Update News for December 2023

Here is a quick run-down on what you will find in this bulletin:

• • Merry Christmas 2023

  • Direct to the Public Products

  • Term4Sale – Zip Code Listing Warranty

  • Zip Code List FROZEN Until
    January 8, 2024

  • Zip Codes Available At 12 Noon EST
    January 5, 2024

  • Do Some Preparation In Advance

  • Zip Code Renewals Must Be Paid By
    January 8, 2024

  • G-mail Users – Make Sure You Check Your Spam Folder

  • Our Current Programming Plans for 2023 and 2024

These topics will be dealt with in more detail throughout this bulletin.

Merry Christmas 2023Christmas is a Christian holiday but because the government made it a federal holiday most observe it, whether all celebrate the Christ of Christmas or not. For those who are Christians it is a time of the year when we give thanks to God for the birth of Jesus our Savior. For the rest it usually means a time to get together for family dinners, gift exchanges, etc.

Of course the other big family celebration is Thanksgiving. That is now in the rear view mirror for 2023. We hope that you had a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

By the way, have you noticed that these holidays seem to come quicker each year?

As tradition would have it, I have a special Christmas bulletin which this year focuses on:

• Luke 2:11 NIV

• 11 Today in the town of David a

Savior

 has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

Direct to the Public ProductsOne of the issues that comes up from time to time are subscribers (life insurance brokers) who are not happy that we include “direct to the public” products at our Term4Sale website. The problem is obvious, these are products that cannot be sold by brokers, or at least by most brokers. Some of our customers would like to see such products removed.

Term4Sale traffic is dependent on “word of mouth” and “referrals”. The site has now existed for almost a quarter of a century. I already mentioned above that time seems to be moving along rather quickly. Here’s a look back over time at the www.term4sale.com web site:

The promise has always been the same, a promise we made right at the beginning:

Compulife is committed to providing a database which includes every term product for which we can obtain information. Providing that we are able to obtain the rates for a term product, there is no reason for Compulife to not include that information.

It is the backing up of that assurance with a long standing tradition of quoting all that we can, that has built up the trust of those who give advice about financial products. And that is why they continue to send their listeners to:

But there is something else that I know, after almost 45 years in the life insurance industry. Life insurance is SOLD, it is NOT bought.

One of my good friends in the business used to describe life insurance as a “grudge sale”. Those who buy it would much rather spend their money on something else. Only when confronted by the advice of a tenacious adviser will they make the purchase. Add to that the confusion about the product, what kind to buy and how much to buy, combined with the fact that we are talking about our own ultimate demise, and you have a perfect storm that makes life insurance a product that is a tough sell for almost everyone but the most skilled. Lots of people come into our business to try to sell it, but only a small minority make a success of selling it.

And good luck to those who think you can actually sell life insurance from a life insurance vending machine. Even so, there seems to be no end to those who try, and more important, no end to those who try and fail. They often end up spending thousands to make hundreds, or millions to make thousands.

I believe that the internet can certainly help the prospecting process, but ultimately the product still has to be sold and it takes a one on one with an agent/broker to get that done.

Competitive price, especially for term life insurance, has become a growing issue over time. Compulife must take some of the blame and credit for that. There is little doubt that consumers like to pay less than they have to for a product or service. Building a low cost product is more and more important.

In that regard there are some who naively believe that a direct to the consumer product can be cheaper because life insurance companies don’t have to build in and pay those hefty commissions. But I know that those hefty commission are actually the least expensive way for a life company to get those products sold. The agent provides a service that without the agent is hardly free. Advertising, promotion, and completion of application forms do not come cheap when trying to “sell direct” a product that people do NOT like to buy.

That is all background to this bit of news:

After reading the article, the question is will Mass Mutual offer the old Haven Life products to its agent distribution system, including brokers, or will it discontinue the products? At this point we have no idea. But I share the story with you to underline that Compulife has stayed in business for 40 years by remaining loyal to the subscribers we serve. We do that because we know it will be you who are ultimately successful. If we can help to contribute to your success, we believe that will in turn contribute to our success.

Term4Sale – Zip Code Listing WarrantyThe warranty that Compulife provides is that for every 3 zip code listings that you have, you can expect ONE legitimate email contact through the system per year (we don’t count tests and duplicates; spouses and partners are NOT considered duplicates). If you didn’t receive that one for three contact then those 3 zip codes will be free listings for the following year and the warranty will carry over to that following year as if you had paid the full normal fee.

IMPORTANT:   For those who have ONLY the 3 local zip codes, we would encourage you to add a 4th local zip code this year. For the purposes of the warranty calculation, we round up (in your favor). So, if you have a 4th local zip code, and you get 1 contact the following year, our calculation would be that you should get 2 contacts (4/3 = 1.33 which rounds up to 2). In that situation you would get a credit of $36 against your $48 invoice.

NOTE:  Term4Sale Zip Code invoices for “additional zip codes” (zip codes in excess of your local zip codes) were sent around November 15, 2023; you have until January 5, 2024 to pay that invoice.

If you buy additional zip codes, and you think you did not get the number of contacts you should have this year, do NOT pay your Term4Sale invoice until the last week of December.

In that last week of December (between Christmas and New Year) call us and we will review your email contacts with you, and compare that to the number of zip codes that you had in 2023. If you came up short, we will issue the appropriate credit and reduce your invoice. If you pay that reduced amount you will keep ALL the zip codes you were invoiced for in mid-November.

How is the credit calculated (if you qualify)?

EXAMPLE:  You have 14 zip codes, three local and 11 that you purchased. For 14 zip codes we expect: 14/3 = 5 contacts (4.67 rounded up). Let’s assume that you had only 3 email contacts (note: we do not count duplicate or BOGUS contacts) On November 15th, we would have invoiced you $231 (11 X $21) for 2024 renewal. However, you really only got the activity we would have expected for 9 total zip codes, which would have been 3 local zip codes, and 6 additionally purchased zip codes. Therefore, we will credit your invoice DOWN to $126 (6 X $21) and give you the same 14 zip codes for 2024. In other words, you will have 5 of those 11 paid zip codes for free.

IMPORTANT:  There are NO REFUNDS. What we do is reduce the renewal cost for the SAME zip codes for the following year. After January 8th you can add zip codes (and pay for those) or you can swap your zip codes for other zip codes.

This guarantee is designed to act as a way to retroactively balance out the cost of zip codes listings that have not produced. Sometimes, particularly for those with smaller numbers of zip codes, or with zip codes in poorly populated areas, the results are not as good. We understand that and our warranty is designed to moderate the cost when results are disappointing.

Zip Code List FROZEN Until
January 8, 2024The zip code list is now FROZEN meaning there will be no opportunity to add, remove or exchange zip codes until January 8, 2024.

There was a price increase for additional zip codes this year. For complete details please read this bulletin:

You should have already received your additional zip code invoice by email for 2024. You can pay in 2023 if you want to expense the advertising in that year, or you have up until January 5, 2024 to make your payment which allows you to expense the advertising in 2024.

Zip Codes Available At 12 Noon EST
January 8, 2024The land rush begins at noon, January 8th EST.

As it is every year, the second Monday in January, at 12 noon EST, is the best and busiest zip code purchasing time of the year. The zip codes of those who did not renew their previous listings will become available on a first come, first served basis.

To keep this fair and equal for all, we have a HARD starting date and time to ensure fairness. Every year someone complains because someone else beat them to a zip code that they wanted.

IMPORTANT: Do NOT call or email zip code purchase instructions before 12pm EST on January 8th. If you do, your email will be ignored and we may not have time to respond. If you call early to buy zip codes, and get through, you will be told to call later.

Because the phone lines will likely be busy that day it is BEST to do your homework in advance and email your instructions for new purchases or changes as soon after 12 noon as possible. If you have questions then call or email us the week before.

NOTE: You have two basic options for acquiring new zip codes. You can either pay for and ADD zip codes to your current list, or you can trade/exchange zip codes that you already have for zip codes that you think are better. There are limits to the number you can obtain, and you can call to discuss that if you need to.

Available zip codes (ANY zip code with less than 3 agents listed) will be available on a first come, first serve basis. The new list will be published on January 8th early that morning. You can review available zip codes here at that time:

Zip Code AnalyzerAny additional zip code purchased on January 8th, must be paid for immediately. The cost of the zip code will be 11 X the monthly fee ($1.75 for the first 75, $2.25 for zip codes over 75; standard licenses only). Once your new zip codes are added, the remainder of the month of January is free.

If you are switching zip codes for better zip codes we will need specific instructions. Tell us what zip code that you want to add and which zip code that you are giving up in exchange for it. If you don’t know what zip codes you have email us at service@compulife.com and ask for a list of those zip codes ASAP.

Do Some Preparation In AdvanceOnce again, you can research zip codes at:

Zip Code AnalyzerIf I was you, I would print a list of zip codes in the areas that you are interested in, IN ADVANCE of the 8th.

IMPORTANT TIP:  You can use the column titles to sort the list of zip codes.

Typically, when I am assisting subscribers in finding great zip codes, I will sort by the 4th column: “Zip Code Income (Millions)”. The number in that column is a result of multiplying column 5 times column 6 (Number of Households times Income Per Household). You will need to click that column heading twice. The first time you click it sorts from smallest number to the largest. The second time you click it sorts from largest to the smallest.

TIP:  In densely populated, urban areas, increase the “Number of Listed Zip Codes” from the default number of 100. This will enlarge the area of the state that you are looking at.

Once you have the list that you want, print that list. I would then highlight the zip codes that you would really like to get. Once again, make sure that list is done in advance of the 8th.

On the morning of the 8th you will want to replicate the list again, doing the same search and sort. Check your old list with the new list to see if zip codes that previously had 3 subscribers listed now have 2 or less. If that happens, and it’s one of the zip codes that you want, fire off your email at 12pm to:

service@compulife.comTIP:  Don’t wait too long after finding zip codes that you want. You can send multiple emails. Remember, first come first served. I promise you, if you wait too long, some zip codes that you want will be gone by the time you ask for them.

Make sure that we have your name and phone number in the email. Once we get to you in time order, we will call you and ask for your credit card information.

IMPORTANT:  Compulife keeps no credit card records for subscribers. If we don’t have your credit card number, they can’t be stolen from us. Every purchase by credit card, requires the credit card again.

Zip Code Renewals Must Be Paid By
January 5, 2024Nothing compels you to renew your additional zip code listings and you will continue to be listed in those zip codes until January 5, 2024 in the event that you elect not to pay those renewals.

IMPORTANT:   If your payment has not been received by the end of business on January 5, 2024, the additional listings that you have will LAPSE and be made available to other subscribers at noon on January 8, 2024.

If you believe that you did not get sufficient email contacts (as per the warranty) and that we will need to make a warranty adjustment to your invoice, do not pay your invoice until the last week of December. We would encourage you to contact us on December 27th or 28th (mark that in your calendar) and we will review your total number of email contacts and weigh that against the number of zip codes that you have, and the number of contacts that you are entitled to. If you are short, we will determine the credit that we need to make against your invoice for 2024.

G-mail Users – Make Sure You Check Your Spam FolderAs I was writing this bulletin I had a prospective new subscriber call me, unhappy because he requested a FREE 2 month subscription and had not received it. I asked if he was using a gmail address, which he was. I then told him to check his spam folder. He found the emails there (there were 3 of them from us) and he wondered WHY they went to spam. He clearly was not watching his spam folder and as a result was missing good stuff that was sent to it. This problem does NOT just impact Compulife and if you use gmail you need to be aware of it.

Of course it also doesn’t help that when you open your gmail account, and see the categories of email on the left hand side, the spam folder is not on the list unless you click on “More”. Then it’s good luck seeing it on the long list.

Why are good emails going to spam in gmail? Google plays a dirty little game with gmail to expand their attempt to monopolize the email world. If you use an email system through your own Internet Provider, with your own domain name, and you send an email to a gmail customer for the first time then the default setting for gmail sends that email to the spam folder. Further emails will also go to spam. The only way you can fix that is to click on the email in the spam folder, move it to the Inbox and then future emails from that source go to your Inbox.

Gmail does not send emails from another gmail customer to spam, even it is the first time that email is received. As a result I myself often use gmail to send emails to people I don’t usually email, to ensure they get them. Having said that, I refuse to use gmail as a default email because Google can shut you down and then your email address, which everyone has, is no longer any good.

Now I am not aware of anyone having their gmail account yanked, but I did have an account with Google Voice, a free VOIP system. Because I was using it to make large numbers of outbound calls for political campaigning, they shut down the account without warning. Further, there is NO appeal process. This kind of behavior is troubling.

Have you heard about the new “kill switch” the federal government is mandating for new cars for 2026. You want to read this one:

‘Kill Switch’ Mandate That Could Shut Down Your Car

The stated purpose, to shut down drunk drivers. I am much more worried about the unintended consequences, such as a technical failure that stops you from being able to use your vehicle. It’s like smart gun technology that won’t let you shoot your gun unless it detects the right finger print. And when the battery runs out?

Our Current Programming Plans for 2023 and 2024The following is the current order for new work that we will be doing in 2023/2024:

• • Introduction of New PC Version: CQS.EXE

• • Overhaul Of Current Product Data Files

• Introduction of Compulife Basic Plus (with Pick 12)

Anyone with questions about any of these upcoming projects can call Bob Barney to discuss:

Please don’t email me essay questions, just call. If I’m not in, email me your phone number, I’ll call you.

These planned objectives will easily consume our programming time during the balance of this year and throughout 2024. The good news is that once the product data files have been converted, and we have introduced the new CQS.EXE, and upgraded our internet engine to use the new data files, Compulife will be turning it’s full attention to our web based, Compulife Basic software. The long term goal is to have a web based product that does everything our PC based software does.