The first principle about life insurance is that no matter how fancy the products become, at the end of the day its primary function is to provide your loved ones with peace of mind and financial security.
When meeting with clients, an agent must:
1. always try to deliver the claim in person (I always do this).
2. be empathetic, but don’t try to become part of the family.
3. emphasize in his or her initial contact with the beneficiary that the agent is there to help. I try to offer my services for not only life insurance, but also for investments and questions about social security and funeral homes.
4. ask if he or she can be of assistance with the beneficiary’s attorney in distributing the client’s money wisely.
I was told by a mentor or mine several years ago that when it comes time to pay a death claim, this is the agent’s time to shine.
-taken from “Delivering Dollars to Widows”, article found in NAIFA’s Advisor Today, November 2010 issue
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
IRA Distributions
It is important for clients to remember that when taking out distributions from their IRAs, the income received will be applied to their total taxable income, often pushing them into a higher tax bracket. In a lot of cases a client may be in a lower tax bracket before taking their distribution. Taking the distribution money then pushes them into a higher tax bracket. It is always a smart idea to consult your tax advisor prior to making any decisions regarding IRA distributions. Another significant point to remember is that any distribution taken before age 70 ½ will have a 10% tax penalty from the IRS.
In some cases, a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) can be paid out in fixed installments. RMDs are minimum amounts that a retirement plan account owner must withdraw annually starting with the year that he or she reaches 70 ½ years of age. This method of fixed installments makes it easier to spread out the taxes owed on a distribution. The IRS considers IRAs to be tax qualified savings accounts. Be sure to consider the tax impact before tapping into retirement accounts for short-term financial emergencies.
For more information on the IRS and assistance, go to www.irs.gov.
At Newsad Insurance Services we believe in helping our clients make these important decisions. Please visit www.newsadinsurance.com for more information.
-Tom Newsad
Agent, Newsad Insurance Services
In some cases, a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) can be paid out in fixed installments. RMDs are minimum amounts that a retirement plan account owner must withdraw annually starting with the year that he or she reaches 70 ½ years of age. This method of fixed installments makes it easier to spread out the taxes owed on a distribution. The IRS considers IRAs to be tax qualified savings accounts. Be sure to consider the tax impact before tapping into retirement accounts for short-term financial emergencies.
For more information on the IRS and assistance, go to www.irs.gov.
At Newsad Insurance Services we believe in helping our clients make these important decisions. Please visit www.newsadinsurance.com for more information.
-Tom Newsad
Agent, Newsad Insurance Services
Thursday, April 14, 2011
"Dead Letter Offices"
As a big time user of the U.S. Postal Service I recently read an interesting article from Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine (May 2011) and thought that I would pass along some of the information…
“Dead Letter Offices”
Over 2,300 post offices will close their doors in 2011 and 2012, and 16,000 additional post offices, roughly half the nation’s total, will be reviewed for closure. The U.S. Postal Service is facing a $20 billion net loss over the past four years and must undertake cost-cutting measures. Saturday delivery will also soon no longer exist.
Public libraries, facing tight budgets, are overhauling operations too. Some libraries are renting out meeting rooms or providing passport services to offset expenses. Others are seeking business sponsors to pick up the tab for some library services or to keep a building open an extra day. Libraries are also taking advantage of e-books, cutting deals that allow libraries to buy and lend them on the spot or to return multiple copies when demand decreases.
For more information, visit www.kiplingerbiz.com/ahead/postoffice.
“Dead Letter Offices”
Over 2,300 post offices will close their doors in 2011 and 2012, and 16,000 additional post offices, roughly half the nation’s total, will be reviewed for closure. The U.S. Postal Service is facing a $20 billion net loss over the past four years and must undertake cost-cutting measures. Saturday delivery will also soon no longer exist.
Public libraries, facing tight budgets, are overhauling operations too. Some libraries are renting out meeting rooms or providing passport services to offset expenses. Others are seeking business sponsors to pick up the tab for some library services or to keep a building open an extra day. Libraries are also taking advantage of e-books, cutting deals that allow libraries to buy and lend them on the spot or to return multiple copies when demand decreases.
For more information, visit www.kiplingerbiz.com/ahead/postoffice.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Pricey Life Insurance
You do not need private mortgage insurance or credit insurance if you qualify for a regular life insurance policy. A regular life insurance policy gives your heirs the flexibility to use the money for their most important needs rather than being forced to use the cash to pay off a low-rate loan. Even if you have a traditional term life policy, you could save money by switching to a new policy. Term rates have plummeted over the past decade. If you are in good health, you could pay even less for a new policy even though you may be older.
Contact Newsad Insurance Services for more information at www.newsadinsurance.com
-Article from Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine
Contact Newsad Insurance Services for more information at www.newsadinsurance.com
-Article from Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine
Friday, April 8, 2011
Norman Levine's Success Principles
• Principle # 1:
o If you are doing what you love and you’re having fun, what other people think is irrelevant
• Principle # 2:
o Anytime you apply the discipline of long hours and seeing lots of people, you can’t help but succeed
• Principle # 3:
o A firm belief in the value of your product gives you power to sell aggressively
• Principle # 4:
o Great success sometimes comes from meager beginnings
• Principle # 5:
o Sometimes it pays to buck the system and follow your instincts
• Principle # 6:
o Leaving your past and starting over is sometimes the best road to success
• Principle # 7:
o A commitment, publicly made, has incredible motivational power
• Principle # 8:
o The day you fall in love with what you are doing is the last day you will ever have to work
• Principle # 9:
o Selling from the heart means helping others reach their goals, not yours. Learn to sell from the heart and you will be more successful than you could possibly imagine
Norman Levine built three separate multi-million dollar agencies from 1959-1997. At one point in 1975, he produced 3x the million dollar round table level in only 30 days. Norman Levine then continued to produce at this level throughout most of his career.
For more information, visit
http://www.leads4insurance.com/9-secrets-insurance-selling-legend/
o If you are doing what you love and you’re having fun, what other people think is irrelevant
• Principle # 2:
o Anytime you apply the discipline of long hours and seeing lots of people, you can’t help but succeed
• Principle # 3:
o A firm belief in the value of your product gives you power to sell aggressively
• Principle # 4:
o Great success sometimes comes from meager beginnings
• Principle # 5:
o Sometimes it pays to buck the system and follow your instincts
• Principle # 6:
o Leaving your past and starting over is sometimes the best road to success
• Principle # 7:
o A commitment, publicly made, has incredible motivational power
• Principle # 8:
o The day you fall in love with what you are doing is the last day you will ever have to work
• Principle # 9:
o Selling from the heart means helping others reach their goals, not yours. Learn to sell from the heart and you will be more successful than you could possibly imagine
Norman Levine built three separate multi-million dollar agencies from 1959-1997. At one point in 1975, he produced 3x the million dollar round table level in only 30 days. Norman Levine then continued to produce at this level throughout most of his career.
For more information, visit
http://www.leads4insurance.com/9-secrets-insurance-selling-legend/
Monday, April 4, 2011
Where's the Safety Net?
Ownership of individual life insurance hits a 50-year low.
Although most American families have less to fall back on financially than they did when the economic downturn began, ownership of individual life insurance has hit a 50-year low, according to a new LIMRA study.
The Trends in Life Insurance Ownership study, conducted every six years by LIMRA, found that only 44 percent of U.S. households have individual life insurance. The number of U.S. households that have no life insurance whatsoever is also growing. Today, 30 percent of households (35 million) have no life insurance coverage, compared to 22 percent of households in 2004. Among households with children under age 18, which arguably have the greatest need for life insurance, 11 million have no coverage.
“Clearly, more American families are living on the edge- surviving paycheck to paycheck- and, as our new study suggests, too many without the safety net that life insurance provides,” says Robert Kerzner, CLU, ChFC, president and CEO of LIMRA, LOMA and LL Global. “The numbers tell a grim story. Today there are 11 million fewer American households covered by life insurance compared with six years ago. A majority of families either have no life insurance or not enough, leaving them one accident or terminal illness away from a financial catastrophe for their loved ones.”
Other Priorities
More than 40 percent of Americans say a major reason they have not bought more life insurance is because they have other financial priorities right now, such as paying off debt or saving for retirement. However, the drop in life insurance ownership is not because families are not feeling vulnerable. Among households with children under 18, four in 10 say they would have immediate trouble meeting their everyday living expenses if the primary breadwinner were to die today. An another three in 10 would have trouble keeping up with expenses after several months
Half of the households surveyed feel they need more life insurance- the highest level ever. Moreover, 24 percent of households with children under 18 want to speak with a financial professional about their life insurance needs; and a quarter of all households plan to buy life insurance in the next year. According to the study, life insurance beat out all other sources of financial assets or income that Americans expect to use to help pay their bills and maintain their lifestyle in the event of the primary wage-earner’s death.
“With so many families continuing to struggle financially, there has never been a more critical time for people to own an adequate amount of life insurance,” says Marvin H. Feldman, CLU, ChFC, president and CEO of the LIFE Foundation. “This study shows that Americans place great value on the need for protection, and half of all families recognize that they need more life insurance than they have, and that’s good news. Now they need to take the next step and get the coverage they lack before it is too late.”
Not sure how to reach their goals
About one in four middle-market households admit they do not know how to obtain or reach their financial goals, including buying life insurance. One of the biggest obstacles is lack of information. Almost eight in 10 households do not have a personal life insurance agent or broker to turn to and most of them say they never did.
Most individual life insurance policies are sold by insurance agents and many Americans want to keep buying this way. For instance, 60 percent of Baby Boomer households prefer to buy life insurance face-to-face. Younger generations say they also are interested in gathering information about life insurance online and at their place of work.
“As an industry, we need to reach out to consumers and educate them about the various ways they can purchase life insurance,” Kerzner says. “Whether they buy from an agent, get coverage through their employer, or make an online purchase, the important thing is that they get the coverage they need to protect their loved ones.”
For more information, visit http://www.limra.com/.
-Article written by Preeti Vasishtha and taken from the November 2010 NAIFA’s Advisor Today
Although most American families have less to fall back on financially than they did when the economic downturn began, ownership of individual life insurance has hit a 50-year low, according to a new LIMRA study.
The Trends in Life Insurance Ownership study, conducted every six years by LIMRA, found that only 44 percent of U.S. households have individual life insurance. The number of U.S. households that have no life insurance whatsoever is also growing. Today, 30 percent of households (35 million) have no life insurance coverage, compared to 22 percent of households in 2004. Among households with children under age 18, which arguably have the greatest need for life insurance, 11 million have no coverage.
“Clearly, more American families are living on the edge- surviving paycheck to paycheck- and, as our new study suggests, too many without the safety net that life insurance provides,” says Robert Kerzner, CLU, ChFC, president and CEO of LIMRA, LOMA and LL Global. “The numbers tell a grim story. Today there are 11 million fewer American households covered by life insurance compared with six years ago. A majority of families either have no life insurance or not enough, leaving them one accident or terminal illness away from a financial catastrophe for their loved ones.”
Other Priorities
More than 40 percent of Americans say a major reason they have not bought more life insurance is because they have other financial priorities right now, such as paying off debt or saving for retirement. However, the drop in life insurance ownership is not because families are not feeling vulnerable. Among households with children under 18, four in 10 say they would have immediate trouble meeting their everyday living expenses if the primary breadwinner were to die today. An another three in 10 would have trouble keeping up with expenses after several months
Half of the households surveyed feel they need more life insurance- the highest level ever. Moreover, 24 percent of households with children under 18 want to speak with a financial professional about their life insurance needs; and a quarter of all households plan to buy life insurance in the next year. According to the study, life insurance beat out all other sources of financial assets or income that Americans expect to use to help pay their bills and maintain their lifestyle in the event of the primary wage-earner’s death.
“With so many families continuing to struggle financially, there has never been a more critical time for people to own an adequate amount of life insurance,” says Marvin H. Feldman, CLU, ChFC, president and CEO of the LIFE Foundation. “This study shows that Americans place great value on the need for protection, and half of all families recognize that they need more life insurance than they have, and that’s good news. Now they need to take the next step and get the coverage they lack before it is too late.”
Not sure how to reach their goals
About one in four middle-market households admit they do not know how to obtain or reach their financial goals, including buying life insurance. One of the biggest obstacles is lack of information. Almost eight in 10 households do not have a personal life insurance agent or broker to turn to and most of them say they never did.
Most individual life insurance policies are sold by insurance agents and many Americans want to keep buying this way. For instance, 60 percent of Baby Boomer households prefer to buy life insurance face-to-face. Younger generations say they also are interested in gathering information about life insurance online and at their place of work.
“As an industry, we need to reach out to consumers and educate them about the various ways they can purchase life insurance,” Kerzner says. “Whether they buy from an agent, get coverage through their employer, or make an online purchase, the important thing is that they get the coverage they need to protect their loved ones.”
For more information, visit http://www.limra.com/.
-Article written by Preeti Vasishtha and taken from the November 2010 NAIFA’s Advisor Today
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