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There are so many opportunities to sell financial products we often walk straight past them. Let’s say you’re meeting John*, the manager of a successful micro-enterprise, to discuss his income protection requirements. You’re excited about the meeting because you can easily sell the benefits offered on FMI’s Business Person Elect (BPE) product. BPE is designed for small business owners who understand the risk of income interruptions.
The product offers a number of benefits. Temporary Income (TIP) Protector pays out in the event the policyholder cannot perform his duties for less than 24 months, while the Permanent Income Protector (PIP) dovetails with TIP to provide uninterrupted income protection cover until a pre-selected retirement. John would probably opt for the Business Overhead Protector (BOP) benefit too. This benefit covers business expenses such as rent, electricity, water, telephone expenses and vehicle leasing costs among others. The maximum benefit – R120 000/month for income protection and R100 000/month for overheads – are sufficient for most small businesses.
As you pull up in John’s parking lot you notice three security personnel at the front gate, a hive of activity in the company’s distribution centre and a couple of sales reps rushing to their parked vehicles. You greet the receptionist at the front desk and – after waiting for John’s assistant to fetch you – walk past the open plan accounts and human resources departments. As you pull up a chair at John’s desk you suddenly realise you’ve missed a world of opportunity. John has more than 15 employees.
His business is at risk if the protection needs of his staff aren’t met. You have a perfect opportunity to up-sell FMI’s Vision benefits package and protect his employees and their dependents from the financial hardships stemming from death or disability. You can tailor a solution to suite John’s employees’ needs by providing a mix of life, dread disease, capital disability and funeral cover – with a handy savings option to boot. The Vision package offers an innovative benefit for employers too. If the Temporary Income Cover benefit is selected, John (or rather John’s company) will receive payments in the event one of his staff is temporarily disabled and unable to perform the duties of their occupation.
Cover has improved markedly in recent years. Life Cover, for example, can be arranged for up to four times gross annual salary (maximum R300 000). The dread disease benefit accelerates off the Life Cover and is capped to three times gross annual cover, up to R200 000. The same limits apply to the Capital Disability Benefit. Funeral policies can be flexibly structured too, with four options each including cover for the member, spouse, dependents and extended family. |
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The employer’s TIP protection can be taken up to R25 000 (or capped at one month’s gross salary) and will pay out for a selected maximum period of either 12 or 24 months. And there’s more good news. Vision provides cover for both white and blue-collar workers, so you can write a policy to include John’s office and warehouse staff. Don’t lose sight of potential business. You’ve gone to the trouble to canvas for and visit a lead, now put in the hard yards and convert that lead into the largest possible new business premium for your brokerage.
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