Are You Getting the Best Value from Your Life Insurance Portfolio?
May 11th, 2015 by John Anderson – Be the first to commentPosted in Insurance, Life Insurance
The best financial advisors are wealth managers that look for ways to help you get more out of your finances.
One area of immense value is life insurance. Almost everyone has a need for life insurance to offset risk. Life insurance protects those you love and who depend on you for support.
That support can be in the form of a paycheck or in services that you provide for your family, such as a spouse who stays home to care for the kids. Nobody likes to talk about it, but if you die it puts a financial burden on the family when that support disappears.
Illustration provided by Low Load Insurance Services
So, what’s the best way to get the life insurance coverage you need? You have two main options.
First, you can work with an agent. An agent is paid a commission by the insurance company. That commission comes from the premiums you pay and can last from one to ten years depending on the insurance product you were sold. Chances are, if your current advisor is acting as an agent, you are paying too much.
The other option is to work with a fee-only financial planner. He will help you evaluate your insurance needs and manage your insurance portfolio. Since a fee-only financial planner cannot be paid by commissions, working with one can save you a ton of money in lower premiums!
Today there are no load (no load means no commissions paid) insurance products that have expenses that are substantially less than comparable policies sold by agents. One of the ways a fee-only financial planner adds value is by evaluating your life insurance policies and searching for no load insurance options. Here are four features that give no load life insurance policies an advantage:
- Lower Premiums for the Same Benefit
Whether you are looking at a term or permanent policy, no imbedded commission means a lower premium. Also, you may be able to exchange a policy that has cash value for a new no load insurance policy, and either lower your premiums and have the same benefit, or pay the same premium and increase your benefit. - Builds Cash Value Faster
No load permanent policies have fewer expenses built into them which means more of your money goes to work right away allowing you to build cash value faster. - No surrender Charges
Surrender charges are the result of the insurance companies need to recoup the commission that was paid to the agent. Since there are no commission, no load insurance products have no surrender charges so you have complete liquidity, and they often pay highly competitive fixed interest rates on the cash value. - Easy, Low Cost Access to Your Money
No load insurance policies allow you to borrow money back out if you need it, and often at an incredibly attractive rate.
Unfortunately, there are many great financial advisors who are not very knowledgeable about insurance. That’s why we work with a team of no load insurance professionals who have the ability to dissect a life insurance or annuity product illustration and understand what is actually happening behind the scenes. Often what we find is not a pretty picture.
When it is time to review your life insurance portfolio, do not go to an agent that has a vested interest in selling you insurance. Go to a fee-only financial planner who can offer objective, unbiased advice, and often find a way to save you substantial amounts of money.
Wondering how much life insurance you need? Need help finding a policy that meets your goals, but won’t break the bank?
We make getting answers super easy and you’ll never talk to a high pressure sales person. Just click below and ask a question via our easy and secure contact form. We’ll get back to you within 48 hours via email and get you pointed in the right direction!
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The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Investing involves risk including loss of principal.
