The children have flown, and now your insurance clients have an empty nest. What do they need from your insurance company? The empty nest is a time of great change for your clients, and their insurance needs change as well. They’re thinking of their future, and they’re also thinking about being connected to their family and their children’s insurance needs. As an insurance business, your job is to help them understand how their changing lives require different insurance options.
Life Insurance Needs Change
As their children become less financially dependent on their parents, empty nesters may end term life insurance policies that they took out to cover their family during the child-raising years. However, if they’re still working and one partner has a much higher income, these empty nesters may still require life insurance. Their own children are now having children, and this is a time to reach out to those empty-nesters and reinforce the importance of insurance for all so that they can pass this information on to their children.
Empty Nesters Need Different Auto Insurance Plans
An empty nest can be about freedom. Empty nesters are more likely to embark on a vacation, particularly if they’re retired. Make sure that they know how to cover their auto insurance needs if they’re driving outside the country. Offer advice about winter-proofing and vacation-proofing their vehicles and driving habits so that they can enjoy their vacation without incident.
Millennials are more likely to share large items with friends and family. Some empty nesters will share a vehicle with their children at least part of the time. Give them options for insurance that accommodate additional drivers.
The Home Insurance Needs of Empty Nesters
How does your home change when your children have moved away? For some retirees, an empty nest means that the nest closes up shop and its owners relocate to a townhome, duplex, or accessible apartment. Empty nesters move out of their larger suburban homes into comfortable urban spaces where there are more amenities and less yard work. This leads to new insurance needs and a need to educate owners and tenants alike about the need for insurance for their apartments.
If empty-nesters choose to keep their larger home, they may choose to supplement their retirement income by renting out rooms as long or short-term rentals. According to the Financial Review, “home-sharing platform Airbnb is becoming a popular source of retirement income for asset-rich and income-poor retirees.” Hosting new people in the home can also lead to changes in the need for insurance. Your role as an insurance company is education: making sure that your customers know that their changing lives lead to changing insurance needs, and offering support so that clients can make these changes easily.
At American Agents Alliance, we’re here to support you during all of the stages of your business. Whether you’re just starting out or you’re established and growing, let our many membership benefits help you as you train new employees, hone your insurance marketing, and network with other insurance agencies. Contact us today for more information.
