For those of you who are new to URL, I’d like to share a brief history of who we are. URL was founded in 1986 by my father, Gary Clemens, and his partner, Richard Bassano. We remain independently owned to this day, with my brother Ken and me serving as owners. We have a knowledgeable and experienced staff ready to assist you with life insurance, annuities, health insurance, Medicare, disability income, long-term care, and employee benefits.

We also offer a robust website that you can use anytime. Whether we are in the office or after hours, our website is always open for quotes, online applications, underwriting information, and ongoing training to help you grow your business, including sessions like this one.

For those who partner with URL at a higher level, we offer the Gemini Elite Partnership program for insurance professionals and advisors. This program provides additional benefits and quarterly bonuses. If you are interested in learning more, you can contact me or another member of the team after the presentation.

We also have our Orion Department, which is unique to URL. This is our referral department that helps agents, financial professionals, and clients meet unique insurance needs through concierge services. For example, if you write life insurance but are not licensed in a state where your client has moved, you can refer that business to URL. We handle the case and share compensation with you so the business remains connected to your office. We protect your client without soliciting them for additional business, allowing you to continue supporting their needs.

As a property and casualty agency, you do a great job protecting your clients’ assets such as homes, jewelry, vehicles, recreational items, and businesses. The question we ask is whether your clients are truly protected financially. Most people are not prepared for the death of a primary wage earner. Research shows that 10 percent of Americans would feel the financial impact of that loss within one week, and 44 percent would feel it within the first six months. That means well over half of Americans would experience financial strain within six months. Another 17 percent simply don’t know what the impact would be, which highlights the need to do a better job protecting income through life insurance.

The most common reason people purchase life insurance is to cover final expenses. Many policies are purchased simply to pay for burial and funeral costs. These are often smaller whole life policies that are guaranteed issue or simplified underwriting, requiring only a few health questions and resulting in fast approvals.

The second most common reason is income replacement, often referred to as paycheck protection. For working clients with families, the goal is to replace lost income for a specific period of time. Term life insurance is often used for this purpose and can include conversion privileges for long-term flexibility.

Another reason people purchase life insurance is for wealth transfer and inheritance planning. Life insurance allows families to pass more wealth to children and grandchildren while minimizing taxes. Mortgage protection is also a key driver. Many clients with homeowners insurance also carry mortgages, and life insurance can help ensure that mortgage debt is paid off if something happens. Finally, many people use life insurance to supplement retirement, particularly in their later working years.

Only about 52 percent of Americans currently own life insurance, and nearly 39 percent intend to purchase coverage within the next year. These statistics represent a significant opportunity.

On the commercial side, business owners often have two families: one at home and one at work. Life insurance can protect both personal and business interests. In commercial accounts, life insurance is commonly used to fund buy-sell agreements among partners, ensuring that surviving partners can purchase a deceased owner’s share without financial strain.

Another major use is key person insurance. Many businesses rely heavily on certain individuals whose loss would significantly impact revenue or operations. These key employees are often insured for five to ten times their annual income so the business can weather the transition, replace lost expertise, and stabilize operations.

Life insurance is also frequently required for SBA loans and is used to support voluntary benefits programs for employees. These voluntary benefits allow employees to purchase additional life insurance through simplified or guaranteed underwriting. Executive benefits are another area, where businesses use cash value life insurance to retain top talent.

We often hear reasons from casualty agencies for not being proactive with life insurance. Many principals are knowledgeable but feel too busy or believe their staff is uncomfortable discussing life insurance. Others feel it is out of sight, out of mind, or not worth the effort. The P&C Playbook was designed to address these concerns by making the process simple, efficient, and easy for staff to implement.

Being proactive takes only a few seconds and can generate significant revenue. URL helps you create interest without adding staff or requiring extensive training. The system includes products that meet client needs, simple scripts for customer service representatives, easy quoting and application processes, and marketing support from URL.

Execution starts with your customer service representatives. When clients call about new homes, cars, boats, RVs, motorcycles, or other purchases, those events often involve new debt. These moments create natural opportunities to discuss life insurance. New drivers, college-bound children, or increased coverage limits are also triggers that signal potential life insurance needs.

The goal is not to turn CSRs into life insurance experts, but to have them ask one simple question when appropriate: “Would you like to add a death benefit with this?” This small step opens the conversation and allows the agency to offer more complete protection.

Clients may ask what that means, how much it costs, or whether it is life insurance. CSRs are provided with simple responses and examples, including how affordable coverage can be. If a client already has life insurance, the CSR can still offer a quote, as many clients can save money or improve coverage.

When a client wants a quote, agencies have multiple options. CSRs can use simple rate sheets, online quote engines, or refer the case to URL’s life specialists. Clients can also receive a direct link by email or text to quote and apply on their own in just minutes.

Agencies can choose to handle life insurance internally, assign cases to a designated life specialist, or refer business to URL’s Orion team. When referred, the agency receives a referral fee equal to half of the normal agent compensation.

Some agencies worry that staff will not ask the question or that it takes too much time. Leadership sets expectations, and incentives can be used to encourage participation. Asking the question takes only seconds, and providing a quote is quick and simple.

Getting started begins with contracting for life insurance if needed. URL’s life specialists will then schedule onboarding to help implement the playbook. Agencies can support the effort with email signatures, website content, social media posts, and other marketing tools provided by URL.

Setting reasonable goals shows the impact clearly. Even modest activity levels can result in dozens of new policies and tens of thousands of dollars in additional revenue each year, simply by being proactive.

URL provides multiple quoting options, including an online quote engine, printed rate sheets, short application worksheets, and direct-to-consumer tools branded with your agency’s logo. Everything is accessible through the agent area of our website, including applications, marketing materials, and product information.

For Gemini Elite partners, additional benefits include quarterly bonuses, annual retreats, networking opportunities, and special events.

If you have questions or want to learn more, you can contact me, Steve Clemens, or our marketing specialists Matt Alina and Jason Collins. They are available to assist with onboarding, implementation, and ongoing support.

If you decide to move forward, we can schedule in-person training for local agencies or virtual sessions for those farther away. Our goal is to make this process engaging, effective, and profitable while helping you better protect your clients.

At URL, we believe we are in the people business. While property and casualty insurance protects things, life insurance protects families. Our mission is to help ensure that families are financially protected if the unexpected happens.

Thank you again for joining me today. Please reach out with any questions or to schedule time to review and implement the P&C Playbook. Have a great day.