Insurance Industry Update

Life Insurance

  • Accelerated underwriting programs continue to expand in the industry.  Healthy qualifying clients under the age of 60 have the potential to purchase up to $3 million in life insurance without the usual blood & urine testing normally required.  We believe a thorough health prescreen is best to determine if or which of these accelerated programs might be available for your client.
  • A unique term product offers a rider providing protection for chronic illness.  It is a great way to lock in your clients’ health today while providing the opportunity to get a permanent long-term care product later, even if their health changes.  It protects your clients when “what if” becomes “what now” – if chronic care is needed, they can convert their term policy to a permanent plan and access the chronic illness rider benefits 90 days later. 

 
Long-Term Care Insurance

  • Did you know IIC created a client educational portal you can share with your clients?  We offer videos and articles on long-term care planning which can help educate your clients and leverage your time. We can also present this topic to your clients LIVE with a Q&A session. 

  • A new joint long-term care hybrid is now available.  For clients on the fence with enough assets to self-insure, this might be a wise safety net to protect their assets.   Instead of having to buy a single hybrid on each, a couple can now share the protection bucket and if they don’t need care a death benefit is left to their heirs at the second passing.  It is the only joint product allowing for indemnity claims putting the client in control of their care regimen with the ability to use unskilled caregivers and family members. 
     

Annuities
 
Two annuity strategies have become more popular with higher rates and market concerns. 

  1. Annuity arbitrage can be used to spend down assets and replace them with tax-free life insurance proceeds.  This idea has added value for clients exposed to estate taxes as it reduces the estate and provides income and estate tax free proceeds with the insurance owned outside the estate.
  2. Layering annuities and staggering the income start dates will help increase lifetime income. 

 Watch our short 3-Minute Annuity Strategies VIDEO to learn more.
 
 
Disability Insurance

  • Principal Life is the 800-pound gorilla in the individual disability arena.  They released a NEW Disability Income product (replacing the old) that offers an ala carte design format allowing you to layer up coverage or lower costs by stripping down some features that used to be included in the base coverage.  
  • Principal Life also offers a Medical Resident Program allowing residents to get up to a $7,500 monthly benefit with a 20% discount and no financial underwriting.  It is wise for any resident to purchase this plan before they move on to the big time!
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