tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51039912011-04-21T18:49:58.649-04:00It's just a blog for me to share my thoughts on the individual disability insurance industry.Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.comBlogger251100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-33686706959388510872008-12-12T12:31:00.002-05:002008-12-12T12:38:13.790-05:00

I recently attended the International DI Society's annual convention in Las Vegas. Just give me an excuse to be in Las Vegas, and I'll be there. We all have our vices, and Las Vegas is mine...lol. Anthony Delvecchio, an agent who works for me in Rockville, was receiving the IDIS's Founders Award at this meeting. I wasn't going to miss this for the world. Not only does he deserve the recognition

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-39585051329396688062007-05-30T13:26:00.000-04:002007-05-30T13:32:41.740-04:00

I just wanted to show off some of the video's my office has been producing for our brokerage department, and our web site video library. We are really starting to enjoy making these, and I think we're getting better at it with each one. Hopefully you will see a lot more from us in the near future as we get these down to a science. If you are an agent, I encourage you to spend some time to watch

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-75872702516628945882007-03-25T18:32:00.000-04:002007-03-25T18:39:31.843-04:00

I think we are on to something over at Disability Insurance Forums. We are creating an agent database that consumers can use to locate an insurance agent with a specialty in disability insurance in their state. The database will be tied to the forums, and display agents based upon licenses coimbined with the amount of posts they have in the forums. This will allow a consumer to read the agents

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-44727977220881754432007-02-26T15:57:00.000-05:002007-02-26T16:06:08.542-05:00

The Old StrategyWe all live in a world of “have”, and “have-nots”. In today’s society there are many people in a company who are doing extremely well, and they are typically supported by a large administrative work force who does not receive as much compensation for the work they do. Too many companies today have group long term disability insurance that is improperly structured because of a

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-58749887581598353312007-02-12T11:31:00.000-05:002007-02-12T11:29:37.211-05:00

I just wanted to post a quick one pointing to a new video my business released discussing the need for disability insurance. People who are interested in a quick tutorial that takes less than 10 minutes should watch the video. The video is a great way for people who don't have the time to dig into everything to gain a working understanding of individual disability insurance.

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-26821130425618015732007-02-12T11:19:00.000-05:002007-01-19T07:58:15.666-05:00

I believe it was 2005 when I gave a presentation at the inaugural International DI Society meeting attempting to predict the future of this business. At this meeting in Tampa, FL I essentially issued a wish list to all the disability insurance carriers. I requested that carriers move away from their systems that update cases once a night, and move to a pro-active instant system that agents can

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-18285086732736579462007-01-19T07:51:00.000-05:002007-01-19T07:58:15.736-05:00

I recently published two articles on the subject of disability insurance on EzineArticles.co. This is a new web site to me, and I am curious to see how well it does. There is some excellent content, and wonderful articles on the site....however there is also some truly bad content that was obviously written for other reasons.The first article focuses on the disability insurance needs of fee for

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-26378706944000757842007-01-19T07:41:00.000-05:002007-01-19T07:45:55.483-05:00

My agency has recently been exploring what insurance carriers could work with us on middle America. We sell Guardian and Berkshire disability insurance primarily, and now we will be selling Illinois Mutual for people who have an income between 30 and 75,000. I am anxious to see how well received this insurance product is with our market of people on-line. We received more quote requests last year

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-51414794265782991852006-11-18T16:04:00.000-05:002006-11-18T16:09:19.279-05:00

Recently the Council for Disability Awareness released a new web site for consumers. DisabilityCanHappen.org is a brand new site created just for consumers to understand the need, and the real risks involved.The site provides a few real lift stories from people who did not have disability insurance, and became disabled unexpectedly. There is an advice section on ways to decrease your chances of

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-1159809981042950602006-10-02T13:24:00.000-04:002006-10-12T20:19:21.873-04:00

NAHU (National Association for Health Underwriters) just released a new Consumer Guide to Disability Insurance. There are a few nice features including the ability to locate a disability insurance agent on-line. When you get the time I encourage you to check it out.

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-1157308994812098702006-09-03T14:34:00.000-04:002006-09-03T14:43:14.900-04:00

Just wanted to post a quick link to one of my more recent articles. A Fresh look at individual disability insurance was really written for two reasons.One, it clearly shows why it is that I sell individual disability insurance.Two, it pokes fun at a lot of other disability insurance articles. So many of the IDI articles that I read are virtually photocopies of every other disability income

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-1157291918627645302006-09-03T09:55:00.000-04:002006-09-03T09:58:38.643-04:00

We've started making a lot more short web based films for our brokers recently. We have films discussing Berkshire's new TeleMed Program, recent changes in occupation classes for physicians, and Berkshire's new Multi-Life Disability Insurance product line.Within the next month or two we intend to take this to an entirely new level. If there are any videos you think we should produce just let me

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-1156120248819463582006-08-20T20:23:00.000-04:002006-08-20T20:31:50.526-04:00

I have been thinking about my business recently, as our annual agency planning meeting is scheduled for next month, and I need to set an agenda for the meeting. One of the things I realized this year is that I may have one of the larger databases in the world of people interested in disability insurance from the web.A few months ago we started asking the question "Why Do You Want Disability

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-1155680713095402362006-08-15T18:20:00.000-04:002006-08-15T18:25:13.096-04:00

I gave a speach at the NAHU convention in San Francisco this past summer discussing the future of the individual disability insurance industry. Recent changes from many companies have a lot of people in this industry excited about this business once again. Guardian kind of started the ball rolling with their own-occupation increases for all physicians and dentists, and were quickly followed by

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-1155680379938288322006-08-15T18:16:00.000-04:002006-09-06T16:33:20.660-04:00

Just wanted to point out that the Disability Insurance Forums is about to register it's 4,000th member. I started these forums many years ago as a chat board for myself to communicate with a few other colleague's of mine in the business. Early on you could see some conversations between myself, and Mike Hagedorn in CA. We woke up one morning with some traffic from people across the country, and

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-1140908832107598602006-02-25T18:04:00.000-05:002006-02-25T18:07:12.116-05:00

It is Saturday, and I just started my recent article for the Health Insurance Underwriter April addition on disability insurance. The editor was nice enough to grant me an extention this time. I can write about disability insurance all day long, and I am prowd to say that this article on disability insurance underwriting will be completely positive. Believe it or not I don't take a single shot at

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-1133293537703114162005-11-29T14:40:00.000-05:002005-11-29T14:45:37.703-05:00

I don't think I will ever truly understand why the disability insurance industry does so much production at the year end. I would think that people are not really interested in paying for a new policy in December with all of the other bills and expenses associated with Christmas. December, for one reason or another, is always twice as big as any other month of the year.The good news is starting

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-1132664460519264052005-11-22T07:53:00.000-05:002005-11-22T08:01:00.530-05:00

Yesterday we had a visit from Mark Ameigh in Berkshire's home office to discuss the multi-life disability insurance marketplace, and specifically Berkshire's new product for this area. I have never sold a large guarantee issue multi life disability insurance offer before, but after his visit I feel comfortable enough to go with my first one.The question for me becomes, how do we begin to market

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-1132068323395922002005-11-15T10:09:00.000-05:002005-11-15T10:25:23.406-05:00

I recently attended the inaugural meeting for the International DI Society in Tampa, FL. This brand new association was started by a few people, but most of it happened because of the efforts of Ron Cohen. I was invited to speak on the subject of the internet, and how I thought it would change the disability insurance industry. You can view some of the presentations here including mine, although

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-1115835583395324802005-05-11T14:17:00.000-04:002005-05-11T14:19:43.400-04:00

Can 1099 consultants get disability insurance since our annual income varies? The answer is yes. If you file a tax return showing income, the insurance company can write a policy protecting that income. If you are a first year consultant you will typically need to show the insurance company a long term contract guaranteeing revenue to secure coverage. If you have been a consultant for awhile now

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-1115265835348390422005-05-05T00:01:00.000-04:002005-05-05T00:03:55.353-04:00

What a great idea, your web-site is. As an independent agent it is always shocking to me just how many people do not understand the importance of disibility ins. I do think that it is just as important to blue collar workers though, simply because they do not usually have the same savings built as blue/gray collar workers. Also, many blue collar workers are far more likely to become disabled.

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-1115142757548306982005-05-03T13:46:00.000-04:002005-05-03T13:52:37.550-04:00

Hi - I have a fairly specific question. My father is a 60 yr. old self-employed CPA. He is going to have to have major surgery on his back and spinal chord in the upcoming months. The recovery time is appx. 6 months after the surgery. Now, the problem is, my father has no savings or retirement funds. He will most likely have to sell his practice to support himself during the recovery time.

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-1114717577212626482005-04-28T15:42:00.000-04:002005-04-28T15:50:53.696-04:00

My husband rides a motorcycle. Many co-workers have suggested that I take out a life insurance policy. I've never have but now I'm considering it. When I mentioned this to another co-worker he suggested that I get disability insurance in case an accident left my husband disabled. Is disability insurance the type of insurance I should be considering?Riding a motorcycle is obviously an

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-1114226830994170772005-04-22T23:16:00.000-04:002005-04-22T23:27:10.993-04:00

Dear Steve,Thank you for the forums, there is just a wealth of information there. I've been reading without posting for a week now. I have recently been diagnosed with MS, and was wondering if you would be interested in helping me file my claim. Please let me know how much you would charge to help me make sure my disability insurance claim gets paid.Thanks,(name edited)Thanks for the email, and I

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103991.post-1114210952840695492005-04-22T18:58:00.000-04:002005-04-22T19:02:32.840-04:00

I've decided to start posting some questions and answers from selective emails I receive on a daily basis from About-Disability-Insurance.com.I'm not going to guarantee that I will reply to every email I receive, however I will do my best to answer some of the more interesting letters I receive.

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932208271953800663noreply@blogger.com0