Laura Skiles: Help female clients reach their goals

In episode 3 of “Tips from the Insurance Pros,” we’re joined by Laura Skiles with Keating and Associates. She talks about meeting women where they are in their financial journey, and how to get them to where they want to be using life insurance as a tool.

FOR PRODUCER USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
Assurity is a marketing name for the mutual holding company Assurity Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries. Those subsidiaries include but are not limited to: Assurity Life Insurance Company and Assurity Life Insurance Company of New York. Insurance products and services are offered by Assurity Life Insurance Company in all states except New York. In New York, insurance products and services are offered by Assurity Life Insurance Company of New York, Albany, New York. Product availability, features and rates may vary by state.

Transcript

spk_0:   0:03
Hello, My name is Matt with a surety. Welcome to the third episode of our Tips from the Insurance Pros Podcast were excited to bring you conversations with sales prose as they share ideas and insights you can use today. Joining us today is Laura Skiles, who is a financial advisor at Keating and Associates. She's been in the financial service, is arena for eight years and has a strong passion and commitment to working with women. Laura will talk about her approach and other keys to her success in this market. September is Life Insurance Awareness Month and what we see many campaigns driving home the need to buy life insurance around this time of year, there's a demographic that's often overlooked women. According to a 2016 liberal report, 44% of women have no life insurance. And yet 42% of women are the primary breadwinners of U. S. Households. How can we help to better educate this market? Laura, It's great having you here with us today. Welcome.

spk_1:   1:03
Yeah. Thanks for having me.

spk_0:   1:05
So, Laura, as we mentioned earlier, not many women have life insurance. Or if they do, they don't have enough of it. How is your organization tapping into this market? Their needs.

spk_1:   1:17
It's really common among women in all stages of life, from educating clients on the impact that insurance can have on their lives. And the lives of the people that they care about is a really powerful place to begin. And there so many misconceptions about insurance. So having conversations about how the different types of insurance operate, why and where they fit into different financial plans is the perfect place to start. We also have to bring attention to the true monetary value that women bring to their families, even if they don't work outside of the home. Often stay at home. Mom can be overlooked from a financial stance. But when you consider if you were to lose her, aside from the obvious devastation of the loss of our relationship, if you were to pay someone to d'oh all of the number of things that stay at home Mom may do. For example, you take the kids to school, clean the house, prepped food, pick up kids for practice, they provide mental and emotional support for the kids. I mean, I can't spend the entire conversation talking about all the things moms do for kids, but from a financial stance. If we lost Mom, then how many people How much does it cost to hire to replace all the rules of the hats they wear? Aside from the part no one wants to think about. When I am I going to die. What's gonna happen? My family? We also have to plan for living a long life. And what can our insurance do for us and between now and then? And that's one of the most common things that people are interested in knowing

spk_0:   2:54
it's valuable point. I think that education is truly one of the key components in this. How do you How do you go about opening the door to that conversation?

spk_1:   3:05
Really, I start. I've draw diagrams by showing people, Hey, I just want you to know here's what the different types are. Here's what they look like and what makes them different and why you would use each one of them. But to get there, we really take a comprehensive view of their situation, and from there we can look at based on their goals. How we How are we going to meet those goals and sometimes having to fill in the gaps. Well,

spk_0:   3:36
excellent. So what do you think is the best way to approach women about their life insurance needs and why?

spk_1:   3:42
Yeah, there are many ways that we can talk about life insurance with women in men, but the truth is, the life insurance is utilized for the purpose of having a death benefit in place. And then you're buying for someone else. And I make this point to say it's equally important for a spouse or beneficiary to understand the policy and why and how it fits into the plan. Talking with women about their goals, both short term in long term, helps us identify what they want their future will look like, and not just for themselves, but for their families and sometimes feature families. And then we play the game of what if to show the various results that could occur based on which plan we put in action. So bringing the full picture so they can get a bigger vision of the impact of life insurance can have on their lives in the lives of the people that they care about is really effective.

spk_0:   4:40
Looking out for someone's well being doesn't only mean their physical wellness. Do you have a story you can share with us? About a time you helped a female client become more financially fit,

spk_1:   4:51
I can tell you a hypothetical situation where I have the potential to help someone become more financially confident. Now let's say there's a woman who knows there's more to her money than just saving and using it wisely. And she has two very young sons and has recently gone through a divorce. She wants to make sure that if she passes away early than her boys would be taken care of. And if she lives a long life, then we can plan to use her cash value in the policy to be a piece of supplemental income during retirement. And between now and then, we have the opportunity to plan on taking cash out to help the boys pay for college. So you can see that having various options and how and when we use the policy that can provide both a tangible and intangible value to her

spk_0:   5:42
grace. It's always great to see people understanding just all the things insurance is able to do for them even beyond just a death benefit. So being in the insurance business, a mostly male, dominant profession, what's been your key to success is a woman in this industry, especially as you sell to other women.

spk_1:   5:59
Well, the fact is that working with women is something I truly love and have a passion for, and it's my responsibility, as their planner toe look out for them and their best interests, regardless of what the situation is. I feel like I have any ability to relate with women and start by meeting them where they are to understand their concerns and opportunities and strength, along with what they want the future to look like. So we paint the big picture, and then we dig deep into these points, and everyone wants to know and should know what their plan looks like from a 20,000 foot view. The comprehensive planning in what each of the puzzle pieces are made up of, and I was raised by a strong independent mother who taught me to help build up others around me, and that's what I've done all along. And we'll keep doing because seeing women generate more confidence is one of the most fulfilling reasons that I work with people the way I d'oh

spk_0:   7:00
fantastic. You mentioned that Ah, women may have some misconceptions about insurance. Can you speak a little bit more about these misconceptions women have and how you tend to address thes?

spk_1:   7:13
Well, there's two that come to mind right away, and one is that people generally think of life insurance eyes on Lee being used when someone dies and that goes back to the education piece. So that's why I spend a lot of time talking about the different types and why and where. Youth, um, and what would be appropriate, you know, in in their situation and the other one that comes to mind is like I was saying, You know, I work with a lot of state home moms or a lot of women that maybe just aren't the breadwinner in the family, and so they overlook their need for a dust benefit. In a lot of focus. Seems seven shifted towards the male role if they have a higher income. And, like I pointed out earlier, you know that's just not true for a large variety of reasons.

spk_0:   8:10
Yeah, so when you're meeting a woman who thinks that she might not need insurance. How do you go about starting the conversation with her about her financial needs?

spk_1:   8:21
Right. So I always start really with the same process for everyone. And what I want to know is what are some of your concerns? And it doesn't have to be financial, you know, sometimes it it helps related or family, or maybe has to do with your career. And the next day I want to know is what's good? What do you like about? You know what's going on in your life right now? Lead. Something's already established and and you have a lot of happy good things happening for you. And the next thing I want to know is, where do you want to be going? You know, if if we're sitting here in my office, I say again, starting school football season here in August of 2021 you know what has to happen between now and then for that person feel like they've had success in their lives, and this helps me kind of build the picture of where they are, where they want to go, and I can teach them how we can use these different tools to maybe supplement the concern or the strength or the goal along the way.

spk_0:   9:35
What is one thing an advisor can do today to better reach women?

spk_1:   9:40
Wow, I think, really, just understanding the demographic of the women that they work with. They really need to know that type of person inside and out. For example, let's say it. An advisor works primarily with teachers. They need to know what the what The concerns in the strengths and the goals of that demographic of teachers are so that I they can isolate that specific type of person that they're looking for because you don't need to go cast a big net out into the ocean and just see what you come up with. But if you know exactly the type of client that you're looking for, you'll know where to find them.

spk_0:   10:24
Well, thank you, Laura, for your thoughts and insights. Today we appreciate you taking the time to spend a few minutes with us as we look into new ways to empower women to live the best life one of those ways, being preparing for their future with a life insurance policy. Great thanks

spk_1:   10:40
for having me

spk_0:   10:41
and to our listeners. Thanks for tuning in tow. Episode three In a sureties podcast, Siri's tips from the insurance pros catch our next episode to hear more valuable insights into the women's market. In the meantime, if you'd like to learn more about a sureties life insurance products, head overto liam dot a surety dot com, that's L. I. A. M donna surety dot com. You can also email us at podcast at a surety dot com, and we'd be happy to connect you with one of our regional reps in your area to take a deeper dive. Thanks for listening for producer use only not for use with the general public. Foregoing information has been obtained from source is considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete. It is not a statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision, and it does not constitute a recommendation and the opinions of those Laura Skiles and do not necessarily reflect those of Raymond James prior to making an investment decision. Please consult with your financial advisor about your individual situation. These policies have exclusions and or limitations. The cost of availability of life insurance depends on factors such as age, health and the type of amount of insurance purchased. As with most financial decisions, there are expenses associated with the purchase of life. Insurance policies commonly have mortality and expense charges. In addition, if a policy is surrendered prematurely there, maybe surrender charges and income tax implications. Guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the insurance company not available in New York. Maturity is a marketing name for the mutual holding company, a surety group incorporated headed subsidiaries. Those subsidiaries include, but are not limited to, a surety life insurance company and a surety life insurance company of New York. Insurance, Product and service is our offered by a surety life insurance company in all states except New York. In New York, insurance, product and service is our offered by a surety Life Insurance company of New York, Albany, New York Product availability, features and rates and a very by state