October Playbook: Easy Ways Advisors Can Start Living Benefit Conversations

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and while the spotlight is often on early detection and treatment, advisors have a unique opportunity to take the conversation further. This is the perfect time to show clients how living benefits can transform a traditional life insurance policy into something far more powerful — protection they can actually use while they’re alive.

Here’s a playbook of simple, practical ways to start living benefit conversations this month.

1. Audit Your Existing Book of Business

The lowest-hanging fruit is already in your files. Pull your current life insurance policies and ask one question: Does this policy include living benefits?

If not, you have an upgrade conversation ready to go. Clients don’t need to be “sold” on life insurance again — they just need to understand how their coverage could be improved to protect them in the event of a serious illness.

2. Partner With Health Professionals

If you don’t sell health insurance, find someone who does. Health professionals focus on covering medical bills, but they often leave gaps around income replacement and everyday expenses. That’s where living benefits come in.

Partnering allows you to position living benefits as the missing piece of financial security — cash that can be used however the client needs it.

3. Cross-Sell to Clients With Ancillary Coverage

Many clients already carry smaller policies: cancer coverage, critical illness, disability income, or accident insurance. Those products are great, but they only solve part of the problem.

Living benefits tied to a life insurance policy offer broader coverage, larger benefit amounts, and flexibility. The positioning is simple: “What you have is good — here’s how we can expand it to cover more and last longer.”

4. Work With Business Owners

Business owners face a double risk when illness strikes: the personal cost of treatment and the professional cost of lost income.

Living benefits can be positioned as a business safeguard, providing cash to cover overhead, payroll, or lost income if the owner is sidelined. For many entrepreneurs, that peace of mind is invaluable.

5. Connect With Mortgage & Real Estate Professionals

Medical bills are the number one cause of bankruptcy and foreclosure. Mortgage brokers and real estate agents don’t want to see their clients lose their homes.

Living benefits can be positioned as mortgage protection with flexibility — money that can keep clients current on their payments even if an illness disrupts their income.

6. Collaborate With Wellness & Holistic Practitioners

Wellness professionals — from chiropractors to nutritionists to holistic health coaches — already focus on prevention and healthy living. By partnering with them, you can bring the financial wellness piece to the table.

Joint workshops or webinars that combine physical and financial health give you access to an engaged, health-conscious audience.

7. Speak at Support Groups & Community Events

Local Alzheimer’s support groups, cancer survivor circles, and health awareness events are always looking for trusted speakers.

Your role isn’t to sell — it’s to educate. A short talk titled “The Hidden Financial Side of a Health Diagnosis” can spark genuine interest and referrals while positioning you as the go-to resource.

8. Work With CPAs & Financial Coaches

Tax professionals and financial coaches often see clients at their most vulnerable — when medical bills or lost wages have already strained their finances.

By working together, you can offer a proactive solution: living benefits as a tool to help clients avoid financial ruin in the first place.

Final Thought

You don’t need a complex marketing plan to start living benefit conversations. Begin with the relationships you already have — existing clients, professional partners, and local community groups.

Living benefits are one of the simplest, most powerful ways to add real value, deepen trust, and protect clients when they need it most.

This October, don’t just talk about awareness — show clients how living benefits give them options, empowerment, and peace of mind.