Selling Life Insurance...

[bobson]

Can withdraw if:

permanently disabled
non-reimbursed medical expenses for serious injury/illness
college costs
1st time home purchase
paying health insurance premiums if out of work longer than 12 weeks

the bottom line is some life agents make IRAs out to be investment vehicles "you can't access until retirement" when in reality there are many ways to access they money when you need it.

In general you can't. There are exceptions as you pointed out. Outside of the home purchase and college costs though tragedy has to occur. Qualified money can't be used to take advantage of a positive situation.

My point of course isn't that life insurance is the end all, rather it is one tool of many that has unique advantages other tools don't have. And if you simply dismiss life insurance you are failing to recognize those advantages.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

Bet you any amount of money I line up 100 life agents and ask all of 'em all the ways you can withdraw from an IRA and 2 get it right.

"Hi, I'm a life insurance agent. We gonna talk about and compare investments. Now, I really don't know anything about other investments but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night."

But I'm not just gonna bust on life agents James. I could line up 100 health agents and ask 'em 5 questions about how HSAs work. 98 would crap out.

My point? We have agents posing as experts trying to get expert advice.

 

[James]

Nope, you aren't. But you lose access to the cash prior to 59.5 (except in a few circumstances). And with mutual funds you have no guarenteed floor. You can (and will) lose money if you invest in the stock market. You just hope you don't lose money right before you need it in retirement.

Self completion...


"But long term the stock market has proven ...blah blah blah blah." Tell that to Enron employees and some of their cohorts.

Listen, these posters are acting as usual, they come with no real issues only with twisted views of life and people.

Look at this;

Typical scenario:

Client can afford to spend say, $50 per month...

Option 1 $200,000 DB term comp 50%

Option 2 $ 50,000 DB whole comp 75%

Which do you suppose the agent pushes? I hold the insurance companies responsible by the way they incent the comp.

This from someone that claims to be an expert or ex warrior of the Life Wars? Life Wars, wow did they use real bullets back in the life wars? From the real war, if I sell term I would make $55 and if I sell WL I would make around 75% or around $40. Of course I'm not an ex warrior of the life wars so what do I know?

 

[James]

Bet you any amount of money I line up 100 life agents and ask all of 'em all the ways you can withdraw from an IRA and 2 get it right.

"Hi, I'm a life insurance agent. We gonna talk about and compare investments. Now, I really don't know anything about other investments but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night."

But I'm not just gonna bust on life agents James. I could line up 100 health agents and ask 'em 5 questions about how HSAs work. 98 would crap out.

My point? We have agents posing as experts trying to get expert advice.

That is all fine and dandy, yet you have not address a real issue yet, so no harm no foul. Once again, invest in what you want, my mantra doesn't change, wealth creation is not about return but, control. I really don't see what 401k, IRA or the Roth has to do with what I attempted to do here?

Let us face the facts though, there is some here that will not allow a discussion if they disagree, they will do the "Drive By" slam and then act whollier then thou, when called on it.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

You are correct - if people have differing views it just degenerates into a catfight where no one listens to the other.

I see many places for perm life in a portfolio and you are a rare exception since you're very knowledgeable about many products and investment vehicles.

My only point is this; anyone can a life license on Monday, appointed in a week and boom...start selling. Where would the typical life agent get any kind of training on the myriad of investment vehicles? Heck...they're not even trained on their own products unless with a captive outfit.

My other point is I hate generalizations - as do you. You hate "never buy perm" statement and I hate "look at Enron as a reason to not invest in the market."

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

Listen, these posters are acting as usual, they come with no real issues only with twisted views of life and people.
This from someone that claims to be an expert or ex warrior of the Life Wars? Life Wars, wow did they use real bullets back in the life wars? From the real war, if I sell term I would make $55 and if I sell WL I would make around 75% or around $40. Of course I'm not an ex warrior of the life wars so what do I know?

James, I have forgotten more about life insurance than you'll ever know...
How many parts of CLU have you completed? Do you want me to post my transcript from the American College?

While you're posting about circulating brochures from those second-rate, low-budget companies you work with, my life resume includes;

Prudential - learned life from ground-up, doing debit insurance
Guardian - business owner/professional clientele
Phoenix - two years as a life wholesaler in the high net worth market

How 'bout you? Life of Georgia? Noticed in a earlier thread, didn't bother to tell us how many lives you write...just that your average commission is "right around $2,000 per client".

Lastly your abacus needs a tune-up - in the example, you make $450 fyc on the whole life case, and $300 on the term...

 

[James]

You are correct - if people have differing views it just degenerates into a catfight where no one listens to the other.

I see many places for perm life in a portfolio and you are a rare exception since you're very knowledgeable about many products and investment vehicles.

My only point is this; anyone can a life license on Monday, appointed in a week and boom...start selling. Where would the typical life agent get any kind of training on the myriad of investment vehicles? Heck...they're not even trained on their own products unless with a captive outfit.

My other point is I hate generalizations - as do you. You hate "never buy perm" statement and I hate "look at Enron as a reason to not invest in the market."

I'm not all that concern about it, insurance is a sales job and, it basically up to the person to sell what they want. Most agents esp. new ones are not out there selling WL, at least that is what I find. In fact, the new agent and many older agents have fallen for the proverbial trap of todays voodoo economics, that you can create enough return to overcome bad behaviour. You can not, it simply is not there, either you face the issue of bad behaviour or sell term and move on.

Let me say this, either you can address the 2% people are saving or look at the 34% being lost in interest of lifestyle, it would seem an obvious choice, but? It is harder to get people to address it but, it is possible which leads to the old stand by, "Sell Term and Convert". Yet most agents I find sell term and never able to convert, just too much like work?

 

[James]

James, I have forgotten more about life insurance than you'll ever know...

I guess the only thing I can say is, Wow.

 

[bobson]

My other point is I hate generalizations - as do you. You hate "never buy perm" statement and I hate "look at Enron as a reason to not invest in the market."

Some honesty in the discussion is warranted. I've never said do not invest in the market because of Enron. I said you can and will lose money in the stock market. And if you are really unlucky you will end up like an Enron employee. Look at at how well the average investor did over the last decade.

The stock market is not the key to retiring in comfort, not even close.

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

The stock market is not the key to retiring in comfort, not even close.

Suppose Warren Buffett would agree?