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  • Recent Articles

  • Life Insurance Services

    “It’s not the price quoted that counts; it’s what you can qualify for based on your health.”

    Most people want similar things in the purchase of life insurance to pay estate tax. You want to deal with someone who understands the problem to be solved. That person must be someone of unquestionable integrity, competence, and the independence to shop your case to multiple life insurance carriers. You want a solid life insurance company, the appropriate amount and type of life insurance coverage, a good underwriting decision based on health, a favorable price, a guaranteed death benefit, and the life insurance policy structured properly so that the proceeds are not taxed in the estate.

    We have substantial hands-on experience placing large amounts of life insurance for high net worth individuals. Our clients routinely apply for $5,000,000 – $10,000,000 of death benefit. On more than one occasion, we successfully placed close to $50,000,000 of life insurance coverage on a single life.

    Through our alliances, we offer life insurance products from some of the industry’s highest-rated and most competitive life insurance carriers.

    These products, together with special underwriting expertise, create opportunities for both people who are in exceptional health and others whose health is impaired. Our Founder, Brian Singer, has 23 years of experience in the life insurance marketplace for high net worth individuals.

    We have relationships with many life insurance carriers and access to hundreds of products. Samplings of the strong relationships we’ve forged with the industry’s top carriers include:

    American General Life
    AXA Financial
    Genworth Financial
    ING
    John Hancock Financial
    Lincoln Financial
    MetLife
    Mutual of Omaha
    Nationwide
    Principal Financial
    Prudential Financial
    Sun Life
    Transamerica
    West Coast Life

    UNDERWRITING

    People of substantial wealth tend to be older. Advanced age is often accompanied by more health issues. We have extensive experience underwriting and placing life insurance for people in less than perfect health. The expertise of our in-house underwriters, our established relationships with many of the industry’s top impaired risk carriers, and the substantial amount of business given to the various life insurance carriers, puts you in a strong position towards achieving a favorable underwriting decision and related pricing.

    ADVANCED LIFE INSURANCE STRATEGIES

    The combination of our expertise and the expertise available through strategic alliances allows us to deliver the most comprehensive and competitive life insurance solutions for complex cases. Our team of advanced markets experts and in-house attorneys available through strategic alliances offers you leading-edge life insurance strategies and support during the implementation of planning strategies that incorporate life insurance.

    LIFE SETTLEMENT

    Clients’ needs for life insurance change over time and some may no longer need the coverage afforded by the policies they own. Some may want to sell their life insurance policies instead of just cancelling them. Our life insurance settlement solutions can unlock hidden value within life insurance policies you no longer need or want. Leading technology can help us get you real value from an active marketplace of buyers. We offer a controlled approach to life settlements allowing for competitive bidding, more transparency, and competent case processing.

    REVIEW OF EXISTING LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES

    Because of low interest rates and a volatile investment climate, many life insurance policies sold in the last two decades have not performed as shown in the original sales illustration. If left unattended, some life insurance policies could lapse.

    At the same time, the life insurance industry has undergone a transformation over the past two decades. Lower mortality charges, cost efficiencies, special riders, aggressive underwriting, competitive pressures, more sophisticated agents, more sophisticated consumers, and access to capital markets have allowed insurance companies to create new life insurance products that may provide a better value than years past.

    We are pleased to offer you a free life insurance policy review as an introduction to our practice. It is designed to compare the actual performance of any existing policy to what was expected when the policy was originally purchased. If a policy is not performing as anticipated, we can help you identify solutions designed to improve the situation.

    It begins with an In-Force Illustration on the existing policy using the original planned premium schedule. An in-force Illustration is different from an annual statement. An annual statement is a snap-shot of a policy’s performance. An in-force illustration is a “re-projection” of the values of a permanent life insurance policy that is already in-force. It uses a policy’s cash values as of the date of the “in-force” illustration and then projects values into the future based on premium levels and other variables. It is a way to analyze the performance of a policy versus the original projection. The effect on the policy of changing the premium amount, timing, and death benefit, etc., can be analyzed.

    If the original planned premium schedule is no longer projected to be sufficient to meet the policy goals, we will help determine a premium schedule to “right” the current policy. We will then compare the existing “righted” policy to alternative newer policies that may be more efficient. If a new policy appears to be the better option, we will help you through the underwriting process to obtain a new policy.

    “Permanent Life Insurance Is A Complex Financial Instrument Which Should Periodically Be Reviewed To Gauge Actual Policy Performance Against Original Expectations.”

    There are a number of very valid reasons why a new policy may be a better choice than an older existing policy. Here are a few:

    Newer Policies May Have Lower Costs-

    Many of the newer policies available today have cost structures that are lower than policies issued just a few years ago. Carriers tend not to pass these cost savings on to the existing policyholders – so those who wish to take advantage of the new lower costs may need to purchase new, more efficient policies.

    Changes In Underwriting Of The Insured-

    Sometimes, an insured person may have favorable changes in health that might affect the cost structure of the policy.

    Underwriting Opportunities-

    Special underwriting programs and promotions which “shave” undesirable ratings off normal underwriting offers may become available. These may reduce the mortality costs within the policy.

    Carrier Financial Difficulties-

    If the financial stability of an insurer changes, it may be prudent to move to a more financially solvent company.

    All illustrations show a non-guaranteed assumed projection and a guaranteed projection. The non-guaranteed assumed projection is a “best guess” of what will occur in the policy going forward using the current assumptions for expenses, mortality charges and investment returns. The guaranteed projection uses only those factors that are guaranteed when it projects the outcome.

    There Are A Number Of Factors That May Affect The Performance Of Existing Permanent Life Insurance Policies, Especially Those That Rely On Non-Guaranteed Current Assumptions

    First, is that premiums may not have been paid, paid late, or in amounts different than originally planned. Second, is the interest rate return on the underlying investment that provides the cash value in the policy. In Universal Life Insurance (UL) and Whole Life Insurance (WL) policies this investment account is in Insurance Company-directed investments. In Variable Life Insurance policies the cash value is invested in separate accounts with the asset classes chosen by the policyowner. Third, are the actual expenses and mortality charges. The factor that most affects the actual performance of the policy (besides the premiums paid) versus that projected in the original sales illustration is the interest rate. Future expenses and mortality charges used in original illustrations are easier to project and predict than the investment return. If the actual interest rate achieved is less than the projected rate, the policy will not perform as well as expected.

    How Have Actual Interest Rates and Investment Returns Affected The Expected Performance Of Older Existing Policies?

    Over the last twenty or so years, the interest rates on UL policies have dropped. In the 1980s, the market interest rate was almost 12% when some policies were introduced. We all know how much interest rates have dropped since then. Equity markets have dropped and been erratic over the past ten years; which has an impact on policy performance for Variable Life policies. The drag caused by lower returns in a life insurance policy presents itself in actual cash values lower than the original illustrated values. For those policies that were purchased based on non-guaranteed projected premiums, poor investment performance can cause a policy to lapse unless a higher premium is paid.

    How Improvements In Mortality Are Reflected In Existing Life Insurance Policies?

    Over the last 10 to 15 years, both expenses and mortality costs for life insurance policies have dropped. Improvements to the mortality costs in the life insurance marketplace are typically not passed on to existing policies. Due to competitive pressures many insurers use the mortality gains that are created in older policies to lower costs on new product offerings to attract more new business.

    Wherever you are located, email us at info@ebsresponsiblewealth.com to arrange for a free
    consultation. Our common sense approach to estate planning and life insurance to pay estate tax will help you get to where you want to be.

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    Internal Revenue Service Circular 230 Disclosure
    Pursuant to Internal Revenue Service Circular 230, we hereby inform you that any tax advice set forth herein with respect to U.S. federal tax issues was not intended or written by E. Brian Singer, Shaun Singer, EBS Group, EBS Responsible Wealth, or EBS Business & Investment Group, Inc., to be used, and cannot be used, by you or any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding any penalties that may be imposed on you or any other person under the Internal Revenue Code.

    Our role is to help you evaluate planning techniques that can reduce your future estate tax and gift tax, and increase the wealth transferred to your family. Brian Singer is not an attorney. Although he is a CPA (Inactive-California), it is not his intention to become your CPA. He no longer engages in the practice of public accounting. This and any other analysis or discussion is not meant to address all the issues and risks as you might find in a technical legal analysis. That task, if necessary, and if you are willing to pay the fee, is the responsibility of your attorney. Brian Singer attempts to take complicated tax principles and reduce them to understandable techniques for the layperson, in plain English. Any discussion and/or written analysis are meant to give you an overview of the anticipated benefits to be derived by employing specific techniques.  Final responsibility for the tax aspects rests with the attorney of your choosing. All techniques require careful drafting by a highly competent tax attorney with specialized knowledge.  A concept that might work when competently drafted, could fail as a result of mistakes made in the documents prepared by an attorney not proficient in these areas. The appreciation rates, investment earning rates, tax rates, valuation discounts, and other factors are hypothetical assumptions.  The benefits from implementing any technique will ultimately be better or worse than described depending upon variation from the assumptions. There are no guaranteed results; either in an economic analysis or in application of the tax law. We hope you will decide to use our services. Any planning we propose is incidental to the purchase of insurance. Since insurance is used to pay estate tax, the less tax you will owe, the less insurance required. The planning is essential in the determination of your insurance needs. You are in no way obligated to purchase any insurance. If it makes sense for you, then buy it; if it doesn’t make sense for you, then don’t buy it. You are not expected to do anything that you feel is not in your best interest. We may choose to disengage at any time.

    Copyright © 2011 EBS Responsible Wealth