How we work
Four questions. Then one recommendation.
Most people have been shown a price before anyone asked what the policy was supposed to do. We do it in the other order.
Why are we talking?
A new baby. A mortgage. A parent who just died without coverage. Leaving the military. Something brought you here, and it shapes everything after it.
Why does it matter?
Who would be affected, and how, if your income stopped tomorrow. Not a hypothetical. A name and a number.
What should the policy accomplish?
Pay off the house. Replace ten years of income. Cover a funeral. Fund college. Equalize an estate. The job determines the tool, not the other way around.
What fits the budget?
Comfortably. A policy that lapses in year three protected no one. Partial coverage that stays in force beats full coverage that doesn’t.
Then we recommend.
One recommendation, with the reasoning, and the runner-up if there was a close call. Not five options in your lap. If it is a no, we get curious rather than persistent. Sometimes there is a concern underneath. Sometimes the answer really is no, and a good advisor knows the difference.
What we review first.
If you already own coverage, through work or from years ago, we read it before recommending anything. Having life insurance and having a life-insurance plan are not the same thing. A surprising number of reviews end with “keep what you have.”
Verifying us.
You should be able to check who you are dealing with. Caleb Bullard’s National Producer Number is 19345248; look it up at nipr.com. Any policy we place is issued by a licensed carrier, and you can confirm the carrier and the policy directly with them. Here is how to verify any agent.
Questions people ask
What happens on the first call?
We talk for about twenty minutes about your situation: who depends on you, what you own already, and what you would want a policy to do. You will not get a quote on the first call unless we already know what the policy is for.
Will I be pressured to buy?
No. If you say you need to think about it, we get curious about what specifically, because that usually means something was not explained well enough. If the answer is no, the answer is no.
How do you get paid?
Like every licensed agent, we are paid a commission by the carrier that issues the policy. You do not pay us a fee, and the premium is the same whether you buy through an agent or directly from the carrier. Being independent means the carrier we recommend is the one that fits, not the one that pays us.
Can we do this remotely?
Yes, and most clients do, by phone and video, with electronic applications. If you would rather meet in person, or want to verify who you are dealing with first, we respect that. One client flew several states to meet Caleb before placing a large policy. That was the right call for him.