How this job aid works
Product-first conversations stall. Need-first conversations close. This aid moves in one direction: Discovery → Risk → Product → Design → Quote&Apply. Every section below feeds the next one.
Use it live, in this order
- Discovery Questions — ask, listen, capture. Do not solve yet.
- Needs Navigator — answer 10 items and get a ranked product fit with rationale.
- Product Routing — pick the right variant inside the winning category.
- Life Stage & Trigger Phrases — sanity check against age band and what the client literally said.
- Red Flags — review before you submit anything.
Retail scope
This aid covers individually owned, personally paid coverage for consumers and families. Employer-paid, business-owned, and executive benefit designs are out of scope here and live in the Business Owner module.
In scope: personal income protection, family protection, retirement income, extended care, legacy and final expenses.
Instructional Video
Watch this walkthrough before your first appointment. It covers the full workflow from discovery to Quote&Apply, with a live demo of the Needs Navigator and product selection.
The Protection Priority Ladder
When a client cannot fund everything at once, this is the order. Protect the family first, then the income that supports them, then the assets behind both. Fund a rung before you climb past it, and tell the client which rung you are on.
- Protect the familyThe catastrophic, unrecoverable loss. Replace income, clear the mortgage, fund education, cover final expenses. It is also the cheapest protection per dollar the client will ever buy, so nothing else competes with it on cost. Term Life
- Protect the paycheck that funds everything elseEvery premium on this page, including the one on rung 1, is paid out of earned income. A disability lasting a year or more is materially more likely during working years than death. Disability
- Protect the balance sheet from a health eventAn extended care claim is the largest uninsured expense most retirees face and it hits the surviving spouse hardest. Long Term Care
- Protect the retirement paycheckLongevity and sequence-of-returns risk. Create a floor of guaranteed income under fixed expenses. Annuities
- Protect the legacy and the tax outcomeA need that exists whenever death occurs, not just in the next 20 years. Also the tax-diversification bucket. Permanent Life
Five risks, five answers
| The risk | What the client says | Primary product | What it actually solves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dying too soon | "If something happened to me, they would lose the house." | Term | Replaces a finite stream of future income over a defined runway |
| Not being able to work | "If I can't work, we're done in two months." | Disability | Replaces the paycheck while the client is alive and still spending |
| Needing care | "Mom's care is eating her savings." | LTC | Pays for custodial care so assets and the spouse stay intact |
| Living too long | "I'm afraid of running out of money." | Annuity | Converts a pile of assets into income that cannot be outlived |
| Dying eventually | "I want to leave something no matter what." | Permanent | Funds a need that has no expiration date, at a discount, tax-free |
Discovery question bank
Ask open, listen for the routing signal, confirm before you move on. Each question below is paired with what the answer routes to, so discovery and product selection stay connected. Pick four or five that fit the client in front of you, then follow where the answers lead. A short conversation the client actually opens up in beats a long interrogation.
1. Opening & framing — earn the right to ask everything else
What made you willing to take this meeting today?
Routes to: the urgency source. An event-driven answer (new baby, new mortgage, a parent's illness, a term notice) is a buying signal. A curiosity answer means you are educating first.
If we did nothing at all and met again in five years, what would you be most disappointed about?
Routes to: the client's own priority ladder. Use their words back to them at close.
Who else is part of this decision, and what matters most to them?
Routes to: spousal involvement. Missing spouse is the number one cause of a stalled case. Get them on the second appointment.
Has anyone in your family or circle been through a death, disability, or long care situation? How did that go financially?
Routes to: emotional anchor. Bad experience with care LTC · bad experience with a claim or lapse Permanent with guarantees
2. Income & occupation — the paycheck audit
What do you do for a living, and how are you paid — salary, commission, bonus, distributions, or 1099?
Routes to: Disability Variable and 1099 income is usually underinsured by group plans, which often cover base salary only. Self-employed clients typically have no group coverage at all.
If you couldn't work tomorrow, how long could your household pay every bill without borrowing?
Routes to: Disability and elimination period selection. Under 90 days of reserves means a 90-day EP, not 180.
What does your employer's disability plan actually pay, and is the premium paid with your dollars or theirs?
Routes to: the gap calculation. Employer-paid group LTD benefits are taxable to the employee, so a 60% plan can net closer to 40%. Group plans also cap monthly benefits and are rarely portable.
How long do you plan to keep earning at this level, and what would you want protected until then?
Routes to: term duration and DI benefit period. Working to 67 means a benefit period to 67, not to 65.
3. Family & dependents — who is standing behind the income
Who depends on you financially today, and who might in ten years?
Routes to: face amount and duration. Aging parents entering the picture is an LTC conversation for the parent and a caregiving-burden conversation for the client.
Tell me about your children — ages, and what you want to be true for them financially.
Routes to: Term duration to youngest child's independence, plus education funding in the face amount.
Does anyone in the family have a disability or special need that will require lifetime support?
Routes to: Permanent The need never expires, so the coverage cannot either. Coordinate with the family's attorney on a special needs trust as owner and beneficiary so benefits are not disrupted.
If you passed away, would your spouse keep working, and would they stay in this house?
Routes to: whether you are replacing full income or partial, and whether the mortgage should be paid off in the face amount.
Is there a divorce decree, support order, or agreement that requires you to carry life insurance?
Routes to: Term matched to the obligation period, with attention to owner and beneficiary structure.
4. Debt & obligations — what the survivors inherit
What is the mortgage balance, and how many years are left?
Routes to: Term A 27-year remaining mortgage is a 30-year term, not a 20.
Any co-signed loans, private student loans, business guarantees, or debt someone else would inherit?
Routes to: face amount. Private student loans often survive death and can follow a co-signer.
Have you priced a funeral lately, or handled one for a family member?
Routes to: final expense sizing. This is the entry point for older or impaired clients where a small permanent policy is the whole solution.
5. Health & family history — underwrite before you promise
Height, weight, tobacco or nicotine in any form, and any cannabis use?
Routes to: Quote&Apply health class selection. Ask about vapes, patches, and cigars specifically — clients rarely volunteer them.
What medications are you taking, and what are they for?
Routes to: realistic rate class. Medications tell you more than the client's summary of their health does.
Any hospitalizations, surgeries, or specialist visits in the last five years? Anything scheduled or pending?
Routes to: timing. Pending diagnostics usually mean postpone rather than decline — set the expectation now.
Have your parents needed help at home or moved into care? At what age?
Routes to: LTC This is the single highest-converting LTC question. It moves the topic from abstract to personal.
Have you ever been declined, rated, or postponed for insurance?
Routes to: carrier selection. Impaired risk changes the carrier, not the plan. Route impaired LTC prospects toward asset-based or annuity-based solutions with simplified underwriting.
6. Retirement & assets — the second half of the plan
When do you want the option to stop working, and what does a month of retirement cost in today's dollars?
Routes to: Annuity income gap = essential monthly expenses minus Social Security and any pension.
Which of your expenses have to be paid every month no matter what the market does?
Routes to: the guaranteed income floor. Cover fixed expenses with guaranteed income, leave discretionary spending to the portfolio.
How did it feel the last time your account balance dropped 20%? What did you do?
Routes to: product risk profile. "I couldn't sleep" or "I sold" routes to principal protection rather than market participation.
Are you already maxing your 401(k) and IRA, and where does the next dollar go?
Routes to: Accumulation-focused permanent or deferred annuity for tax-deferred growth outside qualified limits.
Do you have money sitting in a CD, savings, or an old annuity you aren't using?
Routes to: repositioning. Idle cash is the funding source for a single-pay hybrid LTC policy or a MYGA. Check surrender charges and 1035 eligibility first.
Do you have old retirement plans from previous employers still sitting where you left them?
Routes to: rollover into an income-focused annuity, with a suitability review.
7. Legacy, taxes & values — where permanent lives
When you're gone, what do you want your money to have done?
Routes to: Permanent Listen for "no matter what," "always," "for sure." Certainty language is permanent language.
Is there anything you want to leave that isn't easy to divide — a house, land, a family cabin?
Routes to: Permanent for liquidity and for equalizing inheritances among heirs.
Who would you rather have your IRA — your kids or the IRS?
Routes to: tax-aware legacy planning. Inherited IRAs are taxed as ordinary income to most non-spouse beneficiaries under the 10-year rule, while a life insurance death benefit is generally income tax free.
Do you support a church or charity? Would you want that to continue after you're gone?
Routes to: Permanent charitable strategies. Cross-reference the Charitable Giving module.
Have you updated your will, trust, and beneficiary designations since your last major life change?
Routes to: a beneficiary audit — free value, and it often surfaces orphaned policies and stale designations.
8. Existing coverage audit — never quote blind
What do you already own, who is it with, and when did you buy it?
Routes to: in-force review. Request statements and in-force illustrations before recommending anything.
If your term policy is level for another few years, do you know what happens after that?
Routes to: Conversion Most clients do not know the premium jumps sharply at the end of the level period. Check the conversion deadline and which permanent products the carrier allows — some restrict conversion to a limited menu.
Does your permanent policy have a chronic illness or long term care rider, and have you looked at it lately?
Routes to: LTC gap analysis. Many clients own a rider they have never read.
Is your universal life policy still projected to stay in force to the age you expected?
Routes to: in-force illustration review. Older non-guaranteed UL funded at low interest assumptions is a common lapse risk.
9. Bridge questions — moving from discovery to the quote
Based on everything you've told me, the risk that would do the most damage soonest is ___. Did I get that right?
Routes to: confirmation. Do not quote until they agree on the problem.
What would you feel comfortable setting aside each month to solve that, before we look at any numbers?
Routes to: budget anchor. Getting this before the quote prevents sticker shock and keeps you from over-designing.
Would it be helpful to see real numbers from several carriers right now, on my screen?
Routes to: Quote&Apply. Run it live. If they want to think it over, send your personalized link so they can quote and apply on their own time.
Term Life Temporary need, defined runway
Term answers one question: is there a date after which this need goes away? If yes, term is almost always the right tool and the most coverage per dollar the client will ever buy.
Route here when
- Income replacement until retirement, or until the youngest child is independent
- Mortgage or other amortizing debt with a known payoff date
- Education funding, alimony or child support obligations, co-signed loans
- Budget is the binding constraint and the alternative is being uninsured
- A permanent need exists but cannot be afforded yet — buy convertible term now, convert later
Choosing the duration and the amount
| Situation | Design |
|---|---|
| Youngest child is 4 | 20-year term at minimum; 25 or 30 if college support is part of the promise |
| 28 years left on the mortgage | 30-year term. Never shorten below the obligation to save premium |
| Age 40, wants coverage to 65 | 25-year term, or a 30 to leave room for a later retirement date |
| Large need now, smaller later | Ladder it: stack a 30, a 20, and a 10 so coverage steps down as the need does and the total premium is lower than one flat block |
| Sizing the face amount | DIME: Debt + Income replacement + Mortgage + Education. Cross-check against 10 to 15 times gross income and against what the surviving spouse's budget actually requires |
Riders that matter
- Conversion privilege — the most important provision in the contract. Compare the conversion deadline (a fixed number of years versus an attained age) and whether the carrier allows conversion to its full permanent portfolio or a restricted menu.
- Waiver of premium — keeps the policy alive during a disability, which is exactly when it is most likely to lapse.
- Accelerated death benefit riders — terminal, chronic, and critical illness access. Often included at no additional premium; know which ones and on what terms.
- Child rider — small face amounts, usually convertible, and inexpensive peace of mind.
- Return of premium — quote it when asked, but compare the extra premium against buying level term and investing the difference before recommending it.
Permanent Life The need has no expiration date
If the client will still need the money whether they die at 62 or 102, term is the wrong tool. Permanent also carries the living-benefit and tax-diversification conversation.
Route here when
- Final expenses and burial — a certainty, not a probability
- A lifetime dependent, such as a child with special needs
- Legacy the client wants guaranteed, or equalizing an inheritance when one heir gets the illiquid asset
- Estate liquidity so heirs are not forced to sell property to cover taxes and settlement costs
- Supplemental tax-advantaged retirement income after qualified plans are maxed
- Charitable intent the client wants to continue after death
- Pension maximization — electing the higher single-life payout and insuring the survivor's income
Selecting the chassis
| Product | Best fit | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Guaranteed UL | Maximum guaranteed death benefit per premium dollar. Legacy, estate liquidity, and final expenses where certainty is the whole point | Minimal cash value and little flexibility. Missing or late premiums can erode the no-lapse guarantee — set it on draft and leave it alone |
| Indexed UL – protection focus | Death benefit certainty with some upside and more flexibility than GUL | Non-guaranteed elements. Stress-test the illustration at reduced crediting rates before you present it |
| Indexed UL – accumulation focus | Supplemental retirement income for a client who is maxing qualified plans, has a 15+ year horizon, and can fund consistently | Requires funding discipline and a minimum non-MEC death benefit. Caps, floors, participation rates, and crediting methods vary widely by carrier |
| Participating Whole Life | Guaranteed premium, guaranteed cash value, dividend potential. Conservative clients, juvenile policies, clients who want certainty over upside | Higher premium per dollar of death benefit. Dividends are not guaranteed |
| Variable UL | Clients who want direct market participation and accept the downside | Securities licensing required. Not a fit for risk-averse clients |
| Survivorship (second-to-die) | Couples funding a legacy or estate liquidity need that arises at the second death, especially when one spouse is impaired | Pays nothing at the first death — confirm no income need exists there |
| Final expense / simplified issue | Ages 50 to 85, modest face amounts, impaired health, clients who want a simple yes | Graded or modified death benefits on guaranteed-issue plans — explain the waiting period plainly |
Living benefits and tax mechanics worth knowing cold
- Death benefits are generally received income tax free under IRC §101(a).
- Cash value grows tax deferred. Non-MEC policies generally allow withdrawals to basis first, then policy loans, under IRC §72(e).
- Overfunding past the §7702A seven-pay limit creates a Modified Endowment Contract, which flips distributions to last-in-first-out taxation with a possible 10% penalty before 59½. Once a MEC, always a MEC.
- Accelerated benefits for chronic illness under §101(g) and qualified LTC riders under §7702B are different animals — see the LTC section below.
- An unpaid loan on a lapsing or surrendered policy can trigger a taxable gain with no cash to pay it. Monitor loaned policies annually.
Disability Income Insuring the asset that funds everything else
During working years, the probability of a disability lasting 90 days or longer is meaningfully higher than the probability of death. Most clients insure the house, the car, and their life — and leave the engine that pays for all three uninsured.
Route here when
- The client is working and the household depends on that income
- Self-employed or 1099 — typically no group coverage at all
- Commission, bonus, or distribution income that group plans do not count
- High earner whose group plan caps out well below their real income
- Physicians, dentists, attorneys, and other specialized occupations where a true own-occupation definition is worth paying for
Designing the contract
| Element | How to choose |
|---|---|
| Definition of disability | Own-occupation pays if the client cannot perform their own specialty even while working elsewhere. Modified own-occ offsets other earnings. Any-occupation is the weakest. Specialized occupations should hold out for true own-occ |
| Benefit amount | Issue and participation limits generally cap total coverage around 60% of earned income, and less at higher incomes. Individual benefits paid with after-tax premium are generally received tax free, which is why a 60% individual benefit often replaces more spendable income than a taxable 60% group benefit |
| Elimination period | Match to actual liquid reserves. 90 days is standard; 180 lowers premium if reserves and sick leave genuinely cover six months |
| Benefit period | To age 65, 67, or 70 for working-years protection. Shorter 2 or 5 year periods are a budget compromise, not the goal |
| Renewability | Non-cancelable and guaranteed renewable locks premium and provisions. Guaranteed renewable locks the provisions but allows class rate increases |
Riders that earn their premium
- Residual or partial disability — pays on a loss of income, not just total inability to work. Most real claims are partial. Do not sell DI without it.
- Future increase option — lets a growing earner add coverage later without new medical underwriting. Essential for clients under 40.
- Cost of living adjustment — protects a long claim against inflation.
- Catastrophic disability — additional benefit when ADL or cognitive triggers are met.
- Retirement protection — funds a trust to replace retirement contributions the client can no longer make while disabled.
- Student loan rider — targeted at newer professionals carrying heavy educational debt.
Long Term Care Protecting the balance sheet and the spouse
Extended care is not a medical claim, it is a custodial one, and health insurance and Medicare are not built for it. Benefits typically trigger on the inability to perform two of six activities of daily living, or on severe cognitive impairment, with an elimination period usually around 90 days.
Route here when
- Ages 50 to 65, healthy, with assets worth protecting — the underwriting and pricing sweet spot
- The client has watched a parent go through care
- A married couple where the cost of one spouse's care would impoverish the other
- Assets between roughly a quarter million and several million: enough to lose, not enough to self-insure comfortably
- Idle cash, an old CD, or an underperforming annuity or cash value policy sitting available to reposition
Choosing the funding vehicle
| Solution | Best fit | Trade-offs |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional standalone LTC | Maximum care benefit per premium dollar. Clients whose priority is the largest possible pool of care dollars | Use it or lose it, and premiums are typically not guaranteed — carriers can seek class rate increases. Check state Partnership plans for Medicaid asset disregard, and note that tax-qualified policies may allow age-based premium deductibility |
| Hybrid / asset-based (linked benefit) | Clients who resist paying for something they may never use. Life or annuity chassis with LTC benefits, guaranteed premiums, a death benefit if care is never needed, and often a return-of-premium option | Less care benefit per dollar than traditional. Frequently funded with a single premium or a limited pay schedule, often sourced from repositioned assets or a 1035 exchange |
| LTC or chronic illness rider on life insurance | Clients who need life insurance anyway and want care access built in. Lower incremental cost than a standalone policy | Accelerating benefits reduces the death benefit dollar for dollar or on a discounted basis. Know the difference: a §7702B qualified LTC rider pays on standard LTC triggers, while a §101(g) chronic illness rider often requires certification that the condition is permanent and may discount the benefit |
| LTC annuity | Impaired-risk clients who cannot qualify for underwritten LTC, and repositioning of existing non-qualified annuity money | Typically simplified underwriting with a benefit multiplier on the account value. Under the Pension Protection Act, a properly structured 1035 exchange into a qualifying LTC contract can move gain across tax free |
Design decisions
- Monthly benefit — anchor to local cost of care, then decide how much the client will co-insure from income.
- Benefit period and pool — three to five years covers the large majority of claims; longer or unlimited pools cost accordingly.
- Inflation protection — the single most consequential choice for a buyer in their 50s. Compare 3% compound, 5% compound, and CPI-linked options.
- Shared care — lets a couple draw on each other's unused benefit pool. Usually the best value rider on the page.
- Reimbursement versus indemnity — indemnity pays the full benefit regardless of receipts and is easier for families managing informal care.
Annuities Turning a pile of money into a paycheck
Annuities solve two distinct problems: protecting principal on the way to retirement, and guaranteeing income once the client gets there. Diagnose which one the client actually has before you quote anything.
Route here when
- The client is within roughly ten years of retirement or already retired
- The stated fear is running out of money, not underperforming an index
- There is a gap between essential monthly expenses and guaranteed income from Social Security or a pension
- The client cannot emotionally tolerate a sharp market drop this close to needing the money
- Non-qualified money is generating taxable interest the client is not spending
- Old employer plans or an existing annuity with expired surrender charges need repositioning
Matching the contract to the job
| Contract | The job it does | Fit notes |
|---|---|---|
| MYGA (multi-year guaranteed) | A fixed rate guaranteed for a set term. The CD alternative with tax deferral on non-qualified money | Short horizon, principal certainty, simple story. Compare the rate and the surrender term together |
| Fixed Indexed Annuity | Index-linked interest with a floor of zero. Growth potential without market loss of principal | Caps, participation rates, and spreads determine the real outcome. Explain that the client is not invested in the index and does not receive dividends |
| FIA or VA with a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit | Lifetime income while retaining access to the account value | The rider has a cost. Read how the benefit base grows and what happens if excess withdrawals are taken |
| SPIA (immediate annuity) | Maximum guaranteed income per dollar, starting now | For clients who need income today. Generally irrevocable, so never annuitize the emergency fund |
| DIA (deferred income annuity) | Buy income today that starts at a chosen future date, at a discount for waiting | Good fit for a client retiring in five to ten years who wants the income locked in now |
| QLAC | Qualified longevity annuity contract inside an IRA or plan, deferring income and the associated required minimum distributions to as late as age 85 | Subject to an IRS-indexed dollar limit — verify the current year's figure before presenting |
| Variable annuity | Market participation with optional guarantees | Securities licensing required. Fee stack matters |
What must be disclosed and understood
- Liquidity — surrender schedule, free withdrawal provision (commonly 10% annually), and any market value adjustment.
- Taxation — non-qualified deferred annuity withdrawals are generally last-in-first-out, so gain comes out first as ordinary income; annuitized payments use an exclusion ratio. Distributions before 59½ may carry a 10% additional tax.
- At death — annuity gain does not receive a step-up in basis, so a highly appreciated non-qualified annuity is a poor legacy asset. If legacy is the goal, discuss repositioning.
- Suitability — document the client's financial situation, needs, objectives, liquidity, and time horizon. Best-interest annuity standards apply in most states.
Life stage quick reference
Use this to sanity check the Navigator output and to spot the next conversation. Age is a proxy, not a rule — a 40-year-old with a lifetime dependent belongs in the legacy column.
| Stage | What is usually true | Lead with | Open the door to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch 22–34 | Income is the entire balance sheet. Student debt, first mortgage, young children | DI with a future increase option, plus 20 to 30 year convertible Term | A small whole life or accumulation policy while rates are lowest and health is best |
| Build 35–49 | Peak obligations, peak earnings growth, qualified plans filling up | Laddered Term, supplemental DI over the group plan | Accumulation permanent for the tax-diversified bucket; first LTC conversation late 40s |
| Pivot 50–64 | Children launching, mortgage shrinking, parents needing care, retirement in view | LTC at the underwriting sweet spot; term conversion review | MYGA or FIA for principal protection; GUL or survivorship for legacy |
| Transition 65–74 | Income now comes from assets. RMDs, Medicare decisions, care planning is urgent | SPIA, DIA, or GLWB to floor the fixed expenses | Hybrid LTC funded from idle assets; GUL for legacy and tax offset |
| Legacy 75+ | Focus shifts to transfer, care, and simplicity. Underwriting gets harder | Final expense or single-pay permanent for wealth transfer | LTC annuity for impaired risk; beneficiary and in-force audits |
Trigger phrases — what they said, where it goes
These are the sentences clients actually say. Learn the routing so you can respond in the moment instead of after the meeting.
| When the client says | Route to | Your next move |
|---|---|---|
| "I just want the most coverage for the least money." | Term | Quote level term and sell the conversion privilege as the option they keep |
| "My term policy is ending soon." | Conversion | Pull the contract, check the conversion deadline and eligible products before you shop it |
| "If I couldn't work, we'd be in trouble fast." | DI | Ask for the group LTD certificate and calculate the real net gap |
| "I'm 1099 / I work for myself." | DI | Assume zero group coverage until proven otherwise |
| "My mother's care is draining everything she saved." | LTC | Let them tell the whole story, then ask what they want to be different for their own family |
| "I'd rather not pay for something I might never use." | Hybrid LTC | Show an asset-based design with a death benefit and return of premium |
| "I'm afraid of running out of money." | SPIA / DIA / GLWB | Build the income gap: essential expenses minus Social Security and pension |
| "I can't afford to lose any more in the market." | MYGA / FIA | Separate the money that must be safe from the money that can stay invested |
| "I have a CD coming due" or "money just sitting in savings." | MYGA or single-pay hybrid | Ask what that money is actually for. Idle cash is the easiest funding source in the business |
| "I maxed out my 401(k). What now?" | Accumulation IUL / WL or deferred annuity | Frame it as tax diversification, not as an investment |
| "I want to leave something to my kids no matter what." | GUL / WL | "No matter what" is a guarantee request. Lead with guaranteed death benefit |
| "One of my children will always need help." | Permanent | Coordinate with their attorney on a special needs trust as owner and beneficiary |
| "My kids will have to sell the land to pay the taxes." | Permanent for liquidity | Size the coverage to settlement costs and to equalizing among heirs |
| "We're getting divorced." | Term + audit | Secure the support obligation and review every owner and beneficiary designation |
| "We just had a baby" or "we just bought a house." | Term + DI | Highest-intent moment in the retail market. Do not wait for them to call back |
| "I already have coverage through work." | Audit | Group life is usually a small multiple of salary, not portable, and ends with the job. Quantify what leaves with the job |
| "I've been declined before." | Carrier selection | Impaired risk changes the carrier, not the plan. Run it in Quote&Apply and compare the field |
| "Let me think about it." | Clarify | Ask which part they are unsure of: the problem, the amount, or the cost. Each one has a different answer |
Putting it all together
Discovery pointed you to the right rung. The Navigator confirmed the product fit. Now you run real numbers in Quote&Apply and track the case in BOSS. This is how the pieces connect on a live appointment.
Quote&Apply Demo Video
Watch the full Quote&Apply walkthrough before your first appointment. This demo covers client intake, product selection, reading the carrier results grid, and submitting the application.
Step 1 — Launch Quote&Apply from BOSS
Every quote starts inside BOSS so the case is already in your pipeline before a carrier sees it.
- Log in to BOSS and go to the Home Page.
- Click the blue Quote&Apply button in the top navigation. This opens Quote&Apply with your agent credentials already attached.
- Alternatively, share your personalized Quote&Apply link with the client so they can quote and apply on their own time. You will see every interaction in BOSS.
Step 2 — Enter the client intake fields
Quote&Apply needs six pieces of information to return accurate results across all carriers. Gather these before you open the platform so the quote runs without interruption.
| Field | What to ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Full legal name | "What name would appear on the policy?" | Creates the application record and must match ID exactly |
| Gender | "How do you identify for insurance purposes — male or female?" | Most carriers rate on biological sex at birth. A handful offer gender-neutral rates — Quote&Apply will surface them |
| Health status | "On a scale from excellent to poor, how would you describe your overall health?" | Sets the starting rate class. You will refine this with medications and history before submitting |
| Nicotine and cannabis use | "Any tobacco, vaping, nicotine patches, cigars, or cannabis in the last 12 months?" | Tobacco use typically doubles or triples the premium. Ask specifically — clients rarely volunteer vapes or cigars |
| Height and weight | "Your height and current weight?" | Build chart determines rate class at many carriers. Enter current weight, not a goal |
| Date of birth | "What is your date of birth?" | Drives age-nearest or age-last-birthday rating depending on carrier. A birthday in the next 30–60 days may change the rate class |
Step 3 — Select the right product category
After intake, Quote&Apply shows the product selection page. Match what the client told you in discovery to the tile that fits. The table below maps the aid to the platform.
| This aid routes to | Select this tile | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Term Life Income replacement, mortgage, obligations | Standard protection — Term | Most common selection. Set the face amount with DIME, set the term to outlast the longest obligation |
| Term Life Client wants money back at end of term | Return premium at term end — Return of Premium | Quote it when asked, then compare the extra premium against level term before recommending |
| Permanent Lifetime need, legacy, guaranteed death benefit | Permanent insurance — All Lifetime Options | Returns GUL, whole life, and IUL options in one view |
| Permanent Supplemental retirement income | Supplement retirement income — Accumulation IUL | Only appropriate with a 15+ year horizon and consistent funding discipline |
| Permanent Conservative cash value, guaranteed growth | Guaranteed, Tax-deferred growth — Whole Life | Juvenile policies, conservative clients, or where guaranteed cash value matters more than upside |
| Permanent Final expenses, simplified issue | Burial expenses — Final Expense | Ages 50–85, impaired health, modest face amounts. Explain any graded benefit period |
| Annuities Guaranteed lifetime income | Guaranteed income — Lifetime Income Annuity | Build the income gap first: essential monthly expenses minus Social Security and pension |
| Annuities Principal protection, tax-deferred growth | Guaranteed growth — Multi Year Guaranteed Annuity | The CD alternative. Compare rate and surrender term together |
| Long Term Care | Cover long-term care costs — Long Term Care | Quote traditional and hybrid side by side. For a couple, add shared care before presenting |
| Disability | Disability is not available in Quote&Apply. Contact BackNine directly and your case manager will run carrier options and submit through the DI pipeline. | Individual DI through carriers such as Principal, Guardian, Ameritas, and MassMutual requires a separate application workflow |
Quote&Apply product selection screen
Step 4 — Read the results and present with the client
Results come back ranked by price with carrier, monthly premium, term length, AM Best rating, and physical exam requirement visible at a glance. Walk the client through the top options rather than handing them the screen.
What each column tells you
- Monthly premium — the illustrated price at the selected health class. Confirm underwriting before you present this as final.
- AM Best rating — carrier financial strength. A and above is the standard. Explain it briefly; clients often ask.
- Physical exam — Yes means a paramed is likely required. No Physical Exam carriers use accelerated or non-med underwriting, which is faster but may price slightly higher.
- Living benefits badge — carriers showing this include accelerated benefit riders for terminal, chronic, or critical illness at no additional premium.
- Lowest Price banner — the system sorts by price automatically. Price is not always the only criterion — conversion privilege, rider availability, and carrier relationships matter too.
How to walk the client through it
- Lead with the face amount and term, not the premium. "This is a $1,000,000 policy that covers you for 30 years."
- Show two or three options, not the whole grid. The client who sees twelve prices compares prices. The client who sees three compares value.
- Name the conversion privilege on any term quote before they ask about price. It is the option they are buying alongside the coverage.
- For permanent quotes, open the Show Policy Details section and walk through the guaranteed versus non-guaranteed columns together.
- If the client wants to think it over, send your personalized link before the meeting ends. You will see when they return to it in BOSS.
Term results screen — multi-carrier view
Step 5 — Track the case in BOSS
A quote that does not get into BOSS is a case you cannot follow up on, a commission you cannot track, and a client who will not hear from you again. BOSS is where the relationship continues after the meeting ends.
| After the meeting | What to do in BOSS |
|---|---|
| Client applied | The application auto-populates in BOSS from Quote&Apply. Confirm the case status moved to Submitted and verify carrier acknowledgment within 24 hours |
| Client wants to think it over | Add a follow-up task with a date. Log what the client said their hesitation was. Send your personalized Quote&Apply link if you have not already |
| Application in underwriting | Monitor the Requirements tab. Respond to outstanding requirements within 48 hours. A requirement that sits is a case that declines |
| Policy issued | Confirm the client received the policy and signed the delivery receipt if required. Update the case status in BOSS to Issued |
| Policy delivered | Log the delivery date and schedule the first annual review. Note which rungs of the ladder are still unfunded — that is your agenda for next year |
| Commission | Track expected and received commissions in the BOSS Commissions tab. Discrepancies should be flagged to your case manager within 30 days of issue |
Red flags — check before you submit
Recommendation errors
- Selling permanent to a budget-constrained family with young children and leaving them underinsured. The right answer is convertible term now.
- Selling term for a need that has no end date, then acting surprised at year 20.
- Solving for the product you are most comfortable with rather than the client's first unfunded rung.
- Quoting before the spouse or partner is in the room.
- Recommending an annuity without documenting liquidity needs and time horizon.
Design errors
- DI with no residual or partial rider — most claims are partial.
- Term shorter than the mortgage or the youngest child's runway to save premium.
- LTC without evaluating inflation protection, or without shared care for a couple.
- Overfunding a policy into MEC status without intending to.
- Annuitizing money the client will need for liquidity.
- Ignoring the conversion deadline on an existing term policy.
Process errors
- Replacing existing coverage without an in-force illustration and a written comparison.
- Not requesting the group LTD or group life certificate.
- Stale beneficiary designations left unreviewed after a divorce, death, or birth.
- Presenting non-guaranteed illustrations without stress-testing lower crediting.
- Skipping suitability and replacement documentation.
Language to retire
- "It's an investment." It is insurance with a cash value component.
- "Tax free income." Say tax-advantaged distributions and explain the mechanics.
- "You're invested in the S&P 500." On an FIA or IUL the client is not, and receives no dividends.
- "Guaranteed" applied to anything non-guaranteed.
- "You don't need to read that." Every one of these creates a complaint later.
Glossary
- ADLs (Activities of Daily Living)
- Bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, transferring, and continence. Long term care benefits typically trigger on the inability to perform two of the six, or on severe cognitive impairment.
- Accelerated death benefit
- A rider allowing early access to some portion of the death benefit on a qualifying terminal, chronic, or critical illness. Amounts accelerated reduce the death benefit.
- Chronic illness rider (§101(g))
- Accelerates death benefit on certification of a chronic condition. Often requires that the condition be permanent and may pay a discounted amount.
- Conversion privilege
- The contractual right to convert term coverage to permanent coverage without new medical underwriting, subject to a deadline and to the carrier's eligible product list.
- DIME
- Face-amount worksheet: Debt, Income replacement, Mortgage, Education.
- Elimination period
- The waiting period before benefits begin on a DI or LTC claim. Functions like a time-based deductible.
- Exclusion ratio
- On annuitized non-qualified payments, the portion of each payment treated as a tax-free return of basis.
- Free withdrawal provision
- The amount an annuity owner may withdraw annually without surrender charges, commonly 10% of the account value.
- GLWB
- Guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit. An optional rider providing lifetime income while the owner keeps access to the account value.
- Guaranteed Universal Life (GUL)
- Universal life designed for a guaranteed death benefit to a stated age with minimal cash value accumulation.
- Hybrid / asset-based LTC
- A life insurance or annuity contract with long term care benefits, guaranteed premiums, and a death benefit if care is never needed.
- Indemnity vs reimbursement
- Indemnity LTC benefits pay the full contractual amount once a claim is triggered. Reimbursement pays actual documented expenses up to the limit.
- Issue and participation limits
- Carrier caps on how much disability coverage may be issued and how much total coverage may exist across all carriers.
- Laddering
- Stacking multiple term policies of different durations so total coverage steps down as the underlying need declines.
- MEC (Modified Endowment Contract)
- A life policy funded faster than the §7702A seven-pay limit. Distributions become last-in-first-out taxable, with a possible 10% additional tax before 59½. The classification is permanent.
- MVA (Market Value Adjustment)
- An adjustment to annuity surrender values based on interest rate movement since issue. Can increase or decrease the amount received.
- MYGA
- Multi-year guaranteed annuity. A fixed rate guaranteed for a stated number of years.
- Own-occupation
- A disability definition paying benefits when the insured cannot perform the material duties of their own occupation, even if working in another.
- Partnership LTC policy
- A state-qualified LTC policy that allows the insured to protect assets from Medicaid spend-down equal to benefits paid. Rules vary by state.
- QLAC
- Qualified longevity annuity contract. Deferred income inside a qualified account that can push income and the related required minimum distributions out to as late as age 85, subject to an IRS-indexed dollar limit.
- Residual disability benefit
- Pays a proportional benefit based on lost income when the insured can still work but earns less. The rider most claims actually use.
- Shared care rider
- Allows spouses to access each other's unused long term care benefit pool.
- Section 1035 exchange
- A tax-free exchange of one life, annuity, or qualifying LTC contract for another permitted contract type, preserving basis and deferring gain.
- Section 7702B
- The tax code section governing qualified long term care insurance contracts and qualified LTC riders.
- SPIA / DIA
- Single premium immediate annuity, which begins income right away, and deferred income annuity, which begins income at a chosen future date.
- Survivorship life
- A policy insuring two lives and paying the death benefit at the second death. Common for legacy and estate liquidity needs.
- Waiver of premium
- A rider that keeps a policy in force by waiving premiums during a qualifying disability.