Disability Insurance

What Tiger Woods Can Teach Your Clients About DI

During May’s Disability Insurance Awareness Month, Tiger Woods’ recent withdraw from the Masters is a reminder that disabling events can happen to anyone and have lasting effects. When it comes to your own clients, they have worked hard to build their financial future, but once it’s gone it’s too late. Make sure everything works when your clients can’t.”

It was the morning of February 23, 2021 when Tiger Woods had to be extracted from his SUV after his single-car rollover accident took place. In the immediate days following, the world learned of his injuries and subsequent trauma. We recently saw the continuing aftermath of that injury when Tiger withdrew from the 2023 Masters.

It has been an unwelcome reminder that anything can happen to anyone. After the initial shocking news of Tiger’s motor vehicle accident, your clients may have reached out regarding their own disability insurance (DI) coverage. Concerned, they turned to you to assure them they are covered or that they have enough to cover their medical bills and any property damage. And if they haven’t, this is your opportunity to speak with them about DI.

When tragedy happens, it is often too late to deliberate these questions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in four US adults live with a disability. During May’s Disability Insurance Awareness Month, it is the perfect time to talk to your clients about protecting their income from an unforeseen injury or illness with a solid plan in place or a review of their existing policy.

The Time is Now

As their advisor, two items you need to focus on and remember continually are:

  • Income is your clients’ most valuable asset and needs to be protected
  • Your clients will never be younger or healthier than they are right now

So, now is the time for you to have that proactive conversation with your clients around protecting their income. We must be honest with ourselves — disabilities do happen. They happen every day.

The majority of disabilities are sickness related, but we are all familiar with accidents. Tiger Woods, of course, is a recent reminder of this — disabling events can happen to anyone and have lasting effects. A vital factor to emphasize in your conversations with your clients is: a DI policy addresses a life altering event, not a life ending event.

Take a moment and place yourself in an unfortunate scenario. Imagine your client may have suffered a tragedy that they will hopefully recover from, but now, how do they get through the financial aspect of this? How do they pay their bills? How do they fund their 401(k)? Or their 529 program? How do they pay all of the bills that come in on a monthly basis? Your clients may find this all overwhelming to think through.

That is where a DI policy comes into play. The policy allows your clients to maintain their financial and personal dignity during a period of time that is incredibly stressful to them and their families. Palladium Group can help you design a policy to ensure your clients are protected prior to a disabling event.

One important key element is for you to have that proactive conversation with your clients prior to them suffering some form of event that will make it very difficult for them to apply for disability insurance. Palladium Group is here to get you engaged in that dialog with your clients to protect their most valuable asset — their income.

Your clients have worked hard to build their financial future (and so did you), but once it’s gone it’s too late. It’s our job to make sure that everything works when your clients can’t. To make sure their foundation is protected.

If you have questions about which DI policy is the right solution for your clients, Palladium Group will ensure your clients’ future — and that of their families — are properly protected. Acting as an extension of your team, our insurance consultants will partner with you as a trusted resource to provide proper guidance for you and your clients going forward.

*This material is for financial professional and educational use only. Not to be reproduced or shown to clients.