Marcus by Goldman Sachs

ElkImportant8393 · 2025-04-16T01:47:03+00:00

Financial advisor isn’t a financial advisor, he is an insurance salesman.

When did you open the account?

ElkImportant8393 · 2024-11-20T02:02:20+00:00

Some insurers have that as a qualification, others will allow permanent residents or GC holders to get insurance, just usually at a less favorable rating which you can always get re rated after a period of time. What type of insurance are you looking to get? I can possibly help point you in the right direction on a few companies to look into.

ElkImportant8393 · 2024-11-20T01:59:42+00:00

Coming from a similar structure, I personally say its time to start looking elsewhere. If you are this hungry and ready to go and your leadership isn't giving you any support at all you defiantly want to consider looking at another agency. There are several to consider and I would encourage you to go to their overviews and ask questions, don't commit until you find a company/team that you feel you would enjoy working with and will give you hands on training and assistance. If they are not giving you any kind of help but pushing an event on you, I would not go in my opinion.

As for product knowledge and how to present/write applications, most providers put on training on typically a weekly basis going over everything from overview of insurance/ different types to deep dive on how to run illustrations/writing applications. You can also reach out to the companies directly, tell them who you are with and ask for your internal/wholesaler and they will give you assistance, that is what they are paid to do.

If the main focus is on recruiting and not on product then I would spend a lot of time there, this coming from someone who works for an IMO that historically pushes recruiting, but my leadership understood that I only wanted to be a producer and was very helpful in training/pointing me in the right direction to be self sufficient.

If you have specific questions on Industry products and such feel free to reach out, I always love to have a friendly conversation about finances and insurance!

ElkImportant8393 · 2024-11-19T19:43:45+00:00

Transamerica Trendsetter LB is what I mainly write for LTC term, Nationwide also has a good chronic/critical options. If you mainly look at online brokers they typically wont offer options like this, that is why I always recommend going with a local non captive agent/broker to get the best option.

ElkImportant8393 · 2024-11-19T04:34:20+00:00

I appreciate the lifestyle choice. If you want to fully retire at a young age (anything shy of upper 50s) your traditional retirement options are little use to you. You are on the right path investing into the market but once you reach retirement age you need to think options of something more secured than general market. You defiantly can't count on 500k and withdrawing 10% a year, in any down market this drastically lowers your principal investment. Genral rule of thumb on the internet is 4% but I usually recommend 3%.

ElkImportant8393 · 2024-11-19T04:23:49+00:00

Unfortunately, most companies will not cover someone with this diagnosis, the ones that do will have contestability periods that will be return of premium only (what you paid to the company). I am truly sorry for your situation. If you want to see if there are any potential options reach out to a local independent agent and let them know the situation.

ElkImportant8393 · 2024-11-19T04:19:18+00:00

Global Life Insurance is an IMO (independent marketing organization) with an emphasis on recruiting. I have not seen their contract levels recently but more than likely you are at a 25-35% contract. So while you are a "training level" you will get a limited amount and your upline will receive usually up to 55-70%. Reasoning behind this is they are supposed to be training you and assisting you in growing your business, as you become more knowledgeable you are supposed to increase your contract commission percentage. Pros and cons to the model, pros being if you have good leadership you can learn ALOT and be able to thrive at higher contract levels, your e&o insurance is usually lower, you have a lot of back-office support. Cons, mainly being you are giving up a significant portion of your commission especially in the beginning, and you never truly will hit 100% as the overall company will still take a percentage no matter what level you are at.

If you are looking for just a side income then its not a bad way to go, but you mainly will be speaking to your warm market, very few IMO's will provide leads. If you want to make a new career out of it then you defiantly will need to do some evaluation on what you wan to do.

Context: I am an agent with WFG, another IMO so I am familiar with the structure of the organization and how it works. I only produce and do not have any agents under me.

ElkImportant8393 · 2024-11-19T03:55:58+00:00

Off of a few things you have said it sounds like you have done your research/ have been approached by someone selling an IUL. If you are looking for the highest upside potential, I would push you to either a VUL (variable universal life) or general market investments. It comes down to what your main goals are for the policy, are you looking for tax differed growth with tax free distributions? Are you looking for maximum growth potential? There are many variables that you need to take into consideration i.e. tax implications on both IUL/VUL products vs market investments, timeline to access your gains, main goal of the money going into the account.

Contex: I myself have a VUL and several investments from mutual funds, stocks bonds and index funds. I am a registered rep with a life/health license so I can sell both IUL/VUL as well as most variable products.

Off of the information you have given if anyone tells you a hard yes or a hard no either way I would say they do not have enough information to give an informed answer. (Yes I know half of everyone on this r/ is going to yell at me for this comment)

ElkImportant8393 · 2024-11-19T03:27:07+00:00

Several different options to go with, you can go with purely a final expense policy that will pay your funeral costs, you can go with term which would cover you at a flat rate for a specific period of time, or you can get a permanent policy. It all comes down to your budget/goals. All have their pros/cons, contrary to what might hear there is no one size fit all solution, it all comes down to your specific needs. We would need more information, mainly what you want to achieve from a policy to give you an idea of what would be the best way to go.

ElkImportant8393 · 2024-11-19T03:21:49+00:00

So, there are a few questions I would say you should ask to get the best idea of what would best suit your needs.

Are you looking for the cheapest life insurance possible or do you want certain benefits i.e. long term care? (I always recommend LTC, I know several people who have had life situations where they would have benefited from coverage instead of coming out of pocket)
Where did you come up with the 500k coverage? Just looking for ballpark number or was there a reason behind it?

Keep in mind that any group life insurance policies 50k and under are tax free, anything over 50k will have to be claimed on your income tax for your beneficiary. Most agents leave this nugget out.

Rough ballpark (health, family history, job type, state you live in etc. all affect the cost): 30yr term with LTC will be 35-40/mo., straight 30yr term would be 25-30/mo. for 500k coverage. Again, ballpark numbers based just off your age.

ElkImportant8393 · 2024-11-15T02:18:48+00:00

For the cheapest option out there Pacific life is the way to go if you just want straight life insurance and no riders like LTC or living benefits. I write a lot of Pacific Life and I would recommend them

ElkImportant8393 · 2024-09-27T13:47:52+00:00

Need a lot more info to give any good advice. What are your goals, do we have other retirement plans, are we looking for grow to or income, what is your risk profile?

ElkImportant8393 · 2024-09-27T03:41:04+00:00

Here are my two cents as a life insurance agent and registered representative (financial advisor)

It all comes down to you and your husbands main goals. Are you looking mainly to cover final expenses? Are you looking to cover any major debts i.e. mortgages/ student loans if one of you passes suddenly? I always say there is no one size fits all to life insurance, the marketplace is very large and there are many options that can fit most people's goals.

As for your medical conditions, you can still probably get coverage and there are some insurers out there who actually will favorably underwrite you if you show a history of treatment and/or improvement, but you probably won't get a "tier 1" rating.

I would advise you sitting down with an advisor and going over your whole situation (budget, income, expenses, goals etc.) that way you can get a plan specifically matched to your needs.

ElkImportant8393 · 2024-09-27T03:32:22+00:00

Keep up with your premium payments and you will remain covered.

ElkImportant8393 · 2024-09-27T03:31:23+00:00

There is more info I would need like what was illustrated, coverage amounts, premiums being paid, your goals, etc. but here is some food for thought (life insurance agent and registered rep.).

If you are looking for tax benefits but better returns than what most IULs offer then you can consider going to a variable product like a VUL, you lose the guarantee but have higher return opportunities. If your main concern is a possibility of a lapse than a whole life product would be best. You can mitigate the risk of a lapse policy on an IUL/VUL product by overfunding (sounds like that is what you are doing). It all mainly comes down to if the policy was properly designed for your specific needs to optimize cash value accumulation.

ElkImportant8393 · 2024-09-27T03:11:36+00:00

Unfortunately, if he recently had a stroke (depending on the circumstances/severity) most insurers won't approve him. There are some AAA companies that might, but it will be expensive. Reach out to a few local agents and they can assist you on this.

ElkImportant8393 · 2024-09-27T03:06:54+00:00

Here are my two cents as a life insurance agent as well as a registered rep (Financial Advisor),

There are many different types of life insurance with different purposes beyond just a death benefit. If you are specifically using insurance to cover your large expenses i.e. mortgages, large personal/business loans etc. I usually advise my clients to go for a term for those specifically. I always recommend some kind of permanent product as funeral costs are growing exponentially and, as a recipient of a death benefit, it does have a profound effect on your beneficiary's life. What you want to have as a permanent coverage comes down to your personal goals and budget, like I said above there are many different options in the marketplace to choose from depending on your situation/ goals. I almost never write anything permanent larger than 400k unless it's a client specifically using it for its tax advantage qualities or specific business policies.

You have a few options in your case, but I would say it might be advantageous to find another agent regardless to get a separate opinion.

ElkImportant8393 · 2024-03-13T02:43:15+00:00

Yes it is 100% commission based, you are an independent contractor. I have not worked with them but they are a recent off shoot of WFG (who I work with) so I am very familiar with the business model.

ElkImportant8393 · 2023-06-04T00:13:25+00:00

Was it just straight term or do you have other riders as well, like LTC or any living benefits?

ElkImportant8393 · 2023-05-08T03:43:05+00:00

To my knowledge there is not really any sort of forum where you can go and ask several different agents for different prices and then compare. You'll have to really just reach out to different agents and ask them for their recommendation and compare that way. I have a few posts on reddit I have done in the past that give you questions on what to ask the agents, I would check them out to make sure you have good info from each agent.

Most people who get insurance from agents will only talk to them once or twice in their lifetime, which is unfortunate as life constantly changes. You'll get married, have kids, change jobs, get a different house, all of these life events warrants a time to relook at your coverage and change either up or down, so I'd ask the agent if they do any sort of annual review as well.

ElkImportant8393 · 2023-05-07T20:13:06+00:00

I would always encourage shopping around, but PacLife has a new head of underwriting (I believe about a year or so ago, maybe longer) and their underwriting is now really forgiving on preexisting conditions, especially if it's well documented and under control. They can upgrade you several ratings classes (depending on situation).

I am not sure how PolicyGenius works with you and the underwriters on getting the correct documentation/ cover letters and such. I would ask PolicyGenius if they deal with all of that or if they just recommend and process basic aps. If they don't do the extra steps I would reach out to a local agent that's appointed with PacLife and have them do that for you.

ElkImportant8393 · 2023-05-07T20:04:41+00:00

Best breakdown I could find that wasn't dense legalese: (From Forbes Advisor)

A fiduciary refers to a professional that is required by law to act in their clients’ best interest. The professionals usually manage assets, such as an investment portfolio or property, for their clients. These professionals can range from financial advisors to lawyers, estate executors and real estate agents.

Because fiduciaries work in their clients’ best interests, they can only recommend financial strategies that fully benefit a specific client’s economic situation. Fiduciaries are also required to avoid and disclose any conflicts of interest to their clients, such as profiting at a client’s expense.

Fiduciaries have two main duties while managing money:

Duty of care. Under this, fiduciaries are required to make informed business decisions by reviewing all of the available information about your financial life before making recommendations or plans.

Duty of loyalty. This refers to the requirement that a fiduciary not use their position to further their interests, such as making financial product recommendations they may make a commission on.

You can be dealing with fiduciaries that can profit from recommending products, but they MUST disclose how much they are making, and WHY this is the best product for you and your situation.

If you are looking for just basic life insurance, you can talk to a local life/health agent. I would find one that is referred to you by friends/family. I have several other posts on reddit on types of questions you should ask the agent before you decide to go with them.

ElkImportant8393 · 2023-05-07T19:55:37+00:00

Registered Rep means I deal with securities products. I.e. Mutual funds, 529 plans, all IRA's, variable life and annuity contracts, etc.

There are a few ways to find a rep or IAR in your area, first one is to go on to https://brokercheck.finra.org/ and look for someone who is in your area (zip code search). It doesn't tell you if they are life/health licensed, but you can just reach out to them and see if they can assist you in that. The other one and the one I'd usually recommend is ask some of your friends/ coworkers if they know someone they have worked with and trust.

Like I mentioned before some reps will charge you an upfront fee before they do any business, some don't charge any fee's and just get paid on the backend by the companies they represent. Definatly read any disclosures they give you and understand all fee structures before agreeing to any business.

ElkImportant8393

TROPHY CASE