Bring On The Annuities

Its when these people find a better deal that they regret the lack of liquidity of their existing annuity or their situation changes.

Many times it's due to a family member or another agent that causes these people to have "regrets". Anytime I'm dealing with a single person who is retired, I ask questions about family members and whether or not they help them with their finances. If there's even a remote possibility that they do, I reschedule the appointment to when that person can be involved as well.
 
Many times it's due to a family member or another agent that causes these people to have "regrets". Anytime I'm dealing with a single person who is retired, I ask questions about family members and whether or not they help them with their finances. If there's even a remote possibility that they do, I reschedule the appointment to when that person can be involved as well.

Its funny I've never had a senior client have regrets...I have had a 403(b) client have something happen since the new Regs have gone into effect and was pissed that their employer put into the plan document no loans or hardship distributions and get angry with me for telling them prior to the regs changing that they would have loan and hardship rights...Even with those clients I always recommended emergency funds and would frequently advise that they start with smaller contribuions than they wanted at times...

But when I hear someone who is not even an agent talking about Greedy Agents it gets my blood pumping.
 
VolAgent and Sman: I would like to do an educational annuity/investment article based on what you have written here. Any objection?

Peter: Before you talk about me, you should have asked me about the firm I started 28 years ago. In my 40 years of experience I have seen my share of greedy agents, IMO's, and Insurance Companies. So rather than boil your blood, donate it. (I was in the selling & IMO marketing longer than your career of 10 years.)

I also know the serious amount of corruption in the business. This hurts all those that are reputable. Do you really think 99% of agents are putting their clients first? Considering the mass of new agents, and since the emergence of shared leads, put the figure right now about 50%.
 
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VolAgent and Sman: I would like to do an educational annuity/investment article based on what you have written here. Any objection?

Peter: Before you talk about me, you should have asked me about the firm I started 28 years ago. In my 40 years of experience I have seen my share of greedy agents, IMO's, and Insurance Companies. So rather than boil your blood, donate it. (I was in the selling & IMO marketing longer than your career of 10 years.)

I also know the serious amount of corruption in the business. This hurts all those that are reputable. Do you really think 99% of agents are putting their clients first? Considering the mass of new agents, and since the emergence of shared leads, put the figure right now about 50%.

Well I must have touched something because I never once mentioned you. Please don't take this the wrong way but working as an agent and working with the IMO people are to totally different things and if you want to talk about greed and corruption we can talk about the marketing companies. Yes there are greedy agents and those that put themselves before the client but I refuse to believe that they are the majority. I'm sure you are proud of your 40 years in your career as I am in my 12 just so you get that correct :)
 
Peter, you are very true about greed of marketing companies. Some may have two similar annuities from the one carrier. One rewards both them and the insurance carrier much more. Therefore sometimes the broker never sees the better of the two annuity plans.

Regarding agents, we carry statistics on 1,500,000 agents... including you. The problem of greed is about 13% or 1/8 of semi-independent agent or independents. The super captives, Allstate, Nationwide, S.F., Farm Bureau, run about 20%.

That leaves the rookies - under 5 years of experience. Well over 70%. Part is due to lack or training or told to sell certain products. Most is due to meet subsidy or monthly requirements.

Two problems exist (1) selling one with most profit even when it does not fit. (2) false information put on the application ---life application--- to get the policy issued. Only 7 out of 100 agents that become licensed celebrate their full fourth year.

Yes, I am proud of my career, and I am sure by your comments and your posts that you are a very committed agent to serving the client's needs.

Have a great day
 
Peter, you are very true about greed of marketing companies. Some may have two similar annuities from the one carrier. One rewards both them and the insurance carrier much more. Therefore sometimes the broker never sees the better of the two annuity plans.

Regarding agents, we carry statistics on 1,500,000 agents... including you. The problem of greed is about 13% or 1/8 of semi-independent agent or independents. The super captives, Allstate, Nationwide, S.F., Farm Bureau, run about 20%.

That leaves the rookies - under 5 years of experience. Well over 70%. Part is due to lack or training or told to sell certain products. Most is due to meet subsidy or monthly requirements.

Two problems exist (1) selling one with most profit even when it does not fit. (2) false information put on the application ---life application--- to get the policy issued. Only 7 out of 100 agents that become licensed celebrate their full fourth year.

Yes, I am proud of my career, and I am sure by your comments and your posts that you are a very committed agent to serving the client's needs.

Have a great day

I'm not doubting your statistics as I think they could very well be right on about agents that screw their clients...Just wondering how you get a statistic for "Greed" and what would define "Greed".

Very true about one carrier offering multiple identical products through different channels..I deal with multiple IMO and Marketing Orginzations and I love those calls because they only call on the products with really large comp and I've always thought of an annuity as a triangle with interest rates at one point surrender charges at another and agent comp at the third and you can push things arounds but always realize if you push agent comp up then correspondingly you will be decreasing interest rates and increasing surrender charges to the client and I'm greedy in that I don't want to present the highest comp product because I know someone will come in behind me and I'm not going to make it easy for them to blow me out of the household by really sticking it to the client in favor of my comp.

You are certainly right that agents have lied or coached clients to lie but at the same time one must remember that the client isn't clean on those transactions either they sign that application attesting to the truthfulness of the answers...Where I get upset is all the focus is on the Greedy lieing agent and no one blames the client...Hey have no job just lie on this no doc mortgage application...Then they go on TV about losing their home when they don't make the payments and how greedy the mortgage broker was....Thats what gets me annoyed :)
 
VolAgent and Sman: I would like to do an educational annuity/investment article based on what you have written here. Any objection?

If you wanted to quote me or anything, I'd prefer to see it first. If I am left completely out of it, obviously do what you want.

Just don't be biased. :biggrin:

The whole point of my original post is that we can still help these people build a retirement nest egg without market risk, and better return than bank CDs. It took a left turn somewhere into agents who sell annuities being dishonest and greedy.

At the end of the day, you can only sell someone something they are willing to buy.
 
You are right on. About 2 or 3 years ago I wrote an article "Agents Lie, Clients Lie."

I should also add that for a nice dinner "Paramedics Lie"

Of the 7 main emotions, if I am correct, Fear is lst and Greed is second. I also wrote an article on tips to know your client is lying.

True, there is not enough praise for the insurance agent. When I was selling a fellow agent with some inheritance came to me for advice. At the time Universal Life was relatively new, and it bought a very nice size policy. The agent insisted I write it.

Anyways, less than 14 months later my good agent friend died from cancer. He had no immediate family, but left it all to a cousin. For some reason they needed my signature to collect payment. I never received a word of thanks. My actions had taken a relatively poor person into hitting the lottery.

So yes you should feel annoyed.
:)
 
Despite what Dave and Suze says, it looks like the young saver is a prime candidate for fixed and indexed annuities. If they aren't going to invest in the stock market and mutual funds, find them something to beat a bank CD at least.

Young investors are shunning the market - Jan. 3, 2011


Finally we agree on something!

I say sell them IUL while their young and overfund
now Dave and Suze would really love me!

Another product I really like is bank on yourself whole life
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If you wanted to quote me or anything, I'd prefer to see it first. If I am left completely out of it, obviously do what you want.

Just don't be biased. :biggrin:

The whole point of my original post is that we can still help these people build a retirement nest egg without market risk, and better return than bank CDs. It took a left turn somewhere into agents who sell annuities being dishonest and greedy.

At the end of the day, you can only sell someone something they are willing to buy.

Selling annuities pays me more and is better for the client in most cases since there are advantages not had elsewhere....

I am going to BOLDLY SAY THIS....and it might shock someone BUT...

I AM IN THIS BUSINESS TO MAKE MONEY WHILE HELPING PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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I wouldn't do that if I were you. What is a properly designed portfolio going to do? Or should I say, what is it going to hope to do or beat? Maybe the S&P? Ok, take the S&P, I've got a chart of the S&P for a period and an index annuity in the S&P during the same period -
 
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