A Gestalt Approach to the End Zone

 

After recently ending the 2020 football season, one might think this article was about football. All the terms fit appropriately but they can be applied to numerous subjects. The only relevant subject that we will discuss here is retirement. Decades of preparation go into this life event, but many parts are ignored or lightly treated. I feel it is time to dissect this period of life for ultimate service. 

Most people who are in the retirement market, whether you sell insurance, retirement savings plans, help with medical service or assisted living, naturally and usually only focus on that aspect of retirement. That is like looking at the goal line and saying you are off the field.  As you know, everyone around you would be hilariously laughing.

Why? Because everyone who knows the game of football knows the field is marked with an end zone.  The goal line is not quite the end of the playing field. Now for the game, this area might not be that significant, but for life, the goal leads to retirement. The end zone is that period after retirement age until one is off the field. It is that period for which we should start in our twenties to prepare. Once one has crossed the goal line, the end of the field is just a short distance away. 

Most agents stop at this point and think to themselves they have focused on the customer's only end concern. Whether that is a retirement plan, long-term care product, Medicare Supplement, etc., the bottom line is we have only covered one need. 

Medicare covers some of the medical needs. Supplements partially cover what Medicare does not cover. Long-term care insurance mostly covers retirement communities. The retirement plan covers the financial need for that period of life in the end zone. The problem with this is the end zone in life is not a fixed line, nor does it only have one variable! As a general rule, people are living ten, twenty, thirty, and forty years longer than just a few years ago. So, the agent/advisor/consultant is only taking an educated guess to fully cover the needs of the customer.  Most good agents know today's needs have changed.  The customer no longer thinks that the nursing home is the final goal. Most customers do not want to spend their last days in one either. Many would rather have service at home. Hence the new “need” is care for the long term! 

Numerous products meet varying needs. Short-term care products reimburse the customer for the eighty-plus days' Medicare does not cover. Hospital indemnity reimburses not only seniors but others for those out-of-pocket expenses related to the hospital stay. There are plans to even cover critical illness. To someone on a fixed income and unable to supplement their income, these products pay off. 

The agent/advisor/consultant who has done their due diligence completing a thorough needs analysis would have uncovered these issues.  Still, there are other needs not being met! It is NOT just doing your “job” to uncover these, it is going above and beyond to uncover all needs. The initial needs assessment is not the only place to do this.  Staying in contact with the customer often uncovers other needs previously unmentioned. Then, if one is truly working for seniors, in my opinion, it is best to have the resources for ALL their needs.

 What does that mean? One does not have to be a doctor, lawyer, accountant, estate planner, etc. One only needs to know where to direct the customer to assist them. Therefore, it is good to have the connections to be able to assist your customer. Why not be their “go-to” SME(subject matter expert)! (continued)