Exclusive one-on-one deep dive gives agents the questions, language, and framework to close the disability income gap with every life insurance client
In recognition of Disability Insurance Awareness Month, host Jamie Fleischner sits down with industry veteran Bob Herum, President of the Council for Disability Income Awareness, for a timely and deeply informed conversation on the critical role of income protection in financial planning.With nearly four decades of experience in the disability insurance industry, Bob reflects on the real-life stories that shaped his career and continue to drive his mission today. From a surgeon forced to sell watercolor paintings after a career-ending condition, to a dentist whose coverage became a lifeline following a neurological event, these cases underscore a central theme: many Americans are dangerously underprepared for the financial consequences of a disability.Bob Herum explains the concept of “unconscious decisions” — when individuals fail to actively evaluate or secure adequate coverage — and why this passive approach can have lasting consequences. He argues that while disability is often
DENVER, May 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Income Protection Journal Podcast hosted by Jamie K. Fleischner, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF released a special Disability Insurance Awareness Month episode featuring Bob Herum, president of the Council for Disability Income Awareness (CDIA).
Drawing on nearly 40 years of disability income sales experience, Herum gives insurance agents the exact language, objection-handling framework, and sales philosophy needed to close the disability insurance gap that sits in nearly every client file.
The episode is available now at https://setforlifeinsurance.com/doctor-sells-watercolors-after-disability-coverage-falls-short/
Individual disability income insurance sales today are less than half of what they were in 1986, despite a U.S. population that has grown by 60 million people, significantly higher incomes, and participation limits that have tripled. Herum opened the conversation with that number, then spent 50 minutes explaining what is driving it and what agents can do about it today.
“It was never a question of whether you sell life insurance or disability income insurance,” Herum said. “It was: you do both. Because if they have a car accident and they die, the family is going to need some form of income. If you live through that, you’re still going to need help during recovery, whether that’s months or years.”
The episode covers three high-impact areas:
Income Protection Gap
Only four out of 100 licensed life and health agents actively sell disability income insurance, yet every carrier’s fact finder reveals a disability coverage gap in nearly every client file. Herum explains why agents see the gap and move on, and what it takes to stop.
Overcoming the myth of group LTD
Herum gives agents three questions that expose the limits of employer-provided long-term disability coverage, including portability, benefit taxation, and income replacement gaps for professionals with practice income. None of the questions require a product pitch.
Steering the disability insurance conversation
Herum shares the sales philosophy his first manager gave him: find the client’s pain point, then stop talking. He also explains how to invite objections early, turning a sales presentation into a problem-solving session.
“The more they talk, the more they’re actually telling you how to approach getting them to make a conscious decision,” Herum said.
About the Income Protection Journal Podcast
The Income Protection Journal Podcast is hosted by Jamie K. Fleischner, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF, president of Set for Life Insurance, an independent disability insurance brokerage in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Fleischner has advised physicians, surgeons, dentists, attorneys, and other high-income professionals on individual disability insurance for more than 30 years. New episodes publish weekly at setforlifeinsurance.com.
About the Council for Disability Income Awareness
The Council for Disability Income Awareness (CDIA) is a nonprofit trade association working to educate the public and the insurance industry about the importance of disability income protection. CDIA members include leading insurance carriers, reinsurers, and industry organizations. Learn more at cdia.org.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/803153bf-aba6-4bf3-8f11-c55efe9596b8
A video accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c13b7659-d65c-4990-8ed0-598630c569bf
CONTACT: Contact: Eric Schwartzman American Insight Operations eric@ericschwartzman.com
