Breaking News

Annuities

Persistence Makes for Better Persistency!

476267167

Ours is a business full of twists and turns.  And it’s all a matter of how we handle those twists and turns that shape us.  I recently had an annuity case that put me to the test. And I wondered all through the entire process if I was man enough to complete it. Let me start from the beginning.  It …

Read More »

The Simple Art of Referrals

86532464

I have read many articles on our industry, but I rarely come across ones that keep the art of referrals simple. These articles, blogs, and stories all talk about CPAs, attorneys, and all the relationships we need to maintain with these sorts of folks. But none of the articles ever talk about family and friend referrals—referrals from people that we’re …

Read More »

Prospecting for Annuity Sales: Concentrate on Guarantees

imsis124-022

Technology has changed a lot for the modern annuity salesperson—whether it’s the fixed product purist or the VA-touting Registered Representative. Today’s agents have cell phones, email, laptops, iPads, social media, and a lot of other tools that salespeople didn’t have a generation ago. That is an advantage, but it is also an obstacle. Why? Because today’s prospects have the same …

Read More »

10 Reasons Annuities Make Sense for a Portion of a Retirement Plan

iStock_000019588725XSmall2

With life expectancies greater than ever, retirement could very likely be the longest phase of our clients’ lives. Therefore, it is absolutely imperative for retirees to have a plan in place that: Provides the ability to spend and enjoy their money in retirement Protects them from “living too long” and outliving their income Since retirement income planning is an extremely …

Read More »

Digital Marketing Organizations: The Death of the FMO?

iStock_000005140727XSmall2

For the agents, advisors, wholesalers, distributors, broker-dealers and carriers involved in the fixed and fixed indexed annuity and life insurance independent channel, FMO (Field Marketing Organization), IMO (Independent Marketing Organization), and NMO (National Marketing Organization) are common and recognizable terms. For those of you not familiar with these acronyms, they are fairly interchangeable terms for groups that market, sell and …

Read More »

Annuity Is Not a Dirty Word

iStock_000003640655XSmall2

The securities industry has campaigned to spin the poor fixed indexed annuity (FIA) as a low yield, illiquid investment that warrants extreme caution for retirees.  The campaign has been effective.  Agents have sold FIAs only to get the contract cancelled when the client’s broker convinced them it was a bad move. Why such a vigorous assault on the FIA?  Because …

Read More »

Protecting the Purchasing Power of the Dollar

iStock_000014544322XSmall2

Most agents who offer index annuities to their clients understand the many benefits of the index annuity: annual reset, protection of principal, ability to participate in a variety of markets and tax deferral. However, one important aspect that is often overlooked is how these products can help protect our clients’ purchasing power of their dollars. Many people in retirement, or …

Read More »

The Less-Than-One-Year Planning Window

iStock_000014940039XSmall2

We’ve all heard the old adage that timing is everything. This is certainly true in the world of estate planning and wealth transfer, especially right now. In 2010, the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act postponed higher taxes and lowered the estate tax exemption we expected in 2011–but only until 2013. The act included a higher exemption …

Read More »

Place Over 95% of Your Cases Regardless of Age or Health

iStock_000013102071XSmall2

Many agents walk away from potential sales because they think the client is too sick or too old to obtain coverage. Years ago, there was a true impaired risk market where companies such as US Life and State Life would underwrite cases using different criteria and many times accepted risks that other companies would not. That is no longer the …

Read More »

Annuities Are Not for Everyone!

iStock_000016832875XSmall2

If you have been selling annuities for more than 10 years, you may be sitting on a goldmine. I would bet the farm the majority of the seniors that own those annuities do not even take the interest on the gains, as we all know annuities were designed for income! In fact the majority of clients knew way back on …

Read More »