SAVVY SENIORS
Joannah Neal, Southern Life Insurance Education First
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n 2013, Joannah Neal received a call that would change not only her life but countless senior adults around Columbus. Her best friend’s husband, who’d been a long-time insurance agent, grew concerned by watching new agents being taught bad habits. He decided to leave and start his own agency in order to do things the right way. That agency became the Southern Life Insurance Company based in LaGrange. At the time, Neal was an eighth-grade teacher when her friend told her, “Go get your license,” Neal remembers, “And I did.” Neal would become one of the first agents for Southern Life, covering the Columbus area. While she may have left teaching, she’s still very much a teacher when it comes to her clients who have come to appreciate her collection of catchphrases. “I’m going to make Medicare eighth-grade easy,” she will say. “I also tell them, ‘Well, I’m a former school teacher, so you’re probably going to learn something, and I might give you homework.’” The reasons Neal chose to leave teaching to become an insurance agent were numerous, but it was largely driven by the people she’d be helping. “I love seniors,” she said. “And they really seem to love me. I’m very patient. I’ve learned a lot from being a teacher. And I just fell in love with it. Plus, I could talk about things I couldn’t talk about in the classroom … like Jesus. And I get to go to church at least once every day.” Too often agents from national companies come in trying to sell plans without taking the time to explain what they’re selling. They don’t explain anything. But with Neal as their agent, education is always the starting point. “I’m going to teach you what all this stuff means so that you understand it,” she said. “And if there’s a need there, we’ll fill that need. But I’m not here to sell to you. I’m here to educate you on the different products that I represent and teach you about how Medicare works, how Medicaid works, how the income levels work. “I educate first.” Another benefit of being with a smaller agency
is that Neal gets to spend more time with her clients, time spent tailoring plans to meet their needs. “If you go to your big shops, they only have one product,” she said. “I have 40 companies and over 100 products. I do field underwriting and really get into their medical background and find a plan that’s going to offer them day-one coverage.” On the Medicare side, Neal locates their doctors and makes sure those doctors are in-network, gets a list of prescriptions and finds out what their drug costs are going to be, and she helps to pick out and compare Medicare plans. Medicare is a something of a specialty for Neal, who, once again relying on that teacher mentality, is comfortable in simplifying complex. “It is very confusing,” she said. “[Clients] are sent this big thick book every year that’s over 200 pages long and are basically told, ‘Read this and make decisions.’ It’s so confusing, but because of my teaching experience, I can break it down and make it easier to take in. That’s the reason I do this. I have a good heart and truly want to help people.” One of the most popular products that Neal helps with is risk free Retirement Income Protection, which, she explains, protects her clients’ accounts from the stock market and stockbrokers. “I don’t charge fees,” she said. “This grows accounts at 5 percent, providing a lifetime of guaranteed income. Even if they spend all the money in the account, when they turn their income on and they’re a 100 years old, the company still has to give them their monthly payments.”
Once clients fully understand their options, Neal will make suggestions as to what would work best for their needs. It’s all low pressure. She’s not pushy because unlike most agents, she’s not worried about making a commission. “God’s been so good to me,” she said. “He just blesses me as long as I do the right thing and do what’s right by the client. I tell other agents, when they ask me how I’m so successful. It’s because I put God first, my client second and myself last.” Adv. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Learn More
For an appointment, call or text Joannah at 706-527-9132 Columbus, Georgia JoannahHart@yahoo.com
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