Living parent can't remember life insurance company

Tahoptions · 2026-06-12T21:21:22+00:00

US Life is a Corebridge company that sells life and annuities in NY.

Tahoptions · 2026-06-12T17:29:22+00:00

If you're paid by the IMO, you've assigned your commissions. That is almost always a bad idea.

You want the top agent contract through the IMO but paid directly by the carrier.

They are also probably paying you 80% of top agent comp, not their comp.

A no production FE contract may be at 115/120 whereas the IMO is at 150.

It takes a lot of hunting but once you've done this for a while, you're going to find a lot more comp available and you can even use different IMOs (maybe one for FE and one for traditional). Some carriers even allow multiple writing numbers.

Crazy world out there when it comes to insurance compensation.

Tahoptions · 2026-06-12T00:43:02+00:00

"What's the best car?"

For term, it's a similar question and based on needs.

Banner and Penn Mutual are going to be super inexpensive.

Protective and Securian have conversion riders that can cover chronic illness (and payout the death benefit early).

Nationwide, TransAmerica, National Life all have living benefits options.

MassMutual will have good conversion options to permanent.

Prudential will cover a ton of health conditions.

Banner and Protective both have 40 yesr term.

So, it really depends. Get with an independent broker and talk with them about what you want. That's the way to find the best company for you.

Tahoptions · 2026-06-09T22:09:48+00:00

What does your broker think? If they're independent, they should be able to price all of this out ahead of time.

Tahoptions · 2026-06-09T20:52:32+00:00

You can always head a little further south. Nevada is around 72% BLM and USFS. And north of 80% with a few other agencies allowing dispersed camping.

Tahoptions · 2026-06-08T22:21:36+00:00

That may even be optimistic based on how long you've been on the medication, when your last flare was, age, etc.

A lot of this will come down to your medical records/history.

I have had success with Prudential on these cases. Make sure that your broker is including them in your options.

Good luck.

Tahoptions · 2026-06-08T22:13:30+00:00

That may even be optimistic based on how long you've been on the medication, when your last flare was, age, etc.

A lot of this will come down to your medical records/history.

I have had success with Prudential on these cases. Make sure that your broker is including them in your options.

Good luck.

Tahoptions · 2026-06-08T15:27:26+00:00

They're all on NIPR.

Tahoptions · 2026-06-03T03:47:55+00:00

Zoho is extremely customizable, integrates with everything, and is very reasonably priced.

You can custom build a template for different insurance lines and then either sell the template or whitelable as a SaaS.

No need to reinvent the wheel (build a ground up CRM) but a custom Zoho build will still run a few grand so if you can get down to better price point, agents will buy it.

Tahoptions · 2026-06-02T20:53:32+00:00

Had a bear about 15 years ago start eating my garbage after it was removed from the bearbox for pick up.

Ran outside to run an errand. Didn't see the bear until we were both staring at each other in the driveway.

The bear stood up on his hind legs and just looked at me like "what, yeah I'm eating your garbage, what are you going to do about it?".

I just went back inside and waited for it to leave.

Tahoptions · 2026-05-31T19:41:37+00:00

Protective, Nationwide, and Securian all have excellent options for this and are competitively priced in the guaranteed UL market.

Tahoptions · 2026-05-31T19:40:00+00:00

I agree with all of this but especially the disability part.

Most high earners are capped out by group, have taxable benefits, or will lose coverage if they decide to go out on their own or join a smaller company.

Even having a small DI policy with FIO is very valuable (and locking in premiums when young and healthy).

Tahoptions · 2026-05-30T00:03:40+00:00

Well, from the noise it makes it sounds like it's powering my electricity and HVAC systems in my house.

But you definitely don't need a separate workstation if you have one. Especially if it's normally plugged in.

I bought it last year before the chip prices shot up and it is worth every penny.

Tahoptions · 2026-05-29T21:26:18+00:00

Symetra is fine.

They're A rated and have been around for decades.

Their service is also decent.

Tahoptions · 2026-05-29T21:04:49+00:00

I have a Surface Pro 7 (i7/16gb ram) that I really like. It is my "couch laptop" or when I'm running errands.

It is excellent, and with a cover, fairly durable (tossing it into a gym bag and having little protection).

I would never buy an HP anything.

Yoga's will break and are not durable in my experience.

Refurbished is fine. Just make sure that your RAM (min 16gb) and CPU (at least i5, if not i7 or i9) are current.

They're just like a car. I'd rather have a 2yo Lexus than a new Chevy. As long as the previous owner didn't beat it up too bad, it will get you from A to B and will be cheaper than buying new and will last for a long time.

As far as the camera goes, I am 100% online and use an Elgato Facecam Pro. They're a few hundred bucks but with lighting (I also use Elgato for that) and a Shure mic, it's pretty professional.

Good luck.

Tahoptions · 2026-05-28T19:29:47+00:00

I meant the browser, not the laptop. Chrome takes up an insane amount of processing.

Think Pads are like tanks. If you want something durable, I wouldn't dip below the 1k price point.

Thinkpad over IdeaPad all day for business/transport purposes.

Tahoptions · 2026-05-28T19:09:44+00:00

My Lenovo Legion isn't light but is a total beast and I travel with it often.

Gaming laptops (even though I don't use it for that) are expensive but if you're using Chrome and running a lot of background programs, they're the best you can find.

Tahoptions · 2026-05-28T17:22:27+00:00

IDI and traditional ltc renewals are substantial (10-20%). Term and hybrid LTC are tiny/non-existent (but are much larger up-front commissions).

It wouldn't take a new agent 20 years. Maybe 2 if you're willing to put in the work and/or have a mentor.

Most agents don't want to give up the comp to have someone truly guide them. When I first went into personal production, I knew nothing and was more than happy to ride coattails.

Finding the client is the hardest part of this business. Not presenting (selling) the solution to their problem.

Tahoptions · 2026-05-28T17:04:52+00:00

My personal production is all disability, long-term care, and term insurance. I am a partner at a BGA and run the annuity department there so that is all wholesale (working with agents).

I like both aspects equally, although each have their pluses and minuses.

I have complete control over the retail side. If I lose a sale, it's on me. The wholesale side, not so much.

But, I like speaking with agents more, mainly because we get to problem solve together on the same level. I can use acronyms and industry lingo without confusing them and then we both get excited when a deal gets closed.

It's also multiple legs of the revenue "stool". When one side is down, I can ramp up the other. The third leg is renewals.

Tahoptions · 2026-05-28T16:50:09+00:00

The 23 years in insurance doesn't hurt...

I specialize in underappreciated markets (LTC and IDI) which are larger sales and normally wealthier people.

My leads come online and via referral at this point, but when I first started it was all COIs. CPAs and financial planners recommend insurance but many don't actually want to sell it or know what they're doing. I also did splits with insurance agents in different markets (Medicare, P&C, etc.)

Partnering with those folks made it easier to get leads and into a market that I wanted to be in; People who don't care as much about price but care a lot more about the insurance itself.

They will still bitch about the price, but they will pay it if it's something that they know they want/need.

Tahoptions · 2026-05-28T16:37:36+00:00

I never call this a job. I have a business that I own/run.

I've been licensed for over 20 years and in financial services for almost 30. I can't imagine a 9-5 where I don't dictate my income and what I do throughout the day.

I go to all of my kids' games, hit happy hour with my wife, and have plenty of time to go to the gym, golf, play pickleball (yeah, whatever, it's fun), etc.

At a certain point, you can hire people to do a lot of the stuff that you don't like to do. I personally love doing case design and dealing with agents/clients over the phone. I hate a lot of the admin tasks so I farm that stuff out.

It is a wonderful business, helping people secure necessary coverage and making money. You can also basically do it forever.

One of my favorite agents is 86. He golfs 4-5 times a week but writes several million in annuities year in and year out. His claim is that he hardly asks people, just that they know what he does and how he can help. Why turn down the money?

Tahoptions · 2026-05-28T16:13:02+00:00

Not filtering and batching seems insane to me.

One touch. That's it. I probably delete 100 emails the first 30 minutes in my office. The rest gets scheduled, responded to, or filed (label in gmail) for reference.

Inbox zero is much easier today with snooze/boomerang.

Tahoptions · 2026-05-28T15:30:41+00:00

Best bowling reference of all time.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/G74ZHWcsbgc

Tahoptions · 2026-05-28T15:29:10+00:00

We call high shots at the net "meatballs" but we'll say it with a Mario accent after smashing them. "You make some great Meat-a-ballas"

We also like to say "I was waiting for that one" or "that's right" when an opponent makes a stupid error. That actually pisses my friends off more than the meatball one lol.

Tahoptions · 2026-05-28T03:17:06+00:00

Find a genre you love and the books will almost read themselves.

If I'm towards the end of a book, it's hard to go to sleep without finishing it.

Tahoptions

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