From pronouns to planning: Special considerations for LGBTQ+ clients

This article addresses essential aspects related to financial planning and insurance needs specifically tailored for LGBTQ+ individuals.

Understanding the needs of LGBTQ+ clients

LGBTQ+ encompasses a diverse community, so when it comes to insurance your LGBTQ+ client’s needs are similar to other communities. However, there are important differences to recognize when helping your clients make decisions around insurance.

Although the LGBTQ+ community represents ~18 million Americans and $1 trillion in buying power and progress has been made towards equality, discrimination remains a reality for LGBTQ+ individuals. LGBTQ+ individuals have formed communities primarily in places most welcoming to them. These areas are most commonly large metropolitan cities where non-discrimination ordinances offer protections around housing, employment, and essential services. As it often happens, maintaining primary residences in large cities comes with higher costs of living. Higher expenses for housing, health care, insurance and other essentials.

It was only in June 2020 that the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that federal protection against workplace discrimination applies to all LGBTQ+ individuals under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.¹ Although discrimination affecting LGBTQ+ people, and its impacts, is hard to map and quantify, workplace discrimination often means LGBTQ+ clients have inconsistent employment histories and limited opportunities for professional advancement and benefits coverage. According to LIMRA research, LGBTQ+ adults under index (42%) on life insurance incidence vs. non-LGBTQ+ (50%), indicating an opportunity to close the gap.² Therefore, your clients will likely lean on you for advice regarding life insurance, asking questions such as:

• Why should I have life insurance?
• How much life insurance do I need?
• What kind of life insurance is best for me?

When it comes to life insurance coverage, the LGBTQ+ community faces disparities. Approximately 42% of LGBTQ+ adults surveyed currently have life insurance, representing around 7.6 million individuals out of a total of 18 million. In stark contrast, half of all Americans overall own life insurance. Encouragingly, 43% of LGBTQ+ consumers express a greater likelihood of purchasing life insurance within the next year, surpassing the 37% rate observed in the general population. However, there’s room for improvement. A significant 48% of surveyed LGBTQ+ individuals worry about their financial situation if they become ill or injured. Despite these concerns, only 14% currently own disability insurance. Addressing these gaps and ensuring comprehensive financial protection remains crucial for the well-being of LGBTQ+ clients.

Learn more about important distinctions that may impact financial and retirement planning for LGBTQ+ clients from the Nationwide Retirement Institute.

Collaboration and communication tips for agents working with LGBTQ+ clients

When engaging with LGBTQ+ clients, insurance agents can foster meaningful conversations by using these conversation starters:

1. Affirming language: Begin by using inclusive language. For instance, you might say, “We’re committed to serving all clients, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.” This sets a welcoming tone and shows that you value diversity.
2. Family and relationship context: Ask about their family structure and relationships. You could say, “Tell me about your loved ones. Are there any dependents or partners we should consider in your planning?”
3. Life events: Explore significant life events. For instance, “Have you recently married, adopted a child, or purchased a home?” These milestones often trigger insurance needs.

Pronouns

Sharing your pronouns–whether in an email, a meeting or in person provides others with an understanding of how you identify and creates a safe space for them to do the same.

Using someone’s pronouns correctly shows that you respect that person and acknowledge how they identify. For both clients and employees, normalizing the conversation around pronouns can make people feel comfortable being their authentic selves.

In practice

Next time you host or attend a webinar, meeting, or community event, set a good example by sharing your pronouns. This could be in your introduction, “Hi, my name is Jane Smith, and my pronouns are ‘she’ and ‘her’,” or through one of the additional examples below.

• Email signature: include after your name (ex: she/her, he/him, they/them, etc.)
• Name badge: Add pronouns under your name
• Screen name for online meetings: Add to the name field
• Social media: Sites, including LinkedIn, have added a field in your profile to include pronouns

If you make a mistake using pronouns or someone corrects you, simply apologize and restate using the correct pronouns. Kindness and humility go a long way while you’re learning.

Nationwide’s diversity, equity and inclusion philosophy

At Nationwide, a diverse and inclusive workforce is critical to our success. Bringing together the unique characteristics of each of our associates – gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, nationality, disability, veteran status, ethnicity, race, religion, as well as many other differences such as thinking styles, personalities and work experience – is an integral part of who we are and how we operate as a company. We are proud of Nationwide’s inclusive culture that supports every associate’s success and encourages an environment where we’ve been recognized by the Human Rights Campaign as Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality consecutively for the last 20 years. Learn more about Nationwide’s diversity, equity and inclusion philosophy.

Additional resources to meet the needs of your diverse clients

While significant strides toward equality have been made, it’s essential to recognize that discrimination still persists for the LGBTQ+ community. Affecting their financial planning and insurance requirements directly. As insurance agents, you have a unique opportunity to serve this underrepresented group with sincerity and empathy. By engaging in considerate conversations that address the unique needs of LGBTQ+ individuals, you can foster trust and provide meaningful support. To better understand this growing community and the market they represent, please review this infographic.