Life Insurance Awareness Month: 5 Questions to Ask Clients This Month
September is Life Insurance Awareness Month, which gives financial advisors a natural opportunity to revisit life insurance with clients. Coverage can stay in place for years while a client’s life changes around it, making the occasion a useful prompt for a check-in.
The harder part, however, is figuring out how actually to have that conversation.
Life insurance brings clients face to face with what would happen to the people they care about after they’re gone. But a discussion this personal can quickly feel cold once the focus turns to policies and coverage amounts.
For advisors, the questions you ask can help keep the client at the center of the discussion and anxiety at bay. Framing them around the client’s circumstances and expectations gives you a way to understand what the coverage needs to accomplish before you evaluate the coverage itself.
That idea is behind the five questions below.
Each reframes a familiar part of the life insurance discussion to help you learn more about the client and give you better context when it’s time to assess their coverage.
1. “Who would feel the financial impact if something happened to you?”
An advisor needs to know who relies on the client financially, which makes “Who are your dependents?” an obvious question.
The word dependents, however, can narrow the client’s answer. Consider someone who regularly helps an aging parent with living expenses. They may not think of that parent as a dependent even though their death could have a financial impact.
Widening the question can give you more useful information: Who would feel the financial impact if something happened to you?
The answer may uncover financial relationships that don’t fit neatly into the dependent box. For the advisor, that provides a fuller picture of the client’s responsibilities before the conversation reaches policies or coverage amounts.
2. “What would you want the money to make possible for your family?”
“How much life insurance do you need?” gets quickly to a dollar amount. Clients may have a hard time answering until they’ve considered what they expect that money to accomplish.
Try asking about the outcome first.
A client might want their spouse to have the option of remaining in the family home. Understanding that priority gives the advisor context for the coverage discussion that follows.
The eventual dollar amount now has something behind it. The advisor can evaluate coverage with a clearer understanding of what the client wants those financial resources to provide. The answer may also reveal priorities that deserve attention elsewhere in the client’s financial plan.
3. “Walk me through the life insurance you have today.”
“How much life insurance do you have?” is a natural question during a coverage review. The answer gives you a number, but there may be more to understand about the coverage behind it.
Try giving the client room to explain what they have in their own words. Ask them to walk you through their current life insurance.
You may find that most of their coverage comes through work. Or they may own a policy they purchased years ago and haven’t looked at closely since. How the client describes their coverage can also tell you how well they understand what they own.
For the advisor, that creates a better starting point for the review. You can fill in missing details and identify areas that deserve a closer look before deciding whether the client’s current coverage still fits their situation.
4. “Is there anything about your life insurance you’ve never been quite sure about?”
“Do you have any questions about your policy?” sounds like an open invitation. For a client who isn’t particularly familiar with life insurance, it can be difficult to know what to ask.
Try asking about uncertainty instead.
A client may have questions about how long their coverage lasts or what happens if their circumstances change. They may have wondered about something for years without knowing whether it was worth bringing up.
For the advisor, those uncertainties can point to areas where the client needs more clarity. They can also reveal a gap between owning life insurance and understanding it, allowing you to address concerns before moving into a broader coverage assessment.
5. “How comfortable are you with the amount of coverage you have today?”
“Do you have enough life insurance?” puts the client in the position of judging whether their coverage is adequate. They may have an answer, but that answer could be based more on confidence than a recent assessment.
In contrast, asking how comfortable they are with their current coverage gives you a natural opening to explore what’s behind that confidence. From there, you can offer to compare what they have with what they may need.
Nitrogen’s Insurance Center provides a structured way to make that comparison. Its Insurance Coverage Assessment calculates life insurance need using the DIME framework, which accounts for debt and income along with mortgage and education needs. Advisors can complete the assessment during a client meeting or send it ahead of time.
The result is Coverage Number™, which compares the client’s existing coverage with their calculated need. A Coverage Number below 100 may indicate a gap, while a number above 120 could point to excess coverage. Nitrogen considers the range from 80 to 120 generally on track.
That gives you a number to discuss with the client without reducing the decision to a simple pass or fail. You can use the result as a starting point, apply your professional judgment, and decide whether the client’s coverage deserves a closer look.
Make the most of Life Insurance Awareness Month
Life Insurance Awareness Month gives advisors a reason to bring insurance back into the client conversation this September. How you approach the subject can help you learn more about what clients expect from their coverage and give you better context when it’s time to evaluate it.
If you’re looking for a more structured way to bring insurance into your client conversations, see how Nitrogen’s Insurance Center can help. Curious how it plays out in a real client meeting? Book a demo to see Insurance Center in action.
FAQ
How can financial advisors bring up life insurance with clients?
Life Insurance Awareness Month gives advisors a timely opening each September. Advisors can use the occasion to revisit coverage as part of a broader client review. Starting with the client’s financial circumstances can also provide useful context before the discussion reaches coverage amounts.
How can advisors discuss life insurance without sounding salesy?
Consider where your opening question directs the client’s attention. Asking immediately about coverage amounts can make the discussion feel transactional. Questions about who relies on the client financially can help establish why the coverage exists before you assess whether the current amount fits.
What questions should advisors ask when reviewing life insurance?
Advisors can ask what clients expect their insurance to accomplish and whether their circumstances have changed since the coverage was selected. It can also be useful to understand how the client arrived at the current amount. Those answers provide context for evaluating existing coverage.
What is Nitrogen’s Coverage Number?
Coverage Number™ is part of Nitrogen’s Insurance Center. It compares a client’s existing insurance coverage with calculated need, giving advisors a quantitative starting point for discussing coverage. It can identify potential coverage gaps as well as situations where existing coverage may exceed calculated need.