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Questions? Contact our Sales Teams at (949) 863-0700. Life Insurance - Option 1 / Annuities - Option 2 / LTC - Option 3 / DI - Option 4.

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Using Existing Exam Requirements

“Can we still use the same exam?”
 
We often hear this question in underwriting. Perhaps a client recently placed coverage and is considering applying for more. Or maybe they did not receive the rate class they applied for and wish to apply to a different carrier.
 
Whatever the scenario, it’s always good to hear that it’s not too late to use the same exam!
 
For several carriers:
  • Ages 0-70: Paramed, blood and urine specimens and EKGs are often good for up to 12 months
  • Ages 71 and over: Paramed and blood and urine specimens are good for up to 6 months. In some cases, EKGs are good for up to 12 months

*Current medical declarations or good health statement must be within 90 days of policy issue.

Call the Underwriting Team today to find out more!
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Overcoming Retirement Challenges with FIAs

Overcoming Retirement Challenges with FIAs

Retirement planning is a different ballgame when it comes to decumulation. As clients face challenges like inflation, longevity risk, and sequence of return risk, Fixed Indexed Annuities (FIAs) offer a powerful solution. With innovative product designs — including fee-based FIAs with no surrender charges, commission-based products with unique indices, and income riders that guarantee lifetime income — the FIA landscape is more valuable than ever for both advisors and clients.

Join CPS and Corebridge for a lunch meeting at Il Fornaio in Irvine, where we’ll dive into actionable insights and planning strategies you can implement right away in your practice. Register today!

Il Fornaio | 18051 Von Karman Ave, Irvine CA 92612
Friday, January 31st – 11.45 AM to 1.15 PM

REGISTER TODAY

Special Guest Speaker: Reggie Washington, Regional Director with Corebridge Financial

Questions? Contact the CPS Annuities Team at (949) 863-0700 Option 2.

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How To Help Clients Through The LTCi Claims Process

More often than not, people don’t like to admit they need help with things they once did for themselves. This often happens with those requiring Long-Term Care, once they need assistance they rely on their family to provide for them.

What happens when the family care giver can no longer be of assistance? What happens when they get too burnt out or their abilities have been surpassed by the amount and type of care needed?

Once that final step has been taken and the caregiver realizes they need extra assistance, they usually file a claim.
 
Here’s how it works…
 
Assess Benefit Eligibility: This is the time when the insurance company checks to make sure the insured is eligible for care. Usually this is when a health practitioner determines the insured is chronically ill and needs help with at least two of the six activities of daily living for a period that is supposed to last at least 90 days or if the health care practitioner determines the insured needs constant supervision due to severe cognitive impairment
 
Submit Notification: If you feel your client meets the eligibility criteria you can notify the insured’s insurance company that a claim is being made. Notification should usually be made within 30 days of the onset of the need for care or as soon as reasonably possible. Notification can usually be made by mail or telephone and should include the insured’s name and policy number as shown on the policy schedule
 
Then what?
  • Once the notice of claim is received by the insurance company, a claim form is then sent to the insured. The form should be returned along with a provider’s bill to document the proof of loss.
  • Then the claim is evaluated to verify the insured meets eligibility requirements. Often an assessment is scheduled or the insured’s health care practitioner is contacted to verify medical records.
  • Once the claim is valid, a case manager will work with the insured’s family or caregivers to determine appropriate types of care.
  • After the policy’s elimination period has been satisfied, benefits will be paid to the insured or their care provider.
Although there is a good chance that the LTCi policies you sell today won’t have claims for years to come, it is also possible for an illness or injury requiring LTC services to strike one of your clients tomorrow.
 
It is best to be prepared and understand the claims process so you are fully prepared to help your clients put their LTCi policies into action.
 
For more information about LTC or the claims process, contact your LTC Specialists today.
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Complete Income Protection for All

Modern day Disability insurers are forever fearful of accidentally over-insuring their clients. This is particularly true when dealing with highly compensated clients.
 
In the past, the income replacement percentage was often subjectively determined by a particular carrier’s underwriter.

As of late, the Council for Disability Awareness has tried to modernize the approach by implementing a statistical analysis approach that determined the need to replace at least 65% of income.

Traditional carriers often meet and sometimes surpass the need for low to middle income earners, but fall short with incomes greater than $150,000.
 
Whether your client is generating a modest income or is highly compensated, there is an essential need to provide adequate income protection to help sustain an individual or family’s lifestyle during periods of non-productivity or severely diminished cash flow due to a short or long-term disability.
 
By stacking additional income protection on top of the coverage the traditional carriers provide, the client’s ability to maintain their current lifestyle turns from fiction to reality.
 
Contact your dedicated DI Specialist today to learn more about how you can offer your clients a complete income protection plan.
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162 Executive Bonus – The Biggest Drawback Solved? Copy

What’s the best way to attract and retain key people in the face of a government that does, and continues to do, all it can to proscribe or eliminate the advantages of selective benefits? The non-discrimination and other limitations on qualified plans often make them ineffective for the purpose.

Deferred compensation (or SERPs) and split dollar plans have become too regulation-laden and require too much administration, record-keeping and reporting to jingle any bells amongst most prospects.

What to do?
 
Among other things, because of its simplicity and its potential flexibility throughout the life of the benefit plan, the section 162 executive bonus arrangement is deservedly getting new levels of attention. It’s design might be an almost a one-size-fits-all answer to executive benefit needs, but for one concern: How do the employers truly “handcuff” an executive if they can’t maintain control over and retrieve employer funds paid into the plan?
 
In its most basic form, an executive bonus plan involves the employee buying and owning a policy on his or her life. The employer pays the premium, takes a deduction, and reports it to the executive as income, but if the employee walks the policy then the employer investment goes out the door as well.
 
The “loss of control” problem can be mitigated, if not eliminated, by appending two simple features to the plan:
 
First, the agreement can include a repayment obligation on the part of the key person under terms spelled out. The obligation is often phased out over time, giving the arrangement a vesting-like feel to the deal. This is similar to the conditions often applied to moving expenses paid on behalf of a re-located executive. Because the employer doesn’t have an interest in the policy, the plan does not unintentionally wander into split dollar territory. Furthermore, because there is no delayed income being paid, the deferred compensation regulations do not apply.
 
Second, a simple restriction on policy owner’s rights to policy access can be filed with the carrier. For the agreed upon period of time, the key person cannot alter, change or benefit from the policy without the permission of the employer – except for the designated beneficiary. Again, without giving the employer an ownership interest in the policy, it locks down the policy and allows an employer time to exercise the legally enforceable right to recover premiums, if needed.
 
If this method satisfies a business prospect’s concern for the security of an investment that’s desired under a benefit plan, then an executive bonus arrangement could be the easy answer to attract and keep select employees.
 
We provide sales and advisor support, documentation, product design, and we can answer your questions related to the presentation and implementation of executive bonus plans. Give me a call at 706-614-3796 or email me at tom@cpsadvancedmarkets.com to discuss the full width and breadth of the often overlooked advantages of this concept. I’ll even send you a free Overlooked Advantages Summary!
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Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

As we stand on the precipice of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it is not merely a moment to celebrate history but an occasion to delve into the enduring principles that Dr. King championed – equality, justice, and unity. Dr. King’s legacy serves as a timeless guidepost, urging us to reflect on our collective duty to uphold these values.

Please be advised that our office will be closed Monday, January 20th, in observance of the holiday. We will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, January 21st.

You can visit our website at CPS Insurance Services for our electronic application platforms, application paperwork, policy service forms, quoting software, and product information.

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Best Rates Are Possible For History Of Gastric Ulcers

Gastric ulcers, also known as peptic ulcers, are localized areas of erosion in the stomach lining that result in abdominal pain, possible bleeding and other gastrointestinal symptoms.
 
The most common cause of these ulcers is infection of the stomach by bacteria called Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori). Other risk factors include alcohol use, smoking and use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Ulcers that are successfully treated with good follow up and documentation of healing generally get more favorable underwriting outcomes.

Take a look at this case study:
 
  • 59 year old male
  • $1 million of Term coverage
  • 5’9”, 140 lbs
  • Lifelong non-smoker
  • No adverse family history
  • Diagnosed with a non-bleeding gastric ulcer in 2018. Takes over-the-counter medication for heartburn symptoms
  • No alcohol use
Underwriting Decision: Select Preferred!
 
Contact our Underwriting Team for more information and let us help you find ways to generate more sales with great underwriting offers!
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3 Key Questions Demonstrating The Need For LTC

Finding reasons why your clients need LTCi can be a challenge. You want them to understand the importance and need for the product, and also how it can impact them and their family.
 
Ask these 3 questions to your prospective clients to drive the point home on why having a LTCi policy is so important.
 
1. What’s your plan?
 
Your client has probably not thought about what they will do when they reach an age when they need help with tasks they are used to doing themselves. Have they thought about where they will live, or who they will live with? These planning questions are a great starting block to getting the LTCi sale.
 
2. Who do you know?
 
Ask your client if they know someone that has been in a LTC situation, or maybe they have even been in one them self? If they have seen the emotional, physical and financial burden a LTC situation can have, they most likely do not want the same to happen to their family.
 
3. How will you pay?
 
Does your client know that health insurance does not cover LTC services? Explain to them that a LTCi policy can give them the care they want and prefer. A LTCi policy can also make sure funds are available when your client needs them, then they won’t diminish their retirement savings or have to liquidate assets.
 
These questions are just the beginning on how to demonstrate to your clients the need for LTCi. Be sure to ask these questions and stress the need of LTC on your next appointment.
 
Our LTC Team is available to answer any questions you may have. Contact us today.
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Are You Including Disability Coverage In Your Client’s Buy-Sell Planning?

When most producers and their clients think about Buy-Sell Planning for their business, they consider Life Insurance as the only vehicle needed in order to provide a source of funding for the buy-out of an owner.
 
It’s true that Life Insurance will provide for sufficient funding of a business continuation plan if the insured owner dies while the policy is in-force, but what happens if the partner doesn’t pass away and instead, they become injured or sick to the point where they are no longer capable of working in their normal capacity?
 
If you have used Disability Buy-Sell Insurance coverage as a companion to Life Insurance planning then your clients will be prepared for exactly this situation.
 
Including a Disability Income Policy in a Buy-Sell Arrangement Can Serve Two Main Purposes
 
It provides a source of funds to their business for the purchase of a disabled owner’s interest in a business while also providing compensation to a disabled owner for his or her equity in the business.
 
We can provide you with fact finders, valuation questionnaires and approach letters to help you to either review an existing Buy-Sell arrangement or to help you plan for the implementation of a new business continuation plan.
 
Once you have discussed and assessed the company’s need for including DI inside of their Buy-Sell arrangement, you can use it as a spring board to then promote Key Person Disability coverage, as well as personal DI coverage for any employees.
 
Success Story
 
Recently, we were contacted by a producer looking to secure a basic Term Life policy on a business owner. In discussing the need for the coverage, we brought up the concept of including Disability Income inside of the Business Continuation Plan.
 
The result was an individual DI policy for the owner and we are now working on providing plans for all of the Key Executives. Prior to this case, the producer had never sold a DI policy with us.
 
Getting Started
 
If you have written Buy-Sell Insurance Policies in the past but did not include any Disability Income Protection, it is never too late to reach out to your clients and offer them a complimentary policy review to ensure that the planning is still sufficient for their business.
 
While reviewing the Life Insurance inside of the plan, you can discuss the need to have DI policies including in the Continuation Planning.
 
Helping to protect your client’s business interests in the event of an untimely injury, sickness or death will further solidify your role as their primary insurance professional and will likely lead to additional sales opportunities within the business and referrals for new client opportunities elsewhere.
 
Call us today for help in starting the review process or for ways to enter the business insurance marketplace.
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Competitive Fee-Based Index Annuity Solutions

Competitive Fee-Based Index Annuity Solutions

Tuesday, January 28th – 11.00 AM to 11.30 AM PST

REGISTER NOW

Join Us for Our Next CPS Annuity Webinar!

We’re excited to announce our upcoming CPS Annuity webinar, where we’ll be joined by special guest speaker Dan Kozlowski from MassMutual Ascend. During this session, we’ll explore their highly competitive Fee-Based Index Annuity Solutions, a fantastic opportunity to help clients gain market exposure with zero risk to principal.

These solutions are an excellent fit for Registered Investment Advisors, offering several key benefits, including:

  1. No surrender charges
  2. The ability to pull fees directly from the annuity, enhancing the client experience and streamlining the product’s integration into your practice.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about innovative annuity solutions that can offer significant value to your clients while improving your practice!

Questions? Contact the CPS Annuities Team at (949) 863-0700 Option 2.

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