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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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Prostate Cancer – Great Offers Are Possible!

What is prostate cancer? Prostate cancer occurs when cells in the prostate gland grow out of control.
 
Some prostate cancers can grow and spread quickly but most grow slowly. There are often no early prostate cancer symptoms, but some men have urinary symptoms and discomfort. Prostate cancer treatment options are surgery, chemotherapy, cryotherapy, hormonal therapy, and/or radiation. In some instances, doctors recommend “watchful waiting.”

All men are at risk for developing prostate cancer. Other than skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men.

About one man in nine will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, but only one in 41 will die of this disease. The average age at the time of diagnosis is about 66.
 
Factors, such as age, race, and family history that may contribute to the risk:
  • The Gleason Score (GS) indicates the tendency for rapid growth, recurrence or metastasis of prostate cancer, with two being the least worrisome and scores of eight to 10 being the most aggressive. Think of the stage as a car’s odometer and the Gleason Score as its speedometer. Generally, the lower the stage, the more likely that treatment will succeed with no recurrence of cancer.
  • The PSA is a blood test for prostate cancer.
  • A bone scan is sometimes performed to determine if the cancer has metastasized, that is, spread distantly from its origin.
  • The extent to which prostate cancer has spread is categorized by staging, usually determined by examination, ultrasound or MRI. However, examining tissue removed by surgery gives a more definitive picture of the stage of the cancer.
  • Treatments include Surgery (prostatectomy), Chemotherapy, Radiation; external beam or implants, Watchful Waiting, Hormonal Therapy.
Here is a case study:
 
Fred, 56 years old
Seeking $3 million of permanent coverage
  • Was told by his internist almost six years ago that his PSA was moderately elevated.
  • A biopsy showed prostate cancer.
  • After weighing the relative treatment risks and benefits, Fred decided on surgery. Cancer was present in two areas within one side of the prostate.
  • His Gleason Score was 6.
  • At a follow-up exam two months ago, Fred had no major symptoms and his PSA was so low that it was immeasurable.
Having been treated several years ago for his early-stage, moderately aggressive cancer and showing no signs of recurrence, Fred could qualify for a life policy at Standard rates.
 
Call our Life Underwriting Department today! Let’s work together to get the offers you need.
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Using Caregiver Contracts To Leverage Your LTC Sales

A caregiver contract is when relatives are hired to take care of their disabled or aging family members. It is usually drafted by an attorney and specifies the caregiver’s duties and the length of contract (usually the elder’s lifetime). Caregiver payment can be made either in lump sums or installments.
 
How Does Long-Term Care Get Thrown Into The Mix?
 
Purchasing a Long-Term Care (LTC) policy is one way to pay the compensation promised in a caregiver agreement.
 
Please note: Many LTC Insurance policies do not allow a relative to be hired directly as a caregiver, it is important that the policy have a cash benefit.
 
Once an individual triggers benefits, the insurer pays out the cash benefit regardless of who the caregiver is. A full cash benefit will provide the same benefit.
 
It is important to discuss these planning options with current and prospective clients. An agent who knows about LTC planning as well as insurance may be seen as more knowledgeable about the options available.
 
To learn more about caregiver contracts and how to incorporate them into your sales, contact your LTC Specialist today.
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Critical Illness Coverage Pays Up To $500,000 Upon First Diagnosis

While the chances of surviving a critical illness such as cancer, heart attack, or stroke are greater than ever. Living with the condition can create a severe financial hardship for many of our clients.
 
Traditional health insurance plans cover medical expenses such as hospital stays, physician’s fees and the pharmacy bill. However, additional costs such as the insurance deductibles, child care, insurance premiums, and home health care must often be paid for by the recovering patient directly.
 
Critical Illness Insurance pays a tax free lump sum payment immediately upon first diagnosis of any one of a list of serious illnesses – including cancer, heart attacks, or stroke.

Claims statistics suggest we are 5 times more likely to survive rather than die before we reach age 65 of cancer, heart attack or stroke.

The good news is, medical advances enable people to survive conditions that could have killed us years ago. For example, more than 90% of men diagnosed with testicular cancer are still alive 5 years after first diagnosis, and 80% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have the same survival rate. There are over 5.8 million stroke survivors are alive today, many of them with permanent stroke related disabilities.
 
How does it work?
 
We have access to several critical illness carriers that offer unique policies to meet your client’s needs. I have found one plan in particular that offers a very comprehensive benefit plan at a very affordable cost.
 
Think of putting your premium dollars into a safety deposit box and if you are diagnosed with one of the 12 covered illnesses (including Alzheimer’s) the policy will pay the face value. Or, if you die of one of the covered illnesses, the policy will pay the face value to your beneficiary. If you should die of any other reason, 100% of all premium paid towards the plan will be returned to the beneficiary as a tax-free death benefit.
 
While most critical illness policies have a reduction of benefit at age 65, we have critical illness contracts that extend the full benefits to age 75.
 
Consider this:
 
The likelihood of surviving a critical illness grows every year and so does the threat of being diagnosed. The coverage is very affordable. A male age 40 can secure a $50,000 critical illness benefit for only $52.56 per month. There is a plan to fit any budget with benefits up to $500,000.
 
Critical Illness Insurance is one of the best kept secrets in the industry and provides advisors a great opportunity right now to meet more clients, help more families and increase sales. Look to your clients with a family history of cancer, heart disease, or hypertension. They are very likely to be interested in purchasing protection before they are diagnosed.
 
Contact your Disability Insurance Specialist for detailed information about a plan that meets your client’s needs and budget.
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Growing Your Annuity Business With Revol One 💸 Wednesday, August 14

Growing Your Annuity Business With Revol One

Wednesday, August 14th – 2.00 PM to 2.30 PM PST

REGISTER NOW

Please join CPS and Revol One for a webinar you do not want to miss. With industry leading products and top-notch service, Revol One is making waves in the annuity industry. Their MYG rates are as high as 5.85%. Caps on their FIAs are up to 12% and their unique MYG / FIA hybrid promises a 4% floor and par rates as high as 80%! This is a carrier partner you will want to align yourself with. Register today!

Presenter: Sean Shotzberger, Regional VP, Revol One

Host: Justin Lewinski, Annuities Associate, CPS Insurance Services

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

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Idioms & Grantor Trusts: Having It Both Ways (For Now)

You can’t eat your cake and have it, too!
 
We’ve all said it many times and in every case we were talking about more than just desserts. Layered within the phrase is the more subtle and intended message that you can’t have it both ways; or that to get something you’ve got to give up something else.
 
Our conversations are peppered with idioms, those oft-used little word-packages whose literal meaning have nothing to do with what they actually communicate. For the outsider struggling to learn the language, idioms can cause more roadblocks to understanding that all the other irregularities of grammar and spelling that attend the King’s English. And it gets more confusing when an idiomatic truth proves unreliable; as in the case of grantor trusts.

These grantor/intentionally-defective/irrevocable/lay in the house that Jack built/life insurance trusts turn the idiom on its head by allowing, from at least a tax perspective, a taxpayer to have it both ways.

Consider the advantages a grantor trust can provide if all is properly done:
 
  • For estate tax purposes: All property in the trust is not included in the trust-maker’s taxable estate, offering significant tax savings on both the original principal and on appreciation after transfer to the trust.
  • For income tax purposes: The consequences of all that takes place in the trust flow back to the personal return of the trust-maker. This a) allows more control over the severity of the tax – especially if the maker has certain tax advantages in play, and b) avoids depletion of assets in the trust to make tax payments and, by paying the trust’s tax, allows for a gift tax-free benefit to the trust by the maker.
Let’s keep the ball rolling. While the maker is enjoying the best of both tax worlds, he or she also benefits in that:
  • Assets in the trust are protected from the claims of the maker’s creditors.
  • If the maker is married, he or she can maintain remarkable degrees of vicarious control over and access to property in the trust by establishing a life estate in the spouse.
If you want to hide a barn you shouldn’t paint it red. It’s no surprise that a planning device with this many advantages has caught the attention of the lawmakers.
 
If lack of familiarity with common idioms is hampering you then it’s time you pulled yourself up by your own bootstraps, put your nose to the grindstone, and began to get the lay of the land on such things. Or simply contact me with questions that come up in your casework concerning grantor trusts, at 706-614-3796 or tom@cpsadvancedmarkets.com. When we are done you will know your noodles.
 
By the way, my Mother never quite got the hang of making cakes from scratch. Her marble cakes were always so hard we just took them for granite.
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Calculating Retirement Needs – We Can Help You Do The Math

Retirement planning has become the first priority for many individuals. Social Security and other retirement plans may not be sufficient for the clients’ needs. Though a client may be funding a 401(k) and IRA, they still might worry that they do not have enough savings opportunities, or that they may have a potential retirement shortfall.

One of the most overlooked savings tools for retirement is life insurance.

The cash value of a life insurance policy grows on a tax-deferred basis and may provide your client with a source of additional retirement income.
 
Address potential planning opportunities in your clients’ retirement plans.
 
We can generate a detailed report unique to each client on the potential income gap between their dream income, and what they are actually going to receive in retirement.
 
A member of our team would use this information to conduct a thorough retirement check-up, and help you show your clients how life insurance can positively affect retirement years.
 
Please contact us today – we look forward to the opportunity to help you complete a retirement check-up for each of your clients.
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A Sweeter Deal – Impaired Fasting Glucose

In the years leading up to the development of Type 2 diabetes, most individuals go through an asymptomatic condition called pre-diabetes. During this time, fasting blood sugar levels may be slightly elevated and there may be other signs of disruptions in normal metabolism, such as high triglycerides, low “good” (HDL) cholesterol levels and excess fat around the abdomen.
 
Approximately 1 out 3 American adults have pre-diabetes. When caught at an early stage, it is possible to head off development of Type 2 diabetes with diet changes and weight loss.

One of our A+ carriers can underwrite favorably on pre-diabetes cases that show a stable, well controlled condition.

Take a look at this case study:
Male, 55 years old
Non-Smoker
Seeking Personal Coverage
 
  • History of hypertension that has been well-controlled with medication and exercise.
  • Two years ago, a routine annual check-up revealed a blood sugar reading that was higher than normal.
  • Follow up glucose levels remained elevated (in the 100-103 range), but never high enough to suggest outright diabetes. He was then diagnosed with Impaired Fasting Glucose.
  • His doctor suggested exercise and a change in diet to include reduced carbohydrate intake.
  • Has done well with his new diet and exercise regimen; ongoing lab testing has shown no progression in his condition.
This client had the beginning of pre-diabetes caught early by routine testing. Because he responded well to dietary changes and exercise, this condition has not progressed and he is at lower risk of developing diabetes in the next several years — if he maintains his new, healthy habits.
 
Potential Underwriting Outcome: Super Standard Non-Tobacco, with potential improvement to Preferred using this carrier’s Healthy Lifestyle Crediting Program.
 
Call your Life Underwriting Team to discuss your client’s medical history today and let’s work on your next success story!
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Simple Conversations That Will Close Your Sale

When planning for retirement, most people take stock of their expenses to ensure they have enough income to live comfortably. But many fail to consider the significant price of long-term care services.

The average cost of nursing home care is approaching $107,000 a year.

Making it easy to see how a long-term care situation could quickly deplete the retirement nest egg that your clients have worked hard to build.
 
Explain how Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) will help protect their retirement funds and close the sale with these simple conversation pointers:
 
Conversation Starter 1:
 
“Let’s talk about how your plan to live a long life could impact your spouse and your children.”
 
As people get older, they generally need more help. If your clients are like a lot of people, they mistakenly believe their long-term care needs are already taken care of.
 
Ask them if they have thought about:
 
  • Who will take care of you?
  • Will that person be able to be a full-time caregiver?
  • Where will you live?
  • Which one of your children might you be able to live with?
Conversation Starter 2:
 
“Did you know that major medical insurance doesn’t cover long-term care services? Medicare coverage is limited to helping people get back on their feet after an illness or injury. And relying on Medicare may mean spending down assets to qualify.”
 
Ask your clients how they would pay for the care they need if these options were taken off the table.
 
Have them consider:
 
  • Could you afford to pay the extra costs per year out of your retirement savings?
  • Would you have access to the funds you need? Or would you have to sell assets, cash in stocks, or dip into 401(k) or other savings accounts?
  • Which assets would you use to pay for your care?
An LTCI policy ensures that the funds your clients need are available to pay the bills for long-term care expenses – protecting their retirement assets and making their retirement dreams a reality.
 
Design a plan that is both affordable and the best solution for your clients’ needs – contact your LTCI Sales Rep for guidance.
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Disability Buy-Sell Planning with a New Twist

We’ve seen how some traditional funding ideas for Buy-Sell Agreements have not met a client’s need as effectively as they should. Below is a unique way to look at Disability Buy-Sell Funding that may put your client in the best possible position.

Case Design:
  • 40-year-old Attorney, 25% Partner in a law firm worth $4 million
  • Current Annual Income $200,000
‘Traditional’ Funding Buy/Sell Agreement:
  • $1 million Term Life Insurance Policy in the event of premature death
  • $1 million Disability Buyout (DBO) Policy with 365-day Elimination Period (EP) & Lump Sum Benefit = $3,780 Annual Premium
‘Unique’ Funding Buy/Sell Agreement:
  • $1 million Disability Buyout (DBO) policy with a 730-day EP & Lump Sum Benefit = $2,880 Annual Premium
  • $900 annual Savings from ‘Traditional’
NOW ADD
  • $11,230 Monthly Benefit Individual DI policy with 90-day EP and 2-year benefit
  • $752 Annual Premium
  • $148 Total Annual Savings from ‘Traditional’

If the partner gets sick or hurt and cannot work, the Individual Disability Insurance (DI) policy will pay 67.3% of his income (tax free) for up to 2 years.

If the partner recovers from his illness or injury before the 2-year benefit runs out, he will not need to sell his shares of the practice, and he can return to work. Once he gets back to work full-time for 6 months, his Individual DI policy with 2-year benefit is reset and has a full 2-year benefit again.

The new plan design gives the partner more time to recover from the illness or injury – without having to worry about the company Buy-Sell Agreement forcing the firm to buy him out when he has recovery in sight.

If he does not recover after 2 years, the Individual DI policy benefit stops and the DBO policy will pay the partnership $1 million, tax-free, to help buy out his share of the business at current market value.

Contact your DI Specialist for more information about this strategy.

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Is Insurance In A Qualified Plan Beneficial?

Whenever life insurance is proposed the first two client-questions that inevitably follow are: first, how much will it cost and then, are the premiums deductible (especially if the client is a business-person). Let’s deal with the second.
 
In a business situation life insurance premiums are never deductible. Even in an executive bonus arrangement the employer can write off amounts paid only because, in fact, the amounts are W-2 compensation, not because they are eventually spent on life insurance.

In the personal context there hovers about the discussion of tax-deductible costs for coverage the possibility of holding life insurance in a qualified plan.

It sounds good at first blush. Contribute to the plan and use the untaxed dollars to buy a policy. But take a closer look.
 
Permanent insurance outside a plan can be broken down into three parts.
 
On the bottom is basis, the after-tax dollars used to pay premiums (it can be a little more complicated than that, but let’s keep in simple). Above that is the potentially taxable, but currently tax-deferred gain in the policy, i.e. the reserves in excess of the basis. On top is the risk portion, the amount of death benefit over the policy values.
 
Two tax advantages to keep in mind with non-plan coverage are:
  • So long as the policy stays in force prior to death, the gain in the policy can be protected from taxation
  • In the event of death the whole kit and caboodle (basis, gain and risk) is paid to the beneficiary income tax-free
Now compare to the taxation of a policy in a qualified plan.
 
Untaxed dollars inside the plan are used to buy the life insurance. So far so good. But next the plan administrator must report each year as taxable income to the insured plan participant the “economic benefit” realized by the coverage. This is often calculated using the carrier’s one-year term rates acceptable to the IRS.
 
The result is an amount usually lower than the actual premiums paid. On balance the participant comes out ahead, but not with as much sizzle as they may have anticipated.
 
What will follow from there is one of two unavoidable tax disadvantages that are avoided with insurance outside the plan.
 
If the participant retires or otherwise separates from service most plans do not allow the policy to remain in the plan. If the policy is distributed its FMV (usually the account value) must be recognized to the extent of the FMV exceeds the accumulated economic benefits recognized over the years of participation, i.e. the gain is taxed, a result that would not have happened with coverage outside the plan. The participant can buy the policy out of the plan, but the result is the same. The heretofore untaxed gain in the contract is not purchased with after-tax dollars.
 
If the participant dies while the policy is in the plan the beneficiary receives the death benefit tax-free only to the extent that it exceeds the policy value minus the accumulated economic benefits. Again, the gain in the policy is taxed, unlike when a death benefit is received for coverage outside the plan.
 
There will always be taxation of the policy gain. In addition, if the insured anticipates death tax liability, either federal or state or both, the proceeds from a plan-owned policy cannot be kept out of the taxable estate. Both are things to consider before hastily buying coverage inside a qualified plan with the hope of, at least, part of its cost being paid for with untaxed dollars.
 
Call with any question concerning coverage inside or outside a plan.

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