Welcome to Skimm Tested, a series where we put products and services to the test and give you our honest, unfiltered reviews.
What I tested…
I spoke with a New York Life agent about what kind of life insurance might make the most sense for me and my family.
Why I tested…
I often catch myself saying I’m a new mom — but the truth is, my son is three and a half years old, and my husband and I still don’t have life insurance outside of what’s provided by our employers. My son is the most important person in the world to me (obvious alert, but it’s true), and I want to be sure that he’s protected if anything happens to us. The fact that we haven’t gotten it together to buy a life insurance policy is very high on the list of things I feel guilty about (and even a little embarrassed by). So when the opportunity arose to speak with New York Life, I jumped at it.
I was hoping to speak to someone who wouldn’t judge me for my lack of knowledge and who would demystify the process so I could understand what I needed and how to get it.
How I tested…
I had a one-hour call with Anja Nickel, a Financial Advisor* with Eagle Strategies LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor and a New York Life company. Anja is an agent for New York Life and markets her comprehensive services under ABN Financial Strategies LLC.** Anja asked me about my family’s financial goals and talked me through my options.
My biggest takeaways? The session was…
Relaxed and warm. Anja started the call by chatting a bit (turns out we both live in Boston) before diving into the nitty gritty. Having that foundation made me more comfortable getting into what are really personal topics, and helped me see that I was dealing with someone empathetic and caring.
Easy to understand. Anja talked about life insurance as the foundation that all financial planning is built on, and explained life insurance in a way that actually made sense to me. She used analogies and broke down options that could be just right for my situation.
Thorough. Anja explained that after our call, she’d take the information I gave her and spend some time thinking about what else she needs to know in order to find the right life insurance solution for me — which we’d discuss the next time we chat. I left with a clear understanding of the process and the sense that Anja was taking my case seriously.
A few things to know about the first meeting with a life insurance agent…
Come as you are. It’s great to bring some general financial stats, like your and your spouse’s salaries, your savings, and what you have in 401(k) plans. But they can be ballpark figures, and Anja stressed that she doesn’t want clients to feel like they need to do a ton of prep work. I provided general numbers, and we’ll get into the specifics in our next session.
Keep your goals in mind. Talking openly about your financial priorities will help shape a successful session.
Bring the whole team (if you can). If you have a spouse or partner purchasing life insurance with you, it’s ideal to bring that person to this call so that you can start on the same page. That said, my husband wasn’t able to join, and that was also totally OK. He’ll be at our next session, which is already on the books.
The fine details…
My first meeting was about one hour.
This meeting is free with no obligation.
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