Independent Advisors
Independent Advisors, RIAs & Broker-Dealers
If you are a Financial Advisor, or a Broker-Dealer or RIA firm looking for a disability benefit solution, you are in the right place. DSI’s Principals & Staff have had hundreds of thousands of conversations with Advisors over the years, and DSI counts its Advisor clients in the tens of thousands.
Our expertise and track record of excellence in this space is unmatched.
Financial Advisors & Disability Insurance
Advisors spend many years building their client base, developing their brand and expertise, and yet most Advisors tell us in the first conversation that they have little or no Disability Insurance coverage; or after engaging with DSI, they later discover their current Disability coverage is inadequate.
Rationale for Disability Insurance
You insure your car and your house, because you should, but also because you are required to do so. So why wouldn’t you seek the best way to insure the very asset that took years to create, and makes all other assets possible? That asset is your ability to earn income as a Financial Advisor.
Risk & Reality
Many advisors initially tell us they are not concerned about their Disability risk, or that it would take a catastrophic disability to deter them from their work. That thinking is dead wrong! Less than 10% of all Long-Term Disability claims are due to accident or injury. That means approximately 90% of those claims are illnesses.
We see new Advisor disability claims every week, so let us assure you, it can be shockingly easy for an injury or illness to impact or completely halt your capability to continue your profession. Advisors must have all of their faculties about them to do their work…mentally and physically. Think about how Cancer, Heart Disease, Stroke, Parkinson’s, Mental Illness, degenerative joint or muscle diseases, severe injuries, and other debilitating conditions could affect your ability to deliver complex advice and ongoing service to your clients. Equally important to consider is how your clients’ perception of you may change under those circumstances, and how quickly they may seek advice elsewhere.
The DSI Conversation
“Whatever DI coverage I have now is fine,” or “I’m all set on DI” is often what we hear from Advisors during our first conversation. We know the Disability Insurance market, and we’ve seen nearly every Disability insurance option available, so our approach is always education first. That said, we often help Advisors come to that very same “no change” conclusion. Invariably, the Advisor comes away from the DSI conversation with greater insight about their risk, their coverage, and they often recommend a colleague for the DSI Conversation.
In most cases after we engage, we do present recommendations, and our experience is that advisors take their own disability insurance planning very seriously, with a long-term outlook. Thus, our customized recommendations also include clear guidance on premiums, contract provisions and limitations, plan design variables, and the underwriting and enrollment process.
Moreover, once an Advisor’s coverage is secured, DSI does not disappear. We are always available for consultation and policy service. DSI also judiciously contacts every Advisor client, every year by phone and email at least once, to proactively inquire about changes of circumstance, policy service needs, or to simply remind them of policy change options.
The DSI Solution
Chances are, if you are a licensed Financial Advisor, we are already engaged with your Broker-Dealer or a Professional Association that can provide you access to one of DSI’s programs. Simply call us to inquire. If we can’t provide a coverage option for you in the near term, refer us to your RIA, OSJ, or Broker-Dealer’s management team and we’ll explore a potential program fit.
