Being poor is very expensive.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Why did she contact you (so you claim) when she did not trust you and you could not close her? Why did she call you in the first place ? What was she expecting? Or did you cold call her like a boiler room con artist ?

I'm starting to think you may be a future victim of a con artists. I already posted in response to one of your posts that I do not cold call. Again, these people mail in "lead cards," I buy the ones for my area and call to set appointments. They know what it's about because they handwrite their address and phone number on the card and stick it in the mailbox. Since 95% of all final expense insurance is sold this way, the people who already have it and still mail more of those cards in especially know what they're about and are either looking for more coverage or a better deal. Anyway, again, I was there on an appt. yesterday. Please reread this a few more times.

[thor66]

do you tell them term is better?

[Rick Lee]

Guys, I had no idea Sugarwood was a troll. I just thought he was clueless and I responded to his ignorant posts before reading the subsequent ones. Lesson learned. I look forward to hearing about him getting screwed in the future on something because he doesn't read well.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Guys, I had no idea Sugarwood was a troll..

New here?

It’s all good. I wish you continued great success at your business. It sounds brutal if you work it hard.

[Rick Lee]

Had two interesting ones today, actually three.

First one was in one of the worst ghetto apt complexes I've been in, and that's saying something. I wanted a rifle, not just a pistol. Anyway, lady was 63, pretty normal looking and in good health, apt. was sketchy, but not too bad. She went on and on about how she had $100k whole life for $75/mo and had had it for a long time. She wouldn't go get the policy papers to show me. So I asked if the price had ever changed. Yup, goes up every five years. Ok, that's not whole life. It's probably term. I told her it would cancel her around age 80 if she didn't quit first once it got too expensive. She didn't believe me, said they told her she could "convert it to something" once she turns 70. Again, lady, that's not whole life. You're on a low, fixed income and you have a likely term policy that will absolutely skyrocket in price, making you quit. At that point you may be able to afford a tiny whole policy IF you're still healthy. I knew it was a lost cause, but only stayed as long as I did, hoping her daughter in the next room would overhear us and later ask her mom what she really had.

Next one was 56 and in current chemo for ovarian cancer. That makes it real simple - guaranteed issue and I closed her. Her roommate was 80 and asked me to look over her policy. She'd had it for 10 yrs. and I knew the company well, told her to hold onto it for dear life, never let it go and that I couldn't help her. She was very thankful.

Next one was a woman who didn't seem right in the head, though she was very enthusiastic about setting the appt. Turns out she had bought a policy a month ago and been diagnosed with dementia two weeks ago. Dementia is a knockout with that company, so I'm not sure if it would really cover her and I'm going back tomorrow to get the full story and meds from her daughter.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

New here?

It’s all good. I wish you continued great success at your business. It sounds brutal if you work it hard.

Thanks. It's my favorite job ever. 99% of the people are the nicest people in the world. I meet 1-2 jerks a week, but they're out of my life forever in under one minute. The nice, but really stupid ones are painful.

I often get people bringing out guns and guitars to show me, even cooking for me. Several times in the last month people have said, and I quote, "You are a godsend. I'm so happy we met." Again, 90-95% of my business is fixing messes (like the kind Sugarwood will get into one day). People get into jams because they don't read their paperwork or don't shop around. One lady once handed me a milk crate full of policies and asked me to go through them all and tell her what I thought. She became my biggest customer for about a year before another took the number one spot.

[RANDY P]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Why did she contact you (so you claim) when she did not trust you and you could not close her? Why did she call you in the first place ? What was she expecting? Or did you cold call her like a boiler room con artist ?

Good Lord, you sound like a crabby old nag woman.

Chill out. Let adults make their own decisions.


rjp

[RANDY P]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I'm starting to think you may be a future victim of a con artists..

It wouldn't be too hard to eject his head- figure out what he thinks he knows, and then go with it. You just know he's the type where a little knowledge makes him dangerous. He'll screw himself.

rjp

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by RANDY P

It wouldn't be too hard to eject his head- figure out what he thinks he knows, and then go with it. You just know he's the type where a little knowledge makes him dangerous. He'll screw himself.

rjp

Met a guy once who was pretty cranky, I think mentally ill, told me he had met with a lot of final expense agents (first clue there) and none could beat the deal he had with what I know to be a very overpriced company. Told me what he had, I was easily able to beat it, then he dug up the invoice and it was even worse than he thought. He kicked me out, was beyond irate I had proven him wrong. Guess what - he's poor.

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I'm starting to think you may be a future victim of a con artists.

Thanks for your concern.
I don't deal with salesmen or middlemen of any sort, under any circumstance.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Thanks for your concern.
I don't deal with salesmen or middlemen of any sort, under any circumstance.

How's hermit life treating you these days? BTW I hope you don't drive uninsured.

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

First one was in one of the worst ghetto apt complexes I've been in, and that's saying something. I wanted a rifle, not just a pistol. Anyway, lady was 63, pretty normal looking and in good health, apt. was sketchy, but not too bad. She went on and on about how she had $100k whole life for $75/mo and had had it for a long time. She wouldn't go get the policy papers to show me. So I asked if the price had ever changed. Yup, goes up every five years. Ok, that's not whole life. It's probably term. I told her it would cancel her around age 80 if she didn't quit first once it got too expensive. She didn't believe me, said they told her she could "convert it to something" once she turns 70. Again, lady, that's not whole life. You're on a low, fixed income and you have a likely term policy that will absolutely skyrocket in price, making you quit. At that point you may be able to afford a tiny whole policy IF you're still healthy. I knew it was a lost cause, but only stayed as long as I did, hoping her daughter in the next room would overhear us and later ask her mom what she really had.

.

Did you ask her why the mailed in a lead card, and why she wanted you to visit her home in the first place? When you asked, "How can I help you?", what did she say ?

[Seahawk]

I have really enjoyed this thread.

It is a peek into a part of life I do not often see and never deal with.

Even at my one day a month volunteering gig at HFH they have me in the back now working spreadsheets...it never ends

While I do not want any pictures of people, a sense of where you are going would be great so I can put your travels in context.

Again, the stories are great.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

I have really enjoyed this thread.

It is a peek into a part of life I do not often see and never deal with.

Even at my one day a month volunteering gig at HFH they have me in the back now working spreadsheets...it never ends

While I do not want any pictures of people, a sense of where you are going would be great so I can put your travels in context.

Again, the stories are great.

Where's that "like" button?

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Guys, I had no idea Sugarwood was a troll. I just thought he was clueless and I responded to his ignorant posts before reading the subsequent ones. Lesson learned. I look forward to hearing about him getting screwed in the future on something because he doesn't read well.

There are far worse people here. He just asks questions that might get under people's skin.

He's far easier to ignore than some of the 'super-posters'....

[cabmandone]

Personally I think he's trying to prove the saying "there's no such thing as a stupid question" wrong.

[1990C4S]

I could not do what Rick does, regardless of the pay. He's not sleazy, he appears to be straight up ans what most people would want, but the industry is sleazy.

Feels a lot like 'Pay-Day Loans' on my sleaze scale

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Thanks for your concern.
I don't deal with salesmen or middlemen of any sort, under any circumstance.

Yup, you are a future victim. You deal with sales/middleman all the time and are just to blind to realize it.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

While I do not want any pictures of people, a sense of where you are going would be great so I can put your travels in context.

I don't have any photos of the apt. complexes, but they're absolutely everywhere. And most of us drive past them every day and never know they're there.

Here's a guy's hovel in Tucson. This was a door knock because there was no phone number on the lead card and I just happened to be right around the corner for my next appt, realized this guy was a block or two away. It looks like a shanty, surrounded by a chain link fence with pit bulls running around. However, he had a doorbell on the fence, so I rang it and he invited me into the yard. He was super nice and even asked what took me so long to get into contact with him. Uh, no phone number? He said we couldn't go into the house because people were still sleeping, but he was just waiting for someone to come see him. I think I wrote the application on the hood of one of his derelict cars. He thanked me profusely, has never missed a payment, been on the books about 10 mos so far.

brad1 by Rick Lee, on Flickr

brad2 by Rick Lee, on Flickr

This one was a conversation starter.

brad3 by Rick Lee, on Flickr

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

Even at my one day a month volunteering gig at HFH they have me in the back now working spreadsheets...it never ends

That reminds me of my own HFH experience. It was long before I was in this job, so I think that was probably my first time in a Phoenix ghetto area - Maryvale for those who know the area. Now I'm there several times a week.

Wish I had taken a photo of this one, but it was about a year ago in a very low-income neighborhood, no apts, but rather mostly shacks or trailers on small lots. This guy's trailer had been destroyed in a gas explosion and it looked like it had happened yesterday. He had a feud going on with his neighbor, so he claims his neighbor told the insurance company the explosion had been arson. Insurance co. denied the claim, so the guy rented a chain link fence, enclosed the pile of rubble and STILL LIVED THERE. No exaggeration - this place looked like one of those old film reels of Germany the day after an Allied bombing raid. I couldn't believe the city didn't condemn the place. But this guy was determined to DIY the cleanup and rebuild. He was a no sale, but he was very nice. This was a neighborhood you would never even know was there unless you had business or friends there.