cross-selling
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Cross Selling Long Term Care Insurance

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!  

business-overhead-expense
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Business Overhead Expense Is The Door Opener To DI Sales

The unasked question to small business owners is, What would happen to your business if you were to get sick or hurt and couldn’t work for a lengthy period of time?

Most small business owners could not get away for a long weekend, let alone several months. Many would likely have to close the business until they recover and then asses if the business could be revived or if there is any business left to sell.

Business Overhead Expense (BOE) can help business owners protect their business and employees if the owner needs time to recover from a serious illness or injury.

If a small business owner suffers a disability and is unable to work, it not only affects the business, it impacts all of the employees as well. Many small businesses are tight-knit families who rely on each other for support. If the business is unable to produce because of the missing owner, the employees may have to start looking for new opportunities.

The BOE Answer

The need is simple to set up: Many small businesses cannot survive without consistent production, and the owner is the primary producer. (Dentist, CPA, Attorney, Physician) What happens to the business when something happens to the owner?

The answer: Business Overhead Expense (BOE) Insurance.

A BOE plan helps to keep the business in operation in the event the owner becomes disabled and couldn’t work for a period of time. BOE reimburses the business for all their fixed operating expenses in order to keep the doors open while the owner recovers from an injury or illness.

This assures there will be a business to come back to once recovered. If a major illness or accident prevents the owner from coming back to work, there will still be a business to sell that has not depreciated because of the owner’s absence.

Also, BOE allows for tax-deductible premiums when insuring for the potential disability of the self-employed person. Often, small business owners are candidates for short-term and/or long-term DI as well.

Speak with your business owner clients today to see how you can help them protect the most important asset they have, their business. Please contact your CPS Disability Income Marketing Manager to start planning your client’s BOE plan today!

trumping-repeal
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Trumping Repeal: The Sales Shouldn’t Stop!

Robots have rules to live by; or so we were first told by author Isaac Asimov in his 1942 science fiction short story, Runaround.

His Three Laws of Robotics dictated:  1) A robot may not injure a human or allow a human to come to harm.  2) A robot must obey the orders given it by humans except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.  3) A robot must protect its own existence as long it does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

If only all things in life were attended by such an uncomplicated litany to guide behavior.

In two articles we have addressed the brouhaha surrounding the future of the federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax laws under the  new administration, including discussions on the likelihood of repeal and what might be left in their place if repeal was accomplished.

The heart of matter for insurance advisors is the effects any changes will have on the volume of large-case sales where coverage is purchased to pay unavoidable anticipated death taxes.

And the good news is that not much changes if “anticipated” means what might be expected rather than simply the levy under the current loi du jour within the Internal Revenue Code.

Consider our suggestions for rules by which to conduct your business in the unchanged fluidity of the laws by which we must attempt to help clients best plan for their financial affairs.

The Six Semi-Unassailable Principles Of Life Insurance In A Changing Tax Environment:
  1. The Rule of Law is gone.  Nothing is permanent.  Don’t ever plan for a client based on the current tax law, but rather on the worst that might be anticipated.
  2. Chances are a client’s insurability will not improve with time.
  3. Chances are that many of the current favorable product designs for policies will be unavailable with time.
  4. Chances are the cost of coverage will increase with time.
  5. In view of Principals, ##1-4 existing coverage held for anticipated death tax liability should not be surrendered because of current favorable tax law changes.
  6. In view of Principals ##1-4 the purchase of coverage to pay death taxes should not be postponed because of a current favorable change in the tax law.

The story goes that a hopping-mad Asimov came out of his first viewing of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey in which the mainframe computer, HAL, did away with one of the space station’s astronauts. To the surrounding crowd in the theater lobby he excoriated the film’s director, Stanley Kubrick, saying, “He broke the first rule!  He broke the first rule!”  One bystander replied, “Why don’t you just strike him dead, Isaac?”

Contact us for a brand-able and free two-page summary of the possibilities regarding changes in the tax law that would be helpful in your discussions with concerned clients.

the-term-vs-perm
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The Term VS. Perm Debate – Why Not a Combo?

Benjamin Franklin famously wrote in a 1789 letter, “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” If we know this, should we guarantee a life insurance benefit at our youngest and healthiest age? This may be the million-dollar question.

Let’s take a deeper dive strictly from a death benefit play and examine term vs. permanent insurance premiums on a current 30-year-old to his life expectancy of age 85

Guaranteed universal life policy at top health rates:

  • $500 a month
  • Buys $1,529,413 death benefit
  • Over the next 55 years a total of $330,000 funded into the policy
Let’s take the same client, though in this situation he only wants 20-year term – He is looking for the same death benefit of $1,529,413

30 years old purchases a 20 year term at top health rates:

  • $52/mo.
  • Over twenty years, premiums total $12,480

At 50 years old he purchases another 20 year term at Preferred health rates:

  • $264/mo.
  • Over twenty years, premiums total $63,360

At 70 years old he purchases his last 20 year term at Standard health rates:

  • $4006/mo.
  • Over fifteen years, premiums total $721,080

Term life insurance policies serve a very important purpose. It provides coverage for a limited period of time and is the most affordable type of insurance when initially purchased. Though, if one is to live to life expectancy it can be far more expensive.

It is common to think about term vs. perm as an either/or decision, it may be more appropriate to think of both. Especially if one believes there will always be a need for life insurance.

Contact your life insurance specialist if you think a combination is right for your client.

 

Coverage-Uninsurable-Occupations
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Simple DI Coverage for Uninsurable Occupations

Is your client having trouble securing an Income Protection Plan because they work in a high-risk industry or occupation?

There is now an Income Protection plan that will protect your clients 24 hours a day for sickness and off the job injuries regardless of their profession.

 

Main Advantages of the Policy
  • Simple to Issue – Easy app with knockout questions. No exam or income documents.
  • Affordable – Clients choose their benefit amount and period to fit their budget
  • Fast Protection – Policies are issued in just a few days.
  • Portable – Protection is owned by your client, not tied to their current job.
Sample Illustration
Issue Ages 18-61
Renewability To age 65
Maximum Tax Free Monthly Benefit $4,000
Elimination Period 30 days/90 days (accident/sickness)
Benefit Periods 12, 24, 36 months
Premium Structure Unisex (Tobacco/Nontobacco)
Benefits Total/Partial Disability
Recurrent Disability
Waiver of Premium

 

Contact your CPS Disability Income Specialist for information to help secure coverage for your tough to place DI cases today.

long-term-care-reinvisioned
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Long-Term Care Insurance: Re-Envisioned

Eat your cake and have it too

Clients today are looking for solutions with the flexibility to handle multiple financial needs in a variety of potential scenarios. A common complaint about Long-Term Care is many clients feel the likelihood they should have an extended health care event is zero.

Traditional Long-Term Care insurance is protection designed to protect against a singular event- a long term care event. If your client can’t envision a world where they should need assistance, the idea of purchasing protection for an event that will never happen seems useless and wasteful.

Instead of trying to persuade the client to purchase what they view as unnecessary protection, why not propose a plan that offers additional layers of protection for scenarios that they do view as likely.

Asset Based LTCi is designed to help protect your clients from an extended health care event

But maintains enough flexibility to provide value if the client was correct, and they never use the LTC benefits. It’s designed to protect your clients’ assets by using the safety of whole life insurance.

With a guaranteed premium, your clients will receive a guaranteed amount of life insurance that can be applied to their LTCi expenses. Your premium is also credited with a minimum guaranteed interest rate, meaning your cash value is guaranteed to grow each month.

And should your clients grow tired of the product, they have the option to request a full return of premium, thus providing an increased level of flexibility that many clients are seeking.

One carrier, in particular, has taken this idea of flexibility and worked to re-envision the LTC world as we know it

Almost as if they gathered all of the Long Term Care experts together in a room and asked- what can we do to design the perfect, most flexible product for you the advisor but still work to protect your clients?

Here’s what they came up with:

  • Unlimited Long Term Care Benefits that can never be exhausted
  • Guaranteed, Non-Cancelable premiums that can never be altered
  • Payment Flexibility – lumpsum, 10 to 20-pays, pay for life, or a combination of lump sum and annual payments
  • Primarily focused on Long Term Care, but offers a return of premium and death benefit for those without an LTC need
  • The potential to convert tax-deferred growth to tax-free income when used for Long Term Care
  • A separate solution for health impaired clients that allows those to declined for coverage an alternative pivot solution with reduced benefits
  • Joint case design allowing spouses, business partners, siblings, and even parents and children to take advantage of the reduced costs associated with joint policies
  • Flexible funding source- Cash, Annuities, 1035 Life Insurance, and Qualified Money
  • A carrier willing to partner with advisors to offer marketing dollars and ideas to help advisors incorporate Long Term Care planning into their practice

These policies can help your clients prepare for a long term care event if needed, or leave a legacy to their beneficiaries all within one single policy.

To learn how to show your clients how to position themselves in the re-envisioned Long Term Care World, please contact us today.

high-bwi-down
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High BMI Weighing You Down?

The CPS Underwriting Department can help you make the sale for your clients whose heavy build may be weighing down a chance for a favorable underwriting decision.

The Reality:
  • 71% of American adults are considered overweight and nearly 40% considered obese
  • 20% of American adolescents ages 12-19 are overweight or obese
  • 18% of American children ages 6-11 are overweight or obese
Here are some case examples from A+ carriers that may surprise you:
  • A male non-smoker, 5’11” and 270 lbs. and in good health otherwise could qualify for STANDARD rates
  • A female non-smoker, 5’4” and 240 lbs. could qualify for STANDARD rates assuming no co-morbidities (heart disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, etc.)

Call the CPS Underwriting Department today to turn real-life cases into success stories for you and your client.

Business Continuation Planning
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Business Continuation Planning

Small business owners often wear many hats – they are HR, IT, Senior Management, and Operations all-in-one. Being a small business owner can be tiring and time-consuming.

Appeal to this market by presenting them with a simple plan – so they can have peace of mind knowing their family and business will be in good hands when they move on.

Help business owners prepare for the future by using a buy-sell agreement.

71% of small business owners surveyed said they have thought about who would run their business in their absence, but only 35% of all surveyed had a business continuation plan.¹

Many business owners don’t have formal plans to transfer their business to a successor in the event of retirement, disability or death. A business may fail due to confusion and lack of a clear plan after such an event.

As a life insurance professional, you can help business owners create a continuation plan using life insurance policies.

How You Can Help Business Owners With Life Insurance:
  • Establishes a guaranteed buyer at the time of the triggering event
  • Sets a price for the business when the business owner is less vulnerable and ensures the business will be sold at a fair market value
  • The surviving business owner(s) won’t have to run their business with the deceased person’s family members (if they choose not to)
  • Provides liquidity, when the family needs it most, to fund the sale of the business to surviving partner(s)

We will help you prepare business valuations, design the proper life insurance proposals – give you the tools to become a business insurance expert.

Contact your Life Sales Representative today – maintain a competitive edge in the business insurance marketplace.

1. Lifehealthpro.com, New Tax Laws Open the Door for Business Insurance Discussion, April 2011. The survey was based on 874 small businesses with 100 employees or less.

Put Your Existing Life Policy To The Test
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Put Your Existing Life Policy To The Test

Would your goals be met if it was set into action today?

When you first purchased life insurance, you probably made assumptions about your future needs. But your responsibilities have likely changed since then – and that could mean more or perhaps even less coverage.

A proper policy review is an opportunity to lower premiums, increase cash accumulation, attach long-term care or chronic illness rider, raise final benefit amounts, modify beneficiaries and more.

We can help walk you through the new regulations and market fluctuations that may have impacted your coverage – and ensure that your plan is performing exactly as it should.

Contact us today to discuss your options.

Download a free copy of our Life Policy Review Brochure now!