Leaving or Living a Legacy
Conversations that financial planners have with their clients can be tricky. Most financial advisors only talk about “the money” and hope that the recommended planning is put in place so that future generations can continue to reap financial rewards. Other financial advisors, who tend to retain clients for multi generations, expand the conversation and go deeper, talking about other aspects of their clients lives and value systems which may be equal to or more important than “the money”. But what could be more important than “the money”? When asked, your clients will often tell you that there are a lot of things that are more important than ”the money”, such as family and health, relationships and education, or time and attention. These non-financial aspects to your clients lives truly reveal what is important to them today and the values that they would like to impart on future generations. And these conversations and the planning that results from them will determine whether your clients are leaving or living a legacy.
This ONE Idea, from October 2021, presents an article authored by AgencyONE Partner, Gonzalo Garcia, CLU, and published in the September 2021 issue of Broker World Magazine. Gonzalo’s article, entitled Leaving or Living A Legacy – What’s Your Story?, while well over a year old, still resonates. It focuses on the conversations that financial advisors who want to retain their clients for multiple generations SHOULD be having with them NOW so these clients can optimize multi-generational true wealth and be LIVING their legacies as opposed to LEAVING their legacies.
We invite you to read this article through the Broker World link and hope it assists you in reframing the conversations you have with your clients.
protection against risk, properly structured temporary and permanent life insurance coverage can help mitigate the risks to which HNWFN are exposed – including generational wealth transfer and taxation on their worldwide income and assets.
Taxation issues may arise for couples when one partner is NOT a US citizen and become problematic upon the death of one spouse. Most clients are NOT aware that taxes will be due …until the IRS letter arrives! The solutions to this problem lie in strategic estate planning and the necessary life insurance protection.
We often say at AgencyONE that the details will make or break a case. The HNWFN market is exciting, challenging and rewarding. Term and permanent coverage are available from many carriers, but it is CRITICAL to understand the carrier NUANCES – there are MANY. The HNWFN platforms that the carriers offer are unique in that they are even MORE competitive than the products offered. Securing coverage is the key and AgencyONE has the KNOWLEDGE and RELATIONSHIPS to direct your client to the right carrier!
the SAME mortality risk as a non-pilot, meaning they would be underwritten at the top Preferred class in which they qualify. Some licensed pilots also fly PRIVATE, which CHANGES the risk perception for insurance companies.
VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR) mean that the aircraft is intended to operate in Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC), i.e., clear skies, nice weather, ideal visibility. Fog, heavy precipitation, low visibility, and otherwise adverse weather conditions are supposed to be avoided (which is why these “rules” were a big topic of discussion surrounding Kobe Bryant’s death, as the helicopter was flying under MODIFIED VFR rules).
a bit of cost to your client’s life insurance premiums. As in medical underwriting, carriers can view the same information very differently. If your client answers “yes” to any of these questions, it is very important to request and complete the specific avocation questionnaire(s) that apply. To find these questionnaires, log into the
Harry Daredevil is a 35-year-old executive with no significant medical history. He has a student pilot license and has logged only 12 hours of flight time over the last year. He intends to fly an additional 30 hours over the next year and complete the requirements to get a Private Pilot certificate. Mr. Daredevil is applying for $10M of TERM coverage and does not want to exclude aviation from the risk.
their reinsurance treaties. They are audited regularly. Like it or not, all underwriters are REQUIRED to ascertain specific information to assess mortality accurately and approve the desired death benefit.
During COVID, getting an insurance exam became extremely challenging. Carriers had to pivot to get business placed. Those who had been piloting alternative data sources like patient portals, electronic health records, lab data, etc. had to quickly incorporate these tools into their underwriting. We also saw carriers temporarily modify their established AUW guidelines. These modifications allowed cases to be approved at higher ages and face amounts WITHOUT an insurance exam IF the carrier could procure enough recent medical information to satisfy the exam requirements (labs, build, blood pressure, smoking status, etc.) through these alternative data sources. In many instances, particularly with the 
Our second ONE Idea for the month came From the Desk of Gonzalo Garcia, CLU on June 11th and is entitled 
Each of these ONE Ideas is meant to help you and your clients gain a better understanding of the planning, product selection, design, and underwriting that goes into the purchase of life insurance. We hope you find these ONE Ideas helpful when assisting your clients with their financial, wealth, and estate planning needs. Thank you for entrusting your business to AgencyONE. We greatly appreciated the opportunity to serve you and your clients.
A May 2021 study, commissioned by the 
statement was sitting in her mailbox when I was visiting her. My uncle asked if he should pay the increased premium, to which I, of course, replied with an emphatic “YES”! The premium was almost 5 times what her level premium had been, but it was the best “investment” my uncle ever made since the company was obliged to pay the death claim a few days later.
Claims experience from many, if not most, insurance companies has not been favorable on term conversions for many of the same reasons….consumers are good at judging their own health and often know something is “not right” with their health.
Some of the Premium Finance requests I see involve hypothetical cases that might be a good fit and are worth showing the client. Some are previously presented finance cases that AgencyONE is analyzing and evaluating to get a better picture of what was shown to the client (such as the one discussed in the 
ILLUSTRATING A PREMIUM FINANCE DESIGN CAN BE DIFFICULT
The COVID pandemic has kept a lot of us away from the gym and possibly snacking a bit more than usual, and the result may have been unwanted weight gain. A 10-to-15-pound weight INCREASE can result in a rate class DOWNGRADE! Did you know, for any recent and significant weight LOSS, most carriers will add half of the weight BACK until the weight loss has been maintained for an entire year? Each carrier has MULTIPLE build charts. In addition to preferred build criteria, carriers may have DIFFERENT parameters for males and females, Accelerated Underwriting Programs, Long Term Care Riders, TERM, UL, and Hybrid products. Many carriers underwrite by your Body Mass Index (BMI) which you can 
for each carrier, each rate class, the age of the client, and in some cases, if the clients are treated for hypertension. Many carriers will average 12 months of blood pressures to determine your client’s class qualification.
If your client used to smoke cigarettes and has quit, it can take anywhere from 1 to 5 YEARS to qualify for a preferred or best class offer depending on the carrier. There are differing parameters around cigars, dip, chew, Nicorette Gum…. even marijuana smoking.
classes if he or she has ONE parent that passed away prior to age 60 to 65 from cancer or heart disease. There are carriers that ignore family cancer histories all together, some that will offset family cardiac histories if the applicant has had certain medical testing, and other carriers that will consider a preferred offer if ONLY ONE parent died before age 60. Some carriers throw these parameters out of risk assessment entirely once the applicant reaches” insurance age” 59, while others never do. The guidelines are “all over the place” with family history!
What is the best way to offer more death benefit and provide room for more premium BUT not impact the cash values and income? Some of our carrier partners have come out with basic charts that provide increase percentages based on sample ages. While fairly generic in nature, one of our carrier partners has created a special solve for this in their software. It is an option called “Balanced Solve”. This option typically falls between the 2 versions shown above. However, each case needs to be based on the agent recommendations and the needs of the client. This special solve option provides a quick way to see how the design will be impacted and what the tradeoffs are for more initial death benefit.
a Long-Term Care claim, the applicant must demonstrate an inability to perform two of six activities of daily living (bathing, continence, dressing, eating, toileting, transferring), or have a severe cognitive impairment. As such, when underwriting MORBIDITY, we are looking at conditions that could result in a long-term need for different levels of convalescent care. There is a greater focus on an applicant’s OVERALL state of HEALTH and FUNCTIONALITY, and how it could impact their ability to care for themselves.
is also obese may have a more difficult time controlling his/her blood sugar and cholesterol, is less likely to be exercising, and could be considered a less favorable risk. Underwriters like long-term stability when it comes to ANY chronic condition. When your clients present with comorbid conditions, the “big picture” is scrutinized more closely. Greater attention is paid to the individual’s: