Ensuring Trust Can Lead to Insuring Your Family’s Financial Future

What are the things that keep you awake at night? War? The economy? Your favorite team’s poor play? Your job?

Maybe it’s your family’s financial future. If you’re the parent of young children, for instance, you could be concerned when you look around. You see an uncertain world, full of random misfortune, punctuated by an era-defining pandemic.

If you’re like Trushant “Tony” Patel, 42, of San Antonio, TX, you’d probably be struck by the reality of needing to do something now to protect your family’s financial future.

Patel came to that realization and saw the need to purchase life insurance. But he was unimpressed by those who tried to sell to him.

“Every insurance agent pushes and pushes and pushes you to the brink,” he said. “Then, my (WoodmenLife Sales Representative) presented me with options, asked if I had questions, and left it at that.

“I liked that. She seemed like this was for our benefit, not hers.”

Building a Trust

That Sales Representative was Cynthia Westbrook of LaVernia, TX, who Patel has known for years.

“What I did for Tony — what I do for all my clients — is I help them find the best product for them,” Westbrook said, “what fits their budget and what fits their needs.”

Now, Westbrook said, Patel routinely refers friends and associates to her because he trusts her.

“Trust is everything,” Patel said. “A lot of people don’t have that these days.”

Patel is not alone. According to an Investopedia article, “trust is an advisor’s most important aspect.”

The article makes three crucial points related to trust:

• Clients seem to care about their relationships and perceptions of their financial advisor as much as financial performance
• Above all, trust appears to be the most crucial aspect of the advisor-client relationship
• Earning trust and then maintaining it is a key skill that financial advisors need to acquire in addition to market savvy and good advice

Those are the goals of every WoodmenLife Sales Representative, said WoodmenLife Senior Vice President & National Sales Manager Charles R. Driffill.

“We’re here to help ensure the financial futures of families across the country,” he said. “We want to be known as someone who cares, and someone who’ll be there when our members need us most.

“We also want to exceed our members’ expectations by finding the best solutions to their unique needs and providing them with the service they deserve.”

Recognizing a Need

When Patel worked with Westbrook to purchase life insurance protection for his family, he took out a term product for himself.

Patel, a hotel owner, later decided to buy another hotel. That life change prompted a reevaluation of his situation.

Performing a Needs Analysis, Westbrook helped Patel determine that he needed additional coverage for himself, as well as coverage for his wife, Roshani, 37. More hotels meant more life insurance was needed to protect the family from the associated costs should either of the Patels die. The couple also purchased whole life products for their two children.

Another more recent topic of discussion between Westbrook and Patel has been converting or exchanging the Patel family’s existing products for WoodmenLife’s My Choice IUL®¹. Patel is attracted to the increased potential for cash value accumulation with the indexed universal life product².

He’s thankful Westbrook presented the pros and cons of converting or exchanging one type of life insurance certificate for another, as well as the differences between products.

Converting to Permanent Coverage

Term insurance, which Tony and Roshani have, offers life insurance protection for a certain amount of time. If you die during this time, your selected beneficiary receives a death benefit. This is an affordable type of life insurance that provides temporary coverage.

Term life insurance may be right for you if you:

• Want coverage for a specific amount of time
• Need low-cost protection for yourself or for your young children
• Want to help your family pay for mortgage payments, bills, college, or funeral expenses should you die
• Might like to convert to permanent insurance at a later date

If you’ve experienced a life-changing event and think it may be time to convert to permanent insurance, check the term conversion period on your certificate — the period when you are allowed to convert. The conversion period doesn’t last forever, so plan ahead and talk with your Representative³ when you’d like to convert.

In addition to providing for funeral expenses and leaving a legacy, here are some reasons people typically convert to permanent insurance:

• You want the potential for cash value — You can accumulate cash that could be part of your long-term financial planning
• Health changes — You may be able to convert without a health check
• You can now afford it — You may not have been able to pay the higher premiums of permanent insurance before

Establishing a Connection

After taking in the information Westbrook provided him, Patel has so far exchanged both of his children’s whole life products for IUL.

Tony and Roshani feel that exchanging their children’s products for IUL will protect them going into the future, and they’re looking forward to making a similar change themselves⁴. They also feel confident that they have a Representative who will guide them in making decisions on their products going forward.

“We’re working toward retirement, and our kids are looking toward college,” Patel said. He added that potential cash accumulation could help his and Roshani’s post-work plans and possibly help pay for their children’s education.

Making such plans and purchases when one has a trusted Representative like Westbrook is markedly less stressful. It’s even familial.

“Whether it’s about decision-making or sending a personal note, she’s always checking in,” Patel said. “She makes us feel like part of the family.”

Westbrook said it’s all about being honest, explaining everything, how it’s going to work, and helping make decisions.

Ultimately, she said, “You have to put the client’s interests before your own.”

As you go through life, there’ll be changes and opportunities to reevaluate your situation. Take a moment to reach out to your Representative. He or she is there to help.

You can get ready for a talk with your Representative by visiting the WoodmenLife Life Insurance Calculator⁵ at WoodmenLife.org/LifeInsuranceCalculator

1. Universal Life insurance products contain fees, such as mortality and expense charges (which may increase over time), and may contain restrictions, such as surrender periods. This certificate could lose money. WoodmenLife will provide notification if the guaranteed monthly deductions and interests are expected to exhaust the plan’s cash values prior to the maturity date. This certificate is not guaranteed to stay in force until maturity based on minimum guarantees.
Forms: ICC18 8730 4-18, 8730 4-18

2. IUL is not an investment. It is a life insurance policy product that provides growth potential through index interest crediting. You cannot invest directly in an index.

3. All products may not be available in all states and not all Representatives are licensed to sell all products.

4. These certificates have exceptions, limitations and restrictions. For costs and complete details in coverage, contact a WoodmenLife Representative.
Forms: ICC16 8648 1-16 & 8648 1-16 (XX)

5. This is an estimate only and not an offer of insurance coverage. Please consult with your insurance professional to determine the amount of life insurance protection that may be appropriate for you. Information and interactive calculators are hypothetical and for illustrative use only. This analysis is based solely on the information you provide. This content is for general educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide fiduciary, tax, or legal advice.

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