June 2020

Developing a plan for an entire year can be a daunting task. With so many days ahead of you, it’s easy to get sidetracked and let a few months of inactivity slip and sabotage your success. It’s time to take a more disciplined approach.

Stay Motivated All Year

Be sure to write down your business plan and place it where you’ll see it each day. Also set up a repeating calendar entry each week to review the plan and the work you’ve done to achieve it.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” ― Abraham Lincoln

Start small and focus on building a plan with measurable and achievable goals.

Set Goals

Be Realistic
It may sound great if your goal is to increase your Long-Term Care (LTC) Insurance business, but you might be setting yourself up for failure. Instead commit to making LTC Insurance more fully integrated into your business.

Make Them Measurable
Numbers don’t lie, so use them to make yourself accountable. Pinpoint a certain number of applications you’d like to write, client meetings you’d like to host, or referrals you’d like to gain.

Create A Plan

Develop A Strategy
Now that your goals are in place, how will you reach them? Create actionable items to focus on throughout the year. Maybe it’s simply making LTC Insurance a part of every financial planning discussion you have or it’s committing to hosting quarterly education seminars in your community.

Target Completion Dates
Having monthly or quarterly milestones are a great way to track success, and provides you with ample time to plan ahead.

Take Action

Get Motivated
Your business plan may seem foolproof, but won’t work if you don’t put it into action. Begin each day with a task to help you meet a specific goal. You’ll build momentum to keep you focused and productive.

Commit To Your Plan
You’ve positioned yourself for success and have taken the time to establish specific goals, strategies, and deadlines. Stick to your plan and give it a chance to work

Track Results

Self-Evaluate
Are you ahead of your goals or are you falling behind? Regularly reviewing your progress will provide you with direction on how to focus going forward.

Make Adjustments
You may find that one approach works, and another does not. Being flexible will allow you to change strategies to achieve overall success.

We’re here to help – reach out to your Long-Term Care Associate for assistance with your planning.

FOR PRODUCER USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE WITH CLIENTS.

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not designed, or intended, to be applicable to any person’s individual circumstances. It should not be considered as investment advice, nor does it constitute a recommendation that anyone engage in (or refrain from) a particular course of action.

The opinions and ideas expressed by the speaker are their own and may not reflect the views of Rohrer and Associates Marketing Group Inc. The presentation is for informational purposes only. You should not treat any opinion expressed by the author, as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of his opinion. The Author’s opinions are based upon information he considers reliable and The Author’s statements and opinions are subject to change without notice.

With medical advancements, people are able to survive critical illnesses which may in the past have resulted in a death. While your clients can rest easy knowing they have a higher chance of survival if they receive an unsettling diagnosis – they also have to afford living with the condition, which can create a severe financial strain if they are not properly covered.

For clients who are looking to protect themselves from the financial burden medical expenses would bring, there is Critical Illness Insurance.

Critical Illness insurance offers a tax-free lump sum payment on first diagnosis of any one of a list of serious illnesses – including cancer, heart attacks, or stroke.

With comprehensive benefit plans and affordable costs – you could find coverage to fit any client’s budget, with benefits up to $500,000. For a premium of $52 a month, a male, age 40 could receive a $50,000 lifetime coverage policy. Or choose the option of 10-15-20- or even 30-year term coverage periods.

Critical Illness Insurance benefits can be collected in one of three ways:
1) The policy will pay the face value in the event your client is diagnosed with one of the 11 covered illnesses, including Alzheimer’s Disease
2) The policy will pay the face value to your beneficiary in the event your client passes from one of the covered illnesses
3) 100% of all premiums paid towards the plan will be returned to the beneficiary as a tax-free death benefit if your client passes for any other reason

While most critical illness policies have a reduction of benefit at age 65 – we have contracts that extend the full benefits out to age 70. In addition, any benefits after age 70 would still include benefits for advanced Alzheimer’s Disease.

Traditional health insurance plans, while the most common form of protection, will only cover hospital and pharmaceutical expenses. However, additional costs, such as insurance deductibles, childcare, insurance premiums, and short-term home health care would be billed directly to your client – who should be recovering, not stressing about how they will pay the bills.

Critical Illness Insurance is one of the best kept secrets in the industry and provides advisors a great opportunity right now to meet more clients, help more families and increase sales.

Sales Idea: Look to your clients with a family history of Cancer, Heart Disease, or Hypertension. They are very likely to be interested in purchasing protection. The likelihood of surviving a critical illness grows every year, as does the threat of being diagnosed with one.

Contact your Disability Insurance Specialist for detailed information about a plan that meets each of your clients’ needs and budget.

Author: Thomas Nicols

FOR PRODUCER USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE WITH CLIENTS.

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not designed, or intended, to be applicable to any person’s individual circumstances. It should not be considered as investment advice, nor does it constitute a recommendation that anyone engage in (or refrain from) a particular course of action.

The opinions and ideas expressed by the speaker are their own and may not reflect the views of Rohrer and Associates Marketing Group Inc. The presentation is for informational purposes only. You should not treat any opinion expressed by Thomas Nicols, as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of his opinion. Thomas Nicols’ opinions are based upon information he considers reliable and Thomas Nicols’ statements and opinions are subject to change without notice.

Clients often ask me, “What’s the best life insurance policy?” The appropriate answer is not as simple as naming a carrier and their newest product. If I were to rephrase their question, it would be: What kind of life insurance fits my situation, or do I need it at all? And which life insurance company has products that are right for me and my family? To answer these questions for your client and narrow their options, here are some important considerations —

Lifetime Commitment

Whether a client chooses term life, whole life, universal life, indexed universal life depends on a number of factors. And unlike many other financial products available, their life insurance product selection may have more permanent consequences.

If they choose cash value life insurance like indexed universal life, it can play an important long-term role within a well-balanced comprehensive strategy. And it may be the decision of a lifetime, both literally and figuratively.

This is why it’s so critical to find carrier and product that meets the long-term goals of the client. Choosing a product based on one feature, isn’t a thorough enough assessment.

No Guarantee of Future Qualification

A cash value life insurance applicant might be healthy enough to become insured today, but there is no guarantee that in the future they will be able to qualify for a different policy.

Therefore, if they get into a policy that looks attractive on the surface, only later to find out that the carrier doesn’t honor their promises or it doesn’t suit the client’s needs, that policyholder could be stuck with the wrong type of policy. They may not be able to exchange it for another one with a different insurance company if they are no longer insurable.

Carrier Considerations

Insurance companies are always innovating and vying for your attention and your clients’ premium dollars. New product features and exciting new talking points are a frequent occurrence these days—not only to meet the needs of prospective policyholders, but also because there’s a need to stand out in a competitive marketplace.

You’ve probably encountered carrier representatives telling you how and why they’re better (or different) than their competitors. So, how do you help your clients make an informed decision?

One very important consideration is how they treat their existing policyholders. After all, what good is a promise to do something extraordinary if you fail to deliver and as a result, disappoint existing policyholders?

If your clients knew they could try a different product or insurance company with ease, maybe it wouldn’t be so important to choose the right one initially. But because they don’t know what their health will be like down the road, they need to make the most informed and educated decision they can right now.

Look for Consistency

I’m not going to tell you which companies I think have demonstrated a consistent behavior of treating their existing clients as good or better than their new clients, or call out those who do not treat their existing policyholders as well. You and your client can conduct your own research and come to a conclusion.

However, what I will say, is that you should consider the facts beyond current product offering features and benefits. Look past the hot new crediting method on an indexed life policy or an illustrated non-guaranteed promise like a persistency bonus. Look at their ratings and longevity in the industry. You might also want to weigh the benefits of a mutual company over a publicly-traded one. Ask to see their renewal rate history.

Evaluate Past Actions

When selecting a life insurance policy for a client, I always recommend that the financial professional consider the insurance carrier’s past actions and behavior before they become enthralled with the sparkling new features and benefits of the latest product.

Ask yourself: Do the risks of new features and promises outweigh the rewards?

Do you think that based on past experience the carrier is likely or unlikely to hold up their end of the bargain for the next 50 years?

Would you purchase the product for yourself knowing that you may never again choose something different?

As an independent financial professional, you have many options in terms of products, carriers, and even marketing organizations. It can be easy to slip into offering a client what you’re familiar with, but I would urge you to take advantage of the flexibility and options available to you and do a thorough analysis of what you could offer a client.

To get beyond any biases you might have, you can ask colleagues or your marketing organization to share their experiences with carriers and products. You can also research through the state insurance department or the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Then work together to narrow down what makes the most sense for your client’s specific situation.

Not only is carrier and product determination important, you also have to factor in the clients potential to pass underwriting—both medical and financial. Additionally, the client’s risk tolerance, budget and level of discipline should be taken into account.

After you’ve carefully considered carrier, product, and client profile, you can begin to narrow the options to what’s best suited for the client.

Author: Mark Triplett

FOR PRODUCER USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE WITH CLIENTS.

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not designed, or intended, to be applicable to any person’s individual circumstances. It should not be considered as investment advice, nor does it constitute a recommendation that anyone engage in (or refrain from) a particular course of action.

The opinions and ideas expressed by the speaker are their own and may not reflect the views of Rohrer and Associates Marketing Group Inc. The presentation is for informational purposes only. You should not treat any opinion expressed by Mark Triplett, CEO of Triplett-Westendorf Financial Group, as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of his opinion. Mark Triplett’s opinions are based upon information he considers reliable and Mark Triplett’s statements and opinions are subject to change without notice.

Upstream Life is pleased to announce that it has received a Triple B Plus (or BBB+) issuer credit rating (ICR) and B++ financial strength rating (FSR) from AM Best.

Download Announcement

The ICR is an independent opinion of an entity’s ability to meet its ongoing financial obligations and is an opinion regarding the relative future risk of an entity. The Triple B Plus rating provides a “Good” rating for Upstream Life stating that it has “a good ability to meet their ongoing senior financial obligations.” Additionally, the B++ FSR rating also a “Good” category and denotes that the company has “a good ability to meet their ongoing insurance obligations.”

Upstream Life is dedicated to serving the insurance needs of our clients and ensuring that their future is secure through our life and annuity products. We invite you to learn more about the products and services you can offer your clients through a partnership with Upstream Life. For more information, please visit https://upstreamlife.us/annuities/.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. AM Best rating services assess the creditworthiness of and/or reports on over 16,000 insurance companies worldwide. AM Best information services integrate credit ratings, commentary, research and analysis with insurance news, financial data and thought leadership to help consumers and professionals make more informed personal and business decisions. To learn more about AM Best and its ratings, please visit www.ambest.com.

It’s been since January when the first case of coronavirus was reported in the United States and mid-March since the first stay-at-home orders were issued and understandably, our country is still reeling. As of June 4th, it was reported that 21.5 million Americans were unemployed and over 100,000 small businesses have had to close their doors. The good news is, there has been talk of new jobs being created and some businesses are reopening. Things will get better, but clients and prospects will still be looking to you for answers–

It’s no secret that a lot more government money has been spent and will be spent in 2020 than ever before. Together, the measures equal slightly more than 10 percent of gross domestic product, economists say. By comparison, the response to the 2008 financial crisis amounted to about 3 percent of GDP, considered enormous at the time. Add in actions by the Federal Reserve, and the government’s response to the pandemic equals about a quarter of the nation’s entire annual economic input.

The reasons for lost revenue and government debt are numerous and since we’re all living it every day, I won’t get into all of those reasons here. Instead, in this post, I want us to consider this question–

How will the debt incurred be repaid?

It’s hard to say at this moment but raising income taxes seems like the inevitable conclusion. Of course, this won’t be the first time we’ve seen taxes increase. But in this case, we’re anticipating it, which gives you some time to prepare your clients…

A window of opportunity

According to this article in Forbes, no broad-based tax hike will (or should) happen until the economy returns to some semblance of normal in 2021 or beyond.

The crux:

If you’re drawing the same conclusion that an increase in taxes could happen in the future, where do you point clients for possible ways to start preparing themselves now? What can you do to help protect clients from further financial damage?

One solution your clients may want to consider is life insurance. Yes, life insurance can be a way for your clients to make themselves immune to future tax increases.

Why now is the ideal time for life insurance conversations

The core purpose of life insurance, which is the income tax-free death benefit to help financially support family members or business partners in the event of the premature death of the insured, is still very relevant. And in fact, it’s not as difficult to bring up the topic of life insurance with clients as it might have been in the past. For many, it’s been top-of-mind with COVID-19 causing us to be more acutely aware of our own mortality.

Although there have been carriers limiting the sale of life insurance to older folks during the pandemic, especially those with existing health conditions, it’s actually never been easier to obtain life insurance.

In response to sheltering at home, a growing number of insurance carriers have started offering accelerated underwriting. This allows a person to qualify for life insurance without having someone come into their home for blood draws, or medical tests. Additionally, policies can generally be underwritten in 48 hours.

On top of the income-tax free death benefit and often the ability to access the policy for long-term care needs, there is an ancillary benefit of life insurance as well— the tax advantages.

In light of our current economic situation and the possibility that taxes will rise in response to that, life insurance could be one way your clients might better prepare themselves.

Since life insurance is funded with after-tax dollars and grows tax deferred, your clients can potentially make themselves immune to what happens to income taxes in the future. And should they need to access a cash value life insurance policy through loans or withdrawals to supplement retirement income, they could do so without having to pay income tax. Not only is that a form of financial relief, but stress relief as well. Especially for near retirees, that can be invaluable.

Clients may also want to immunize themselves from the volatility of the market. Life insurance is something you can bring up in that instance too. With an indexed life insurance product, clients can participate in a portion of the upside, but protect themselves from downside risk.

Prepare for what’s next

When prospects or existing clients come to you with concerns about how they’ll financially weather what’s in store for the rest of 2020 and beyond, the topic of life insurance is an important conversation to have as it may provide some protection for the wealth they’ve accumulated. And it can help make them resistant to tax increases and market volatility down the road.

Life insurance has survived through other recessions and market crashes and can provide the stability and control we all, including our clients, are desperately seeking right now and for the future.

Original Author Lori Fogle on Wed, Jun 17, 2020 @ 12:00 PM

FOR PRODUCER USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE WITH CLIENTS.

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not designed, or intended, to be applicable to any person’s individual circumstances. It should not be considered as investment advice, nor does it constitute a recommendation that anyone engage in (or refrain from) a particular course of action.

Indexed universal life insurance policies contain fees and expenses, including cost of insurance, administrative fees, premium loads, surrender charges and other charges or fees that will impact policy values.Policy loans from life insurance policies generally are not subject to income tax, provided the contract is not a Modified Endowment Contract, as defined by Section 7702A of the Internal Revenue Code. A policy loan or withdrawal from a life insurance policy that is a Modified Endowment Contract is taxable upon receipt to the extent cash value of the contract exceeds premium paid. Policy loans and withdrawals will reduce cash value and death benefit. Policy loans are subject to interest charges. Please tell your clients to consult with their attorney or tax advisor in regards to their specific situation.

Family history of cancer can have an adverse impact on underwriting decisions despite a client’s own personal history of excellent health.

While most carriers limit eligible rate classes for this particular family history, there are still a couple of A+ carriers that do not underwrite family cancer histories at all.

This means a client with a family history of cancer can still qualify for all of the Preferred Rate Classes, including Best Class.

In addition, there are other carriers who disregard family history of opposite-gender cancers, such as, a male applicant whose mother died from uterine cancer or a female applicant whose father died from prostate cancer.

Let our Underwriting Team help you get the best offers for your clients with family history of cancer! Call us today.

Have you seen the news lately? It looks like the market has rebounded nicely but will it hold? Who can tell. Clients and prospects who stayed the course are to be complimented as the most savvy because they did not bail and lock in substantial losses without recovery. However, if we could read the minds of these good stewards of their retirement assets, many of them would be saying…

I was fortunate this time, but I need downside protection going forward.

After economic downturns it is surprising how short the public’s memory is. Old market habits come back strong. Now is the time to share a new approach with clients and prospects.

Typical pre-retirement and retirement age prospects have 4 types of assets other than their home and real property.
•Assets earmarked for retirement income
•Assets for accumulation
•Liquid assets or cash that can be used in emergencies
•Assets to provide a legacy for their children or charity

Many prospects have just lumped all their funds into one do-all option, the market. As financial professionals we know that we can provide targeted differentiated asset options that more effectively meet client needs. Let’s look at 4 examples of how a targeted approach with insurance products may be able to help.

• The Fixed Index Annuity (FIA) Income Story– Almost 30 years ago Bengen, a noted expert, said you need to limit retirement distributions from a portfolio to 4% to have a decent chance for lifetime income. More recently, Morningstar has reduced this number to 2.8% due to the low interest rate environment. It takes a lot of capital to achieve livable income at these rates. A modern FIA with a Guaranteed Lifetime Income Benefit Rider, an income rider or benefit (sometimes called Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal benefits, or GLWB) is an additional feature available with some annuities and generally optional and come with additional costs. Income benefits are designed to provide income options above and beyond the standard annuitization or free withdrawal features in annuities. Offering a stated guaranteed roll up rate or even a performance based rollup coupled with distribution rates in the 5% -6% range could cover the retirement income need efficiently, possibly with less money on a guaranteed basis not a Monte Carlo chance. This can free up assets for accumulation to offset inflationary pressures.

• Accumulation with Less Risk- Perhaps there is a way to incorporate guarantees by using an insurance product. Modern FIA accumulation products with short lock-in periods, no fees and reasonable liquidity could be that alternative. They provide principal protection with guarantees backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing company, compared to a typical bond portfolio. Many of these products offer uncapped strategies using algorithms designed by some of the very top shelf of money management firms in the industry. The result is strong upside potential without the downside risk.

• The Asset-Based LTC Solution- What if clients could have their cake and eat it too? Instead of being stale and earning little, why not leverage that $100,000 to $200,000 into an insurance product that could potentially double that amount in event of a LTC need, and if not used for that purpose a great enhanced tax free legacy for the kids. In addition to a death benefit, LTC living benefits on a life insurance policy can be derived for most products should a qualifying event occur. As your clients’ personal situations change; i.e., marriage, birth of a child or job promotion, so will their life insurance needs. Care should be taken to ensure this product is suitable for their long-term life insurance needs. They should weigh any associated costs before making a purchase. Life insurance has fees and charges associated with it that include costs of insurance that vary with such characteristics of the insured as sex, health and age, and has additional charges for riders that customize a policy to fit their individual needs.

• Life Insurance is the Legacy Tool- With the impact of the SECURE Act on the stretch of annuity death benefits, life insurance is an even more impactful tool. IRS required minimum distributions (RMD) or other monies in qualified accounts can be channeled into a product that can provide tax deferral, potential liquidity, and a death benefit that is income tax free. In other words, hypothetically if a 65-year old male dies tomorrow, the legacy could be 37 times the amount spent in the first year. If he lives to life expectancy the legacy would still be 1.5 times to total premiums paid and it would be tax free.1

Don’t wait, do not hesitate. There are powerful client concerns that prospects have for the future even if they have recovered somewhat from recent market volatility. By asking the right questions regarding financial guarantees, financial professionals can pierce that veil of possibly unspoken concerns and offer solutions that truly fit with client needs and their risk profile.

For more details about positioning life insurance as the legacy tool and to get an illustration on a specific client you’re working with, call RAM GROUP today at 800-686-4238!

Author Bill Jackson JD, CLU

1211503

FOR PRODUCER USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE WITH CLIENTS.

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not designed, or intended, to be applicable to any person’s individual circumstances. It should not be considered as investment advice, nor does it constitute a recommendation that anyone engage in (or refrain from) a particular course of action.

Discussions of the various planning strategies and issues are based on our understanding of the applicable federal income, gift, and estate tax laws in effect at the time of publication. However, these laws are subject to interpretation and change, and there is no guarantee that the relevant tax authorities will accept RAM GROUP’s interpretations.

One simple question for you. How are you helping your clients to plan for and cover LTC costs? It’s not as simple today as just saying LTC coverage. We all know that market has dramatically changed. That does not mean there are not alternative solutions they should be talking about with their clients. We know someone turning 65 today has almost a 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care services. Clients don’t plan on falling ill, but it happens. Don’t make the big mistake and forget to talk about LTC planning with your female clients. Statically women live longer than men and roughly about 80% of Nursing Home admissions are women.

Pacific Life’s Chronic Illness Care Rider is one of those solutions. Be sure to include the Chronic Illness rider as an option on all GUL quotes you send out. Give your producers a opportunity to talk about the benefits and the potential need for LTC planning. PL Promise Chronic Illness Care Rider brochures attached.

• PL Promise Chronic Illness Care Rider
o Accelerate up to $2.5 Million as a monthly or annual benefit payment(COVID-19 Max 2.5Mil benefit, normally 3Mil)
o No receipts required. The rider’s benefit payments may be used for any reason-medical or otherwise
o Clients may us the benefits to help pay a family member to provide care or meet any other expense
o Couples Discount available
o Permanent or temporary
o Qualify by the inability to perform at least 2 of the 6 activities of daily living for at least 90 days or server cognitive impairment
o Condition must be certified by a licensed health care practitioner once every 12 months

Original Author Robert Bisch

PRODCUER USE ONLY

Any unauthorized use, disclosure, copying or distribution of this message is strictly prohibited. Please make sure to check with tax and legal professionals regarding any pertinent matters.

There are numerous people you know that need Long-Term Care Insurance, many of them include your current clients. Perhaps you have already sold them a Life Insurance Policy, yet how do you get them interested in LTC?

Cross Selling can be difficult, yet when you present your client with information about LTC, they should understand the benefit of protecting themselves when they may need it.

Begin by talking about the consequences of living a long life will have on their family – and offer to put together a plan to protect them from the biggest risk they face after retirement – one that must be protected with Long-Term Care Insurance.

Once the conversation is going, a few good questions to ask include:
•What percentage of your retirement assets have you set aside to pay for Long-Term Care services?
•Are you concerned about the impact a chronic illness would have on your retirement savings?
•If it were necessary to increase your spending by $3,000 or $4,000 a month to pay for LTC services, would that concern you?

To learn more about incorporating Long-Term Care into your product portfolio, or if you need more prospecting tips, contact your LTC Specialist today!

It’s summer time and we all want to be in great shape!

This A+ carrier will help you shape up for the summer and beyond. With underwriting strengths in many aspects, think of this carrier as your personal trainer!
•Occasional cigar users (one per month or less) can qualify for Preferred Plus, Preferred & Standard Plus non-tobacco rates if there is a negative urinalysis test
•Clients who occasionally use marijuana may qualify for standard non-smoker rates (possibly better)

Here are some examples for family history underwriting strengths:
•Family history qualifications do not apply if the proposed insured is 65 or older for Preferred Plus, Preferred & Standard Plus classes
•Family history qualifications apply only to deaths rather than disease
•Family history of deaths due to cancer can qualify for Preferred and Standard Plus
•Great family history credit – no deaths prior to age 70

Underwriting strengths for common health impairments:
•Mild Asthma clients may be eligible for Preferred
•Mild Sleep Apnea may be eligible for Preferred with verified C-PAP usage
•Treatment for cholesterol or hypertension does not exclude a proposed insured from Preferred, Preferred Plus or Standard Plus classes
•Blood Pressure control credit treated or untreated of 130/80 or better
•Commercial pilots for regularly scheduled passenger airlines can qualify for all preferred classes and private pilots may qualify for Preferred Plus, Preferred or Standard Plus classes with Aviation Exclusion Rider (AER)
•Preferred classes may be available for occasional scuba diving if proposed insured is certified and dives less than 100 feet

Call the our Life Underwriting Department today – we can help you enjoy the summer with more business on the books!