NAIFA Supports Life Insurance Awareness Month

New research from LIMRA and Life Happens, almost a quarter of Americans say they would dip into their retirement savings if they experienced a disability. But between tax penalties and loss of the opportunity for compounding interest, an early withdrawal can do more harm than good.

NAIFA is pleased to join our members and industry partners, including Life Happens, to commemorate May as Disability Insurance Awareness Month (DIAM). Disability insurance is an essential part of a solid financial plan and DIAM is a great opportunity to start educating your clients and prospects about the importance of disability insurance coverage. 

When Bruce Palmieri, CLU, ChFC, CFP, applied for a life insurance policy in 1990, he didn’t expect to find a career—but that’s just what happened. His Northwestern Mutual advisor recruited him into the business and, over 30 years later, Palmieri is a stalwart of the insurance and financial services industry. 

Serving Main Street USA

Palmieri primarily works with clients who are looking to retire soon and want to make sure they have their finances in order. He helps them plan for the future, delving into the details of their retirement accounts, employee benefits, life insurance, long-term care planning and more. By taking a holistic approach to each client’s unique circumstances, he’s able to help them build a strategy that works for them.

Increased demand for insurance products driven by raised awareness due to COVID-19 and a tight labor market.

New annualized premium for workplace life insurance, disability insurance and supplemental health products rose in 2021, according to LIMRA’s workplace benefits sales surveys.

Chadd Watson, LUTCF, RICP, is an unabashed people person with a passion for helping others achieve their goals.

Watson was born and raised in Utah. He spent his early career as a high school football coach and photography and multimedia teacher. After he started a family, however, he began looking for other opportunities and found one through a close friend who was a claims manager with State Farm. Watson wasn’t sure if insurance was a good fit for him at first. However, after he started talking to agents, he was impressed to find them genuine and caring, so he decided to give it a try. He became a State Farm agent in 2007. After five years, State Farm asked him to lead a team of agents in Northern Nevada, where he and his family have stayed since.

With the current economic and health challenges in the United States, many consumers are concerned about making sure that they can protect themselves and their families from the unexpected.

Many young professionals are in need of individual disability income (DI) insurance, but they may not know it. In an article in the 2019 March/April issue of Advisor Today, Chris Coy, regional director with The Standard, shares three important points you can use to start the conversation about Individual disability income insurance with your clients.

Young professionals have made substantial investments in their careers. Professionals beginning their careers in fields that require extensive schooling and advanced degrees, or who have a high potential for above-average earnings over their lifetime, have already made a significant investment in their future by the time they reach their mid to late 20s. Many are likely carrying large student loan debts and don’t have much savings. For these individuals, protecting future income is important to ensure they can maintain their lifestyles and pay off loans in the event of a disability that leaves them unable to work for a period of time.

Disability income (DI) insurance is one of the most overlooked financial products by consumers, although for most of them, the ability to earn an income is their most valuable financial asset. Many agents face numerous objections when they ask their clients and prospects to buy DI insurance.

Dierdre Van Nest is the creator of the Crazy Good Talks Blueprint, which teaches financial professionals how to be “Crazy Good” speakers so they can build their brands and bring in business.