The importance of shopping a life insurance case

By finding the right life insurance carrier and policy for each customer, you can help them gain peace of mind while growing your own business. Shopping a life insurance case can help make sure you get there every time.

Also called a quick quote or tentative offer request, shopping a life insurance case involves reviewing individual customers with multiple carriers to determine if they’re eligible for coverage and compare costs. Whether you have a customer in less-than-perfect health or you’re a newer agent looking for some extra assurance, shopping a case can help you place more policies, streamline the sales process, and find the right fit for your customers. Here’s a closer look at how it works.

Knowing when to shop a case

How do you know if you need a quick quote for a customer? Shopping a life insurance case is especially important if…

Your customer has health concerns, a criminal history, or other factors that could impact their eligibility for life insurance.
You’re a newer insurance agent and want to ensure a seamless process for your customer. Checking with carriers ahead of time allows you to take a quote confidently to a customer, since you’ve already checked on their eligibility.
Your customer has been turned down already with another carrier.

Shopping a life insurance case upfront is a great way to identify and manage potential factors that can impact your customer’s coverage options. These can include health issues; lifestyle factors, like traffic tickets; or financial concerns, including bankruptcy.

Depending on those risk factors, different carriers may decline to offer coverage, offer different rates, or qualify customers for a different coverage level, such as $250,000 life insurance policy instead of a $500,000 policy. For example, if a customer chews tobacco, one carrier may offer a smoker rate and another carrier may qualify the customer for a non-smoker rate.

Best practices for shopping a case

Start with the basics: Always ask your customer for their gender, exact date of birth, smoker status, height, and weight before sourcing quick quotes. Keep in mind that requests shouldn’t include certain personally identifying information, like the customer’s name. Some partners will provide a template to make sure you’re collecting the right information upfront.
Include the 5 Ws: The more details you can provide, the more accurately – and quickly – a carrier can respond. With each quick quote, make sure to include the who, what, where, when, and why behind the request. For example, if someone had cancer, you’ll want to know what type of cancer they had, when and where it was treated, and how long they’ve been without it. Details on how a customer is managing a chronic illness can also help you obtain a more accurate quote. For example, if a customer has diabetes, the carrier will want to know their most recent A1C score and how they are treating their condition. Make sure to include all relevant details directly in your request, since carriers won’t accept separate attachments, like medical records.
Take advantage of our partner support: eIndependent can help streamline the process of shopping multiple carriers by shopping and collecting the responses, so your team can match more people with the right term life, permanent life, and final expense insurance. Within a week or two, we can compile all the information into one email to easily view all the responses and respective life insurance table ratings. If you need to gather responses more quickly, we can also send them as they come in.

While not every customer needs a quick quote, shopping cases when needed can help you narrow down carriers that might decline customers or not offer the best price. That means higher placement rates, happier customers, and greater opportunities for your own company.

To find out more, ask eIndependent about how our dedicated team can partner with you to shop your life insurance cases and help grow your business.

At eFinancial, our goal is to make life insurance simple, affordable, and understandable for everyday families. This content is intended for educational purposes only. Each post is carefully fact-checked, reviewed and updated regularly to ensure the information is as relevant as possible.