Farm Insurance Agents » State Farm Insurance Agents

Successful Farm Insurance Agents Understand That Knowing Their Clients Is The Key

admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 06:00:59 +0000

When it comes to asking questions that get results, no one does it better than a successful farm insurance agent.

They seem to have a special knack – you might even call it a philosophy of communication that gets their prospects – the farmers and business owners who depend on them, to open up and tell them about their hopes and fears for their family and their business.

The best of them ask the most in depth questions and get answers to them, without seeming aggressive or pushy. It often comes across to their clients and prospects that they have an interest in them along with a natural curiosity that always makes them want to know more.

And they are masters at creating a relaxed atmosphere for everyone – an environment that encourages openness.

Successful farm insurance agents always seem to know which questions to ask in order to get to the root of the matter – to learn clearly what’s important to the business owners and farmers they serve. They know how to involve their prospects in the conversation.

They know that selling in the 21st Century is collaborative – it is not a monologue sales pitch.

The result, more often than not, is that the prospect ends up creating the solution – makes the buying decision themselves. Their clients come to their own conclusions regarding the best actions to take for the security of their family and business.

Successful farm insurance agents involve their prospects in a way that makes it natural for them to tell them their deepest secret fears and desires. When they demonstrate their willingness to listen, these successful business owners open up completely.

Farm insurance agents I have spoken with tell me this is not magic – it’s just their way. They tell me that their attitude about questioning is what allows them to establish a line of communication with their prospects.

Successful farm insurance agents know that people want to tell you everything – if you are interested in listening, if you are not challenging them, if you are interested in opening up a line of communication – not just pitching your favorite product du jour.

Successful farm insurance agents know theirs is not a relationship that presents a challenge to the other advisiors – they complement one another and because the farm insurance agent gains so much personal insight so quickly, they are positioned as an advocate for the farmer with these other advisors.

The example that comes to mind is trying to push a shopping cart full of beach stuff through deep sand. After about three steps you’re stuck. The harder you push the more stuck you become. So, being the clever resourceful person that you are, you go around to the front and begin to pull it.

Bingo, it moves easily – the same way as a business owner moves through the process of helping their farm insurance agent understand them better. Ask them whatever you want to know and they’ll respond if they believe you are really interested.

Once they are invloved telling their story the agent has their attention and vice versa. Only then can the conversation become a collobration that results in action being taken.

Remember the expression. “I’m rubber and you’re glue – anything you say bounces off me and sticks to you” from when you were a kid? The successful farm insurance agent understands that their role in an interview with a farmer or business owner is to be the rubber.

They are a virtual mirror. A mirror held up to the prospect’s face – to allow them to see themselves more clearly – to better understand what he or she feels is important – that they want and deserve for their family, their business and themselves.

Farm insurance agents understand that their role is to understand their clients inner most hopes, dreams, and fears.

The problems discussed have become the client’s problems. The solution is the client’s solution and it will be very difficult for anyone to upset the decisions the client has made and derail the actions being taken.

Farm Insurance Agents in the News

admin — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:16:53 +0000

When it comes to finding the right person to handle the insurance needs of your family, farm, or business – farm insurance agents are uniquely qualified to consider the human and business implications that effect you. Their solutions are tailor made to your needs.

Our web site offers information of value to you, whether you are a farm insurance agent yourself, whether you are considering becoming one, or if you are a farm/business owned wanting to know more about them.

Here are some recent posts that we’ve found that you might be interested in.

Financial Services Oversight Hearing on the Implementation of the … – Cameron Findlay, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Aon Corporation on behalf of The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers. Panel 3. Dr. Alan S. Blinder, Gordon S. Rentschler Memorial Professor of Economics and Co-Director of …
fema, mema to offer insurance agents icc workshop - any interested insurance agents who want more information on the increased cost of compliance (icc) portion of flood insurance policies are invited to attend a free workshop on filing claims under the program.
ag addresses southeastern insurance association – attorney general martha coakley was the keynote speaker yesterday at the annual meeting of the metrosouth independent insurance agents association. the meeting was held at the shaws center in brockton. attorney general coakley spoke …
Irda may change commission structure of insurance agents – Money … – Irda may change commission structure of insurance agents, Currently, Life Insurance Corp. of India, or LIC, the country?s biggest insurer by premiums, pays commissions based on the tenure of the policy, Money Matters.
UNUM PROVIDENT UK US INSURANCE POLICIES: Insurance News … - StreetInsider.com (subscription), MI – 3 minutes ago. MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Independent insurance agents who want to grow their business by harnessing the power of the Progressive name need . …

How is Term Life Insurance Like Wetting The Bed?

admin — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:31:59 +0000

You may not have thought of the comparison, but it’s accurate. Term life insurance is like wetting the bed because it provides immediate relief, but sooner or later you are going to have to get up and do something about it.

Because term life insurance is pure protection, providing only a death benefit, it is like renting the coverage for as long as the policy lasts or as long as you pay the premium. If you die during that time, the policy will pay its death benefit.

However, as you get older you see that while the original reason you bought the policy has gone away, it has invariably been replaced by another reason, usually one with an even higher price tag and even more dire consequences if you do not have the cash to satisfy it.

There are lots of different bells and whistles insurance companies add to make their term insurance policies salable.

For example, some have premiums that are level from the day you buy it until the end of the term. Since every year the actuarial cost of protection increases, the real corresponding costs your payments would rise each year, compared to the levelizeded premium term life insurance policy.

When your premiums rise according to the actual actuarial costs, if there was any chance that you could be convinced that you no longer needed the insurance, you would drop it in a heartbeat and the insurance company would not make as much money – because the early year premiums are lower than the later year premiums.

There is a “guaranteed renewable” feature in most term insurance policies – before or at the end of the initial term. Insurance companies have been selling insurance to people for a long time, and they know that your needs for insurance will last for as long as you live, and they want you to keep paying for insurance far beyond that initial term period.

The renewable feature’s primary benefit to you is that you don’t have to pass another physical to show that you are still “insurable” in order to keep the term insurance policy in force for longer that originally intended. In every term life insurance policy I’ve seen, each time you renew, the premiums will be higher for the next period of years than the last – because you are older and, therefore, more likely to die.

Another feature, convertibility, is usually part of the policy as well. In my opinion the convertibility feature is vital and something you should clearly understand in order to make sure the policy is as flexible as you will want it to be.

Convertibility is a feature that could be critically important to you. It allows you to exchange this policy for another type of life insurance at any time before the expiration of the policy’s term. By purchasing a convertible term life insurance policy you remain in control, the policy can be converted to a permanent type of coverage at a later time, and importantly – without having to prove that you are still insurable.

Here’s where my wetting the bed analogy comes in. Generally people choose term insurance for protection when they need it as a permanent solution for a temporary obligation, such as mortgage protection, bank loans and security required by a vendor, or perhaps as income replacement when their children are young. These are times when the requirements for immediate cash protection to meet your commitments is paramount if you were to die – and term insurance may only possible solution that provides the amount of coverage you need at a premium you can afford.

Over time the original loans get repaid – so you borrow more, kids grow into teenagers – now it’s their college education you want to assure. And as retirement nears – money is still going to be needed by the survivors, to meet expenses, pay taxes, etc.

In other words, term life insurance is a permanent solution for a temporary obligation. And it is a temporary solution for a permanent need.

The question most people ask is, in order to work out the right type of insurance for their specific situation – where can I get both the advice and input I need and the cost effective solution to the challenge of finding the right policy for me right now?

In my opinion, the right answer to that is one that makes the most sense both for you and your family but your business as well.

It’s finding an insurance agent who has spent a lifetime helping people like you. He or she will have insights and experiences to share that you can benefit from.

Remember, when you buy life insurance, commissions will be paid to someone – an online service, a web only company, or a flesh and blood agent. There is nothing you or I can do about that.

So, why not get your money’s worth by using the help of a trained professional you trust who has to look you in the eyes for as long as you all shall live?

When It Comes to Farm Succession Planning, You Must Be Willing to Ask For Help

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:05:15 +0000

Passing down the farm is a many faceted equation, and because it is unlikely that you have already been through it recently, it will require you to ask for help from those likely to know more than you. It includes elements of strategic planning, farm succession planning, and farm estate planning. Are you willing to set your ego aside and ask for help or not?

Farmers need to look at what’s working and what’s not in order to better understand which past, present, and future actions are the most likely to take their farm in the direction they want it to go. Add to that the creation of policies, practices, training, tactics, and actions that will result in your next generation being able to lead and manage the farm in the future. And putting it all together with the documents required to add the force of law necessary to ensure it all happens.

It goes without saying that no one knows all that needs knowing on their own, enough to cobble together all these elements in an overall process that will result in the seamless transition of your farm over the years to the next generation.

The $64,000 question, “Who should I ask for help?”

Farm Insurance Agents Understand Your Desire to Pass Down The Farm

admin — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 12:15:12 +0000

Most farmers dream of the day when they can sit on the front porch and watch their son or daughter working the farm. After all that’s how it was for them wasn’t it? They took over the place from their father or uncle just like they had taken it over from those who came before them.

If that’s going to happen you really need to begin discussing the possibilities right now, today, with your offspring – all of them, those on the farm and those who’ve left.

You should start today talking it over with your spouse too. It’s true you know that wives outlive husbands on the farm by an average of ten years – so if you two don’t do the planning for what you agree is the best solution for your family, you widow will do it without you and maybe under conditions you swore would never happen.

If your kids are not going to farm, which is the traditional retirement plan for generations of farmers, you’re going to have to do something to get the maximum value out of all your hard work, so you and your spouse can live financially secure lives – with enough money to go visit those grand children.

And when you’re gone you’ll want to have enough so that each of your children can have a legacy of some sort. In cash.

Since you, if you are like most farmers, have 70-80% of everything you own tied up directly or indirectly in the farm and most of that is invested in land, buildings, livestock etc. – everything but cash, you are going to have to have a plan that converts the non-cash assets into cash.

The smart way, the most cost effective way, is to begin now while you are in your best bargaining position – to seek out potentially interested buyers and negotiate an agreement that will give your family the best possible return on your decades of hard work.

Farm insurance agents know all about this process. Often they know potential buyers you don’t know and sometimes they can be a sort of go-between to get the discussions started. Not in a formal way so much as in how they seem to know everything about everything that’s going on in the community.

And if there was any group of people who are universally known as being helpful and concerned about their neighbors its farm insurance agents.

As the discussions move forward from the informal to the concrete, the best way to nail down the terms and conditions of sale is through a written document, a contract which clearly establishes who is going to do what, when, and how they are going to do it.

The lawyers and farm insurance agents call this a buy-sell agreement.

Buy-sell agreements formalize the procedure for turning your farm over to new owners. It provides a seamless transition of ownership and management with little if any decrease in the value of the farm.

If you are in business with one or more other people I hope you already have a buy-sell agreement and will use this information as motivation to meet with your lawyer and your farm insurance agent to make sure it is up to date in from a valuation, terms, and conditions point of view.

And if you are a sole owner, maybe someone who originally thought they’d have a son or daughter following them by now – but for whom that has not turned out to be the case – a buy-sell agreement is the ideal tool with which to begin now to plan for a different owner of your farm in the next generation.

Maybe it’s the kid down the road whose parent’s farm is not big enough to absorb his brothers and sisters AND him. Farm insurance agents know people all over the area – maybe they know of a situation like that and can be instrumental in getting you together with this stranger who will become the next generation on your farm.

Here are a couple of ways buy-sell agreements can work. Farm insurance agents have briefcases full of examples like this and many others. Plus their insurance companies are overrun with tax and estate planning specialists who love helping their agents help people like you.

One is called the cross purchase method. Here the agreement is directly between the potential buyers and sellers. Each agrees that if he dies, retires, becomes disable, or otherwise leaves the farm – he or she will sell their interest to the others at a set price. It’s a simple arrangement to continue the farm and get your money out at the same time.

Another is the entity purchase method. In this situation the agreement requires the farm itself to buy the departing owners interest. The farm is continued by those who remain.

Needless to say your unique circumstances will dictate the best kind of buy-sell agreement for you and your family.

In either case your family and you are assured of the best price for your farm – because you did the negotiating of price, terms, conditions, etc. now, when you are in the strongest position you are likely ever to be in.

Avoid the Estate Planning Alphabet of Doom!

admin — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:27:28 +0000

Successful farmers see their hard work pay off over the years, naturally making the farm their most important and valuable asset, as well as one that offers other benefits.

The total family’s financial security and steady income as well as your ability to be your own person – not having to answer to anybody else, and it provides you an identity and recognition in your community.

Doesn’t it make sense to protect those decades of hard work from the alphabet effect, the result of spending too many years fighting the day to day battles and not enough time considering the long term implications of your success?

Let’s face it, when you don’t plan for the long term future, you lose control of your farm’s destiny in the event of death, disability, or old age.

When something bad happens there is a whole series of problems that seem to be automatically triggered – like dominos that start falling each of whom knocks down the next and the next and the next.

And when you are in business with your parents or your children a lack of long term planning makes the results more personally devastating and much worse than if you just lost the money involved in the collapse of your farm business.

Farm insurance agents call the domino like problems cascading one on top of the other, the alphabet effect to help you visualize how a failure to plan for the long term future will effect you and your family.

First of all, attorney’s file the papers that begin the various legal proceedings. If everything has not been spelled out in advance – the courts take over with laws that were created to establish fairness in a hypothetical situation, not your situation.

Your friendly bankers will immediately begin to restrict credit. The good credit you’ve established over the years was only in part because of your assets. It was often in large measure based on your history of doing what you promised, pay the note on time, and since you are no longer here, the bankers have no choice but to …

Naturally your creditors want to be paid, sooner rather than later. And since they don’t want to be left holding the bag, like so often happens when the ultimate payment of the bills depended on the continued operation of the farm – they may press for payment in cash and as soon as your contract with them permits.

Debtors may begin to demand payment. People like the seed, feed, and fertilizer folks you’ve dealt with for decades – may not be willing to wait until harvest for their money. Because trade credit like this is typically unsecured and casually given, it may be pulled away instantly if the vendors feel threatened in any way.

Your employees start to get nervous. Your best people, those you had counted on to be there long into the future. The ones who know how everything works may start talking to your neighbors at your funeral about a new job down the road from your place. The worthless employees, the ones you would get rid of if you could – they will be there till the bitter end, along with their own special brand of meritocracy.

Family members need cash. Farm insurance agents report that most farms are supporting three groups of people within the same family. Your brother and his wife, you aunt and uncle, you and your family – you get the picture, so when something bad happens and the income stops it stops for everybody.

And if you are the one people have looked to for decades as the “founder of the feast” they and all your neighbors will say that it was your responsibility to see to in that their incomes did not stop, just because something bad happened to you or yours.

There are several more letters in this alphabet of doom – each one of which will reduce the value of your business and almost any one of which your farm could handle by itself. Together, they way the domino’s fall, they will combine to drastically shrink your farm’s worth, threaten it continued existence, and give everyone a much different picture of how successful a business person you were – for decades to come.

Who will be hurt by your failure to take long term planning seriously? You family, your employees, and your business partners to name just a few. What are your alternatives, how can you protect your family and your farm against the many forces you can not control? How can your farm business survive this crisis?

Farm insurance agents and common sense will tell you the answer, it’s taking the initiative and doing the long term planning that is your responsibility to do – for your sake and the sake of everyone that is part of your connected family farm business.

Farm Insurance Agents » State Farm Insurance Agents

Successful Farm Insurance Agents Understand That Knowing Their Clients Is The Key

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Farm Insurance Agents in the News

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How is Term Life Insurance Like Wetting The Bed?

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When It Comes to Farm Succession Planning, You Must Be Willing to Ask For Help

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Farm Insurance Agents Understand Your Desire to Pass Down The Farm

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Avoid the Estate Planning Alphabet of Doom!

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