Guardian Life Field Reps?

[NWBenefitProvider]

Curious if there are any Guardian Field Reps out there and what your experience has been. I am currently contracted as a Broker with them but was approached to become a Field Rep. From what I understand I would earn a higher commission based on a bonus that ran for a few years, instead of just the base commissions.

In addition, I would retain the right to continue working with other carriers and sell other lines, so it isn't a Captive agent situation. Sounds pretty good. Can anyone shed any light on their experiences?


Thanks.

 

[Larry Tew]

I was a Guardian FR from 1990 to 1999. You are correct about the higher comp for the first few years. Additionally, the benefit package (medical, dental, 401(k) match, defined benefit pension) adds 10-20% to the value of the contract. As a statutory employee, they also match your social security costs.

The flip side is that the renewal vesting is non-existent until you hit age 55 or so. The other issue is that your ability to do business with a bunch of other companies is going to be up to your GA. As an FR, you will likely have to get your securities license or if you're already licensed you will have to move to Park Avenue Securities.

But all in all, it has never made sense to me for anyone who plans to do much business with Guardian to do it as a broker.

 

[xrac]

I was a Guardian FR from 1990 to 1999. You are correct about the higher comp for the first few years. Additionally, the benefit package (medical, dental, 401(k) match, defined benefit pension) adds 10-20% to the value of the contract. As a statutory employee, they also match your social security costs.

The flip side is that the renewal vesting is non-existent until you hit age 55 or so. The other issue is that your ability to do business with a bunch of other companies is going to be up to your GA. As an FR, you will likely have to get your securities license or if you're already licensed you will have to move to Park Avenue Securities.

But all in all, it has never made sense to me for anyone who plans to do much business with Guardian to do it as a broker.

I think you have to do about $55K annual in GDC to retain the FR status. Larry are you a LEAP practictioner?

 

[Larry Tew]

I think you have to do about $55K annual in GDC to retain the FR status. Larry are you a LEAP practictioner?

The FR requirement is around 40K of FYC (75-80k of annual premium) last I heard, but not really a securities production requirement if the life / DI premium is there.

I was a LEAPer in the 90s. As a matter of fact, I and 3 or 4 others introduced LEAP to our Guardian agency in the early 90s. I've been using Circle of Wealth since 2006.

 

[NWBenefitProvider]

You bring up some good points about the vesting. I'm not sure how much business I would end up doing with them. As an IA I really look to the best carrier for each client and that often means writing through several different companies.

I do like aspects of their Living Balance Sheet, but their sales cycle is WAY too long and not transparent enough in my mind. The focus is heavily on overfunding WL with paid up additions and relies on the dividend performance to make attractive future CV. I will look at the Circle of Wealth and compare. Where do I find more information about LEAP?

 

[pcbinsurance]

"I was a LEAPer in the 90s."
**********************
I bet they called you "Leapin Larry" back in the day. I bet you used the one card system too!

 

[Larry Tew]

...I do like aspects of their Living Balance Sheet, but their sales cycle is WAY too long and not transparent enough in my mind. The focus is heavily on overfunding WL with paid up additions and relies on the dividend performance to make attractive future CV. I will look at the Circle of Wealth and compare. Where do I find more information about LEAP?

I understand Guardian recently made the LBS available to non-FR's, but you'll pay $300 a month (current price) for life to use it.

You can get a better look at Circle of Wealth at www.circleofwealthsystem.com (user name and password is "cow").

You can also look at a sub-system of COW called "Private Reserve Strategy" at www.prsprogram.com (user name and password is "prs").

It's not as easy to get a look at LEAP because they have always been more secretive about showing too much, but their website is www.leapsystems.com .

Now that Penn Mutual has heavily invested in LEAP, I'm not sure what the future holds for LEAP licensees who aren't affiliated with Penn.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"I was a LEAPer in the 90s."
**********************
I bet they called you "Leapin Larry" back in the day. I bet you used the one card system too!

No, that name never came up, but I did indeed start in 1980 with the OCS.

 

[xrac]

I understand Guardian recently made the LBS available to non-FR's, but you'll pay $300 a month (current price) for life to use it.

You can get a better look at Circle of Wealth at www.circleofwealthsystem.com (user name and password is "cow").

You can also look at a sub-system of COW called "Private Reserve Strategy" at www.prsprogram.com (user name and password is "prs").

It's not as easy to get a look at LEAP because they have always been more secretive about showing too much, but their website is www.leapsystems.com .

Now that Penn Mutual has heavily invested in LEAP, I'm not sure what the future holds for LEAP licensees who aren't affiliated with Penn.
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No, that name never came up, but I did indeed start in 1980 with the OCS.

What lead you to switch from LEAP to COW?

 

[Larry Tew]

What lead you to switch from LEAP to COW?

In a nutshell, I find COW to be MASSIVELY more client-centered. Both systems address financial inefficiency and champion permanent life insurance, but COW is more visual and more easily understood. Simply put, COW helps me tell the financial story I want to tell better than LEAP.

Another reason is the differences in the organizational philosophy and personality of the respective leadership.

 

[xrac]

In a nutshell, I find COW to be MASSIVELY more client-centered. Both systems address financial inefficiency and champion permanent life insurance, but COW is more visual and more easily understood. Simply put, COW helps me tell the financial story I want to tell better than LEAP.

Another reason is the differences in the organizational philosophy and personality of the respective leadership.

What is the cost of COW compared to leap.