How to Sell Employees on Disability and Life Insurance
We have all heard the same old story over and over, but picture this.
Sarah is 23 years old. She has graduated from college, and is starting an exciting career with a great company. Sarah is young, healthy, smart, and invincible. She will never get sick. She will never have a debilitating accident. She will live forever. She doesn’t need Disability or Life Insurance.
Sound familiar? If you work in HR, you’ve met a Sarah once or twice. And you’ve also met John, the young man with two kids who was out of work for 8 weeks after falling from a ladder. John didn’t have Disability Insurance, and losing his income for those weeks was a significant financial hardship for John and his family.
In Human Resources, we have an opportunity to educate employees, to help them avoid situations like John’s. But how do you convince someone like Sarah to listen?
You can give Sarah statistics, like more than one in four now-20 year olds will become disabled before they retire (according to a Social Security Administration Fact Sheet, Feb 7, 2013). But will that sway her? Not likely.
You can talk about “what if” and “someday” and how the cost really isn’t high in the grand scheme of things. But will that sway her? Not likely.
How to Convince Her
Try storytelling. Tell her about someone you know. Tell her about someone just like her that was lucky to have coverage, or suffered because he didn’t have coverage. Describe the hardship that was avoided because of the disability payments, or the pain that occurred because the individual didn’t have insurance. Then ask her if she knows anyone that had to miss work due to an illness or injury. Chances are high that she knows someone.
Why Storytelling Works
Storytelling can be powerful. It elicits an emotional response, which can impact decision making. It turns a farfetched notion into a situation she can visualize, and see herself in. You can tell your story in a group meeting, or when talking one on one to a new hire. However, it is most effective if you can tell it in person.
Storytelling can also be an effective tool when talking about Life Insurance. Paint a mental picture of what it looks like when someone leaves a family with no money to pay for a funeral, the family home, the children’s needs. When you pull at someone’s heart strings you influence the mind.
Now What
Once you’ve shared your story, it’s time to educate. Share your statistics if you want, but just a few. Explain how the plan works, and what the benefit is. Use examples that Sarah can relate to. If the company helps with the premium, share that information so Sarah knows how affordable it is.
Consider using an online education tool, and send enrollment reminders through email, chat, or even Twitter if that is how Sarah communicates. And make enrolling convenient. Give her the option to enroll online, as well as on paper.
Through the persuasiveness of storytelling, and the ease of technology, hopefully Sarah will see the real benefits of Disability and Life insurance. Someday when Sarah slips on the ice and subsequently collects her first disability payment, she’ll be glad she signed up for coverage. She may not thank you for sharing your story, but you’ll know that she’ll be ok. And that’s what matters most.
Contact Amy Esry today to discuss in further the details behind Disability and Life Insurance.
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