Welcome to ASG News
Greetings!
Our monthly newsletter is dedicated to ASG updates, featured articles, sales ideas and concepts. We hope that you will find great value in its contents and that it will aid you in your own goals to grow and thrive your business!
"Our Vision / Your Future"
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Jay Scheiner, Executive Vice President, Agent Support Group
Do you sell life insurance? Even if your primary occupation is financial planning, or P & C, annuities or medicare products – if the sale of life insurance products is in your quiver – then you can learn from the best there ever was. “Nobody ever died with too much money.” ~Ben Feldman
The late Ben Feldman was arguably the greatest life insurance salesman ever. During his 50 year career, Feldman created wealth for his clients while protecting their families and businesses. He was the first individual to sell one billion of insurance. This Yogi Berra of the insurance world used memorable expressions that are as true today as when they were decades ago. Here are some of these gems:
Estate Planning: “Your estate represents a lifetime. Is it worth keeping?” May I show you what happens to most estates? Every person has an estate. Your estate is made up of all of your assets: home, cars, business, life insurance, bank and investment accounts, retirement plans, your furnishings and collections – all of your possessions. Estate planning is the process of arranging for the management and then distribution of your estate during your lifetime, during a period of disability and at death, while minimizing gift, estate, generation skipping transfer, and income tax. Your estate plan design is determined by your desires. The ultimate goal of estate planning is Control. How can you keep control of what you have spent a lifetime accumulating? How can you make sure the bulk of your estate is passed on to your family? If you don’t have an estate plan the government has one for you – their plan, not yours.
Investment Strategy: “Most people have two problems…first to accumulate and then…to conserve” These days, nearly everyone has investments (if only inside their employer’s retirement plan). However, few have an investment strategy. Of those who do, it is rare that it is built around their individual needs and objectives. Building an investment strategy involves reasonable expectations of return coupled with an appropriate tolerance for risk. An investment strategy looks beyond the traditional three asset classes of stocks, bonds and cash. Whether you aspire to fund a child’s education, leave a lasting legacy or retire in a financially secure manner, a good investment strategy begins with clarity of purpose. Having investments is not the same as having an investment strategy.
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Mark D. Milbrod, CLU, CLTC, Sales Vice President, Agent Support Group
Isn’t that what it’s all about? Stuff !!!!!!
Despite supply chain issues, COVID lags and other outside forces, recent reports have said that the 2021 Holiday Season sales can actually see a huge spike this year.
With the commercialization of the holiday season, the true meaning of the holiday has definitely been lost. But that’s an entirely different topic for another day. Materialistic things are purchased with the notion of making the recipient happy. But I can guarantee that the large majority of “gift givers” are not thinking of the ultimate gift that they can give to their families, which is financial security if something that were to happen to them. Of course, I’m talking about life insurance.
It’s a tough sale to start talking to clients about life insurance during holiday time, but what is interesting is that family is on the minds of people most during this time of year. I’m not saying to run out and buy a life insurance policy, wrap it with pretty paper and bows and leave one under the tree in place of all the good “stuff.” What I am saying is that the topic needs to be brought up. If people are spending all of that money on gifts for the ones they love, wouldn’t it make sense to take a small amount of that to make sure that regardless of what happens, there will be financial piece of mind to make sure that all of the important things such as a home, food and other essentials will always be there. And guess what, there will still be money left over for the fun stuff.
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Martin Schamis, CFP®, Vice President & Head of Wealth Planning, Janney Montgomery Scott
When the topic of financial planning is raised, people’s thoughts tend to immediately focus on saving, investing and ultimately generating income in retirement. While these are certainly critical components of building a solid financial foundation, so too are strategies for protecting your income and assets from the unexpected..
The future is always an uncertainty. Therefore, you need to prepare as much as possible for the unexpected. Having the appropriate insurance protections in place — whether for your personal property, your family’s financial well-being if you should die or become disabled, or protecting your savings from being eroded by the costs of a major health care crisis — brings with it the peace of mind that your goals can still be achieved whatever the future may hold.
As you create your own plan, make sure you don’t overlook the following key income and asset protection strategies:
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John Hancock Talks Podcast
In this episode of Hancock Talks, we focus on the estate-planning landscape and the impact of potential tax legislation, both today and during the year ahead. We’re joined by Kevin Blanton, Associate Counsel with John Hancock’s Advanced Markets group, to discuss:
- Advantages of acting now to help your clients benefit from the present exemptions for estate and gift taxes — and the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax (GSTT) — and options for those who want to wait
- Current and potential legislative changes and how they can impact financial planning
- Estate-planning strategies to help clients better prepare for whatever the future holds
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Harry N. Stout, former President of Fidelity & Guaranty Life
As we head toward 2022 and see more and more Americans reaching their mid to late 60s, it is a great time to revisit how annuity products can be used to meet consumer financial challenges.
In anticipation of the new year, here are 22 ideas on how consumers can use annuity products to meet their growing financial needs:
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LIMRA, Industry Trends
Middle income families recognize the importance of life insurance. According to the 2021 Insurance Barometer Study, conducted by LIMRA and Life Happens, 70% of middle-income consumers (household income $50,000 to $99,999) believe they need life insurance coverage and more than a third (34%) say they plan to purchase coverage in 2021.
In 2020, with COVID-19 top of mind for so many Americans, 10% of middle-income consumers purchased life insurance coverage for the first time. One in five said COVID-19 prompted them to purchase coverage, and 29% said they were more likely to purchase coverage in 2021 due to the pandemic.
Research shows middle-income Americans are more likely to worry about burdening their loved ones with final expenses and leaving their dependents in a difficult financial situation should they die prematurely. The top reasons these consumers give for owning coverage support this.
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Missed the Webinar "Nationwide Peak 10 Fixed Indexed Annuity?
Passcode: +0sZnt.c
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Missed 'ASG Vive Launch - Drop Ticket Platform' Webinar? You can still view the recording.
Passcode: z6O.4f33
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"Securing Your Sales With The SECURE ACT" Webinar by Mark Milbrod, CLU, CLTC
On December 20, 2019, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Act of 2019 was signed into law.
The law was designed to ease the looming retirement crisis by making it easier for small businesses to offer their employees retirement plans.
Learn about the act and how you will open the door to new Life Insurance & Annuity Sales. You will walk away with actionable sales ideas on how to identify the target market, start the conversation and bring in new sales.
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The Department of Financial Services' (DFS) Reg. 187 imposes a "best interest" suitability standard on all transactions related to life insurance and annuities. In this section we will post carrier announcements regarding the effects that NYS reg. 187 will have for each company. The annuities requirements took effect on August 1, 2019; the life insurance requirements kicked in on February 1, 2020.
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Get into the habit of doing your AML course annually!
Although several carriers will accept AML training for up to two years from last course completion date. However, many carriers also require the AML to be renewed on an annual basis. It would be a good routine for YOU to get in the habit of doing an annual AML course. This way you will have one less requirement to be concerned about!
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This guide is intended to provide you with a convenient, single source for product and underwriting information, as well as other resources for several of the leading hybrid/linked LTC products in the market. Click Here
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Click Here to find a list of carrier announcements, restrictions, and resources to help keep your business processing as smoothly as possible.
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For more information please contact your ASG office or go to our website
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