Faith is a wonderful thing when taken in the proper context . Faith is a just God , whoever he or she may be for you , is where it all starts . As they say " GOD does not make junk so believe in you" . New Year brings us opportunities to rewrite YOUR own story . Problem for many is that life gets busy and we tend to forget what is important . Your mental and physical health will determine where you will be tomorrow , next week , next year or your lifetime . Keep your vision in front of you every day and it will be like a beacon in a dark night . We read stories about people who have overcome obstacles and overcome great odds in life . Make your life special by focusing on TODAY and then every other day after that . I wish you a Happy New Year and may your VISION take you to places you may have at one time thought to be just a wish !
I was just contacted by a client that I have been trying for over 10 years to complete a full Estate Plan in early January . Where does one start ? Take inventory of all assets / liabilities , investment vehicles , insurance contract , complete a questionnaire with me designed to ask questions to bring clarity and build a advisory team around my client . Who is part of that advisory team besides our firm ? Existing legal and accounting professionals , bring in other advisor's when necessary like Ken Andrews/Ron Prehogan from Equitas Consultants to deal with inter family issues and numerous other resources developed over my last 29 years in the business . We are what you would refer as a quarter back of many a Estate Planning projects as well as Business Planning sessions . Why ? Experience of working with individuals from which some are known here as well as internationally . I thank all my clients that allowed me to be part of their life and trusted me to always keep their best interest at heart .
You may have heard about this product but have you looked at what it can do for you ? So you say you can not afford it . Really . The accurate statement may be that you can not afford not to have it . In order to get this product you have to be in good health . The product pays if you contract any of the 22 conditions where heart attack , cancer and stroke are most common conditions where payout occurs . How do you get paid ? 30 days survival after being diagnosed and or a occurrence of a event . There is a 90 day moratorium on payout for cancer only after date of your policy has been placed with the insurer . This policy is valuable while you are building your wealth and throughout retirement . Policy should be designed to meet your specific needs and to meet your budget . You need to examine contracts carefully and chose the ones whose contractual definitions meet your needs . We represent over 10 leading insurers and we have chosen the ones we feel provide exceptional value with reasonable premiums . Often , if we feel there will be challenges posed due to clients health status we will present the file to over 3 insurers and surprisingly we sometimes get three different offers on same client !
I am a individual that struggles to keep working out on a regular basis . I love working out however my schedule is packed with THINGS . Often I work out at 6 am or earlier to make sure I get a work out . When I work out I do it for mental as well as physical well being . Having a personal trainer at Free Form Fitness was a great motivator to get me back in the game . Another fabulous place is Bariatric Mrdical Institute . These places provide their clients with more then just learning how to exercise . I once read this statement " When we are young we spend all our time making money and when we are older we spend our money to regain our health ".
I received a email from a client on Friday asking me why premium quoted by me for his brothers life insurance policy owned by his corporation was higher then that which his brother received from his Cooperators agent . This client knows we are a broker so he was surprised that one of our other 10 companies we represent could not provide lower premiums . After asking the client what was the quote , I was told that he was quoted PREFERRED rates , We always quote people regular rates and when they qualify AFTER ALL MEDICALS ARE RECEIVED AND ACCEPTED TO QUALIFY for this PREFERRED rate the insurer gives then that lower rate. Client assured me his brother is in " Excellent" health and he would qualify . My executive assistant Catherine sent the client PREFERRED rates from our insurers and all of them beat his brother's quoted PREFERRED rate by 20 percent .Some insurance SALES people play this SMOKE AND MIRRORS game making the client believe they will always qualify for Preferred rates when only about 40 percent of applicants ACTUALLY qualify for lower Preferred rates . To qualify for these PREFERRED rates you need to have good health history , no lifestyle issues like car racing and your direct family have to to be in good health ( parents and siblings ) . Since we never know how any one of our chosen insurers will look at client we would present our clients as well as potential clients with regular stated rates .
Why should you do more then just purchase a life , disability , critical illness and long term care policy ? The big picture planning is the only way . I have seen parents leave their teenagers as beneficiaries on life policies and after short conversation we discover they either have now will or it is ridiculously out dated . Do you have a power of attorney ? Is your Shareholder drawn up and does it meet your needs ? Insurance industry has many qualified adviser's who are able to assist you in the estate planning process to make sure you have no gaping holes in your insurance as well as estate planning . Look at designations your insurance adviser has and they will tell you if they are qualified beyond being a SALES PERSON of a product : CA, LLB, CLU,RHU ,TEP ,CFP to name a few designations . In my last 29 years of being part of this great industry I have seen huge progress in education standards of people who are true professionals . To get the best bang for your busk , work with qualified adviser's as it provides you with exceptional value .
I know that going to funerals is a tough event to handle because someone's life ended and there are those left behind who are hurting . What if we were to look at positives and learn from them ? I learned a few things at a funeral I attended this weekend . One was a comment made about the deceased in a eulogy " he lived life on his own terms " and " he made others have fun while with them " . Sometimes people say it is important to write your obituary while you are alive . What would be your obituary ? I am thinking about what would my children , my friends and business associates say about me . Make it a great life while your are able to !
So many times I see businesses trying to do things the way they have always done things . Saying I am making money so why should I change is like fool's gold . We need to always look at efficiency and what is it our clients need . We are going through a branding exercise which will have us be more efficient in numerous areas . Our clients were interviewed , our staff and all partners . Legislators are sometimes able to turn our world upside down with changes they implement in our respective businesses . As much as I like things to be stable in business , I continue to work towards improving myself , my team and my company . Sometimes going outside our industry we can learn lessons to help us improve our organizations . I am thankful for being close to many of our clients that let me into their world and learn lessons which help our firm be better .
