In most sales, a price objection is about the number. In insurance it is often about something else: the client is paying for something they hope never to use. A monthly premium is concrete; the benefit is a possibility. So "it's too expensive" usually means "I don't yet see what I get for this money", and lowering the price does not fix that.
Practise this exact objection now. The life insurance price scenario gives you a client who says the offer is too expensive right after you name the premium. Start it in the DIRI AI sales call simulator. The Free plan is 3 voice calls a month, up to 5 minutes each, no card.
What the client usually means in insurance
Variant 1: "Too expensive compared with what?" The client has a reference point: an online quote, a colleague's policy, the cover they already have through a bank or employer. They are comparing two numbers that do not cover the same thing. Your task is to find out what they are comparing with before you defend anything.
Variant 2: "Too expensive for my budget." The cover makes sense to them, but the monthly amount does not fit. This is a real constraint, not a tactic. The honest answer is often less cover, a different term or a higher excess, explained plainly, not a harder pitch for the original offer.
To tell them apart, ask: "Is it more expensive than you expected, or more than you'd want to spend each month?"
Three replies you can say word for word
1. Find the comparison. "That's fair to say. Expensive compared with what, a quote you've seen or what you pay now? I'd like to make sure we're comparing the same cover." If they name an online quote, compare the sums insured, the waiting periods and the exclusions side by side. Sometimes the cheaper offer really is the better fit for them. Say so.
2. Tie the premium back to what they told you. "You said earlier that if you couldn't work, the mortgage would be the first problem. This cover pays [amount] a month in that case, for [premium] a month now. Does that still feel like the wrong balance?" Use their own words from the needs part of the call. If you did not ask about needs, this reply will not work, and that is worth knowing.
3. Offer a smaller, honest option. "If the monthly amount is the problem, we can lower the sum insured or drop the add-on for [risk]. You'd pay [lower premium], and the difference is [what they lose]. Which matters more to you?" Name what the cheaper version does not cover. A client who later discovers a gap you did not mention will not trust you again.
A sample dialogue (six turns)
This example is fictional. It is not a transcript of a real call.
Adviser: With the cover for the mortgage and the children, it comes to forty-two euros a month.
Client: Forty-two? That's too expensive. I saw something online for twenty.
Adviser: Thanks for telling me. Do you remember what that one paid out, and from when?
Client: Not exactly. A lump sum, I think. I didn't read the details.
Adviser: Shall I send you both side by side, sum, waiting period and what's excluded? If the twenty-euro one covers what you need, I'll tell you to take it.
Client: All right. If it's that clear, I'll read it tonight.
The adviser does not argue the price, does not discount and does not dismiss the online quote. The comparison becomes a written next step the client agrees to.
One line not to say
"Can you really put a price on your family's safety?"
It sounds caring and works as guilt. Clients hear the pressure, and in regulated sales an emotional push instead of a clear explanation of the product is exactly what you are not supposed to do. Talk about what the policy pays and when, and let the client make the value judgement.
A note on regulated sales
Insurance distribution is regulated, and the rules differ by country and product type. Depending on where you work, the cover you recommend may have to match the needs you documented, and product information may have to be handed over before the contract. This page is not legal advice. Your firm's compliance contact decides what you must disclose and record. The replies above are about how you talk about price, not a substitute for those rules. The insurance needs analysis step by step explains the needs part of the call that reply 2 depends on.
Drill it in the matching scenario
- Open the life insurance price scenario.
- Before you name the premium, ask at least two questions about what the client wants to protect. You will need the answers for reply 2.
- When the objection comes, use reply 1 and find the comparison before you say anything about value.
- Read the report and repeat the call with reply 3. Did you name what the cheaper option leaves out?
For short answers to related objections see too expensive and cheaper online. The general too expensive guide covers price objections outside insurance. If the client says they are already covered elsewhere, continue with covered through my employer or bank.
FAQ
Should I offer a discount when the client says it's too expensive?
Usually you cannot, and you should not imply you can. Insurance premiums are set by the insurer's pricing. What you can change is the cover: sum insured, term, excess or add-ons. Explain each change and what it costs the client in protection.
What if the online quote really is better?
Then say so. "For what you need, that one is fine" is an honest answer, and clients remember advisers who said it. You may get the next policy or a referral; you will not get either by talking someone out of a fair offer.
How do I practise answering a price objection without sounding defensive?
Rehearse the first sentence until it is calm: "That's fair to say." Then ask a question instead of explaining. Run the life insurance price scenario twice and compare how quickly you start defending. More insurance practice is on the insurance industry page and in the insurance cross-sell objection drills.
Try it yourself: run one free practice call and read which sentence the report suggests changing. See the Free plan.