Eliminate Iatrophobia in the Life Insurance Underwriting Process

It’s almost Halloween, and AIP Marketing Alliance knows you are afraid of something. Scary movies. Walking under ladders. Stepping on cracks. We all have certain fears in our lives, and sometimes, that causes a hindrance to our planning.

Some people suffer from aerophobia (extreme fear of flying) or claustrophobia (fear of small places), which could impede their travel arrangements. Others might not want to board a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean due to thalassophobia – an intense fear of deep bodies of water like an ocean or lake.

In the life insurance industry, licensed insurance agents are learning about a fear that may impact their clients more than they realize, called iatrophobia, who are people with an extreme fear of doctors or medical tests.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, one survey found that 1 in 3 Americans avoid going to their doctor, even when they think they need medical care. Specific phobic disorders affect about 12% of American adults and 19% of children and adolescents.

As a life insurance professional, you see where AIP Marketing Alliance is going with this. You may run into a client/prospect who doesn’t mind completing the life insurance application, but if a medical exam is required, the person may not follow through on the med exam. Iatrophobiacs tend to cancel or reschedule doctor’s visits, which correlates to possible delays during the underwriting process.

AIPMA discusses how iatrophobia can hinder the underwriting process in this month’s blog, but our team also discusses solutions to reduce – and possibly eliminate – your clients’ fears of an assigned medical exam.

Some of our contracted carriers have non-medical life insurance products for clients that fit the profile. Some carriers also have accelerated underwriting, where the carrier can waive the medical exam requirement based on their health. AIPMA also has multiple final expense products available which do not require medical exams.

Interested in learning more about AIPMA’s Accelerated Underwriting carriers and their products not requiring medical exams? Check out our recent blog or contact our Business Development team at (800) 783-5206 Press #2 or [email protected]. AIPMA’s team can also discuss individual situations and run potential illustrations based on the client’s situation.

AIPMA also does not want you to feel chrometophobia, which can be caused by real experiences of significant loss of money. Chrometophobia involves fears of spending it, losing it, and how it is impacting their daily life. Let’s work to alleviate these fears together by creating life insurance solutions that work for you and your clients to best protect them and their loved ones.