance policies provide more opportunities for larger cases. Although these policies are more expensive, they offer lifelong coverage and often have the potential to build significant cash value that clients can borrow against or use for retirement planning.
Develop Referral Networks
A key way to find bigger cases is by leveraging referrals. Often, clients with larger financial portfolios already have an established network of professionals like accountants, estate planners and attorneys who are working with them on other areas of their finances. By creating relationships with these professionals, you can gain access to their clients and bring your life insurance expertise into the mix.
Use Advanced Sales Techniques
Writing a bigger case often requires more advanced sales techniques. Consider incorporating value-based selling and needs analysis to ensure that the life insurance solution you are offering aligns with the client’s overall goals. Often, higher-value cases involve clients with more complex needs, so take the time to show them how your solutions can address their unique circumstances. This also involves educating clients on the value of life insurance beyond the death benefit. Emphasize features like cash accumulation, tax benefits and the flexibility to change their policy as their needs evolve.
Nurture Long-Term Relationships
To secure larger cases, it’s critical that you don’t just focus on the transaction. Life insurance is often a long-term commitment, so by building and nurturing strong relationships with clients, you will increase your chances of securing larger policies down the line. By performing regular check-ins and policy reviews, you can ensure that your clients’ current needs are being met and stay in the loop when a larger policy is needed. As clients’ financial situations evolve, they may require more insurance coverage or different types of policies. By staying top of mind and proactively reaching out to discuss their changing needs, you increase the likelihood of securing bigger cases as they mature in their financial journey.
Stay Educated and Leverage Expertise
One of the most effective ways to write bigger cases is to continue learning and expanding your expertise. Attend industry conferences, webinars and continuing education courses to stay on top of the latest life insurance trends and products. The more knowledgeable you are, the more confident clients will be in your ability to recommend the right solutions.
Working with Watermark you have access to a team of experts and specialists in areas that include case design, estate planning and business insurance that gives you the ability to write larger, more complex cases. Clients appreciate when an agents can bring additional resources to the table, so don’t hesitate to leverage the support we can offer.