Agent Support Group Published Articles

BROKER  WORLD  MAGAZINE GARY Mobile Apps BLEETSTEIN For Advisors has more than 30 years of experi- ence in the BGAmarketplace and When I first started in the life insurance today we have a combination of fax, pho- is a principal of Agent Support business, my manager handed me tocopy and printer all in one device! Group—a multi-office LifeMark a yellow rate book that listed whole life   Once technology caught on, carriers Partner agency located in New and term premiums by age, one—maybe needed to upgrade to more sophisticated York and New Jersey. He is a past two—underwriting classifications, and cash policy service, marketing and accounting board member of NAILBA, and values for year 20 and age 65. processing methods which were supposed presently co-chair of AALU’s   “This,” he said, “is your tool to success, to make our jobs not only easier but faster. brokerage task force, a member and it will give you all the information you And technology did make our lives easier of the Forum 400, and New York need.” After a few weeks of basic training, in some areas—but more difficult in others. City Life Underwriters. I would sit in a room with 25 other young   Today clients expect faster and better   Bleetstein can be reached at recruits and call prospects from lists that service—they do not want to wait for the Agent Support Group, 99 Park were provided by the company. Sounds mail, they want everything yesterday via Avenue, Suite 100, New York, a lot like Glengarry Glen Ross, doesn’t it! fax, email or overnight delivery. NY 10016. Telephone: 212-292-   A few years later, in the late 1970s, my   As an advisor and life insurance agent, 5765. Email: gary@asglife. first interaction with technology in the busi- the question you need to be asking your- com. ness was life illustrations from the home self is: How will new technology enhance my office—a process that took about three days business? after I completed and submitted a two-page   Currently, many brokerage agencies information sheet with carbon paper. offer websites; down-loadable forms; term   Looking back, I am amazed that I was quote engines; and access to case status, able to make a living! As the years pro- underwriting and product information. But gressed, so did technology. It quickly will sitting in your office with all these tools became increasingly important to clients, help your business? No! You still have to carriers and all of us out on the street selling get out for a face-to-face consultation with life insurance. your clients.   Every segment of our lives has been   Today there is the E-App, E-Delivery, affected by technology; we started with E-Signature, Check 21 processing and many eight-track players and progressed through other items that begin with an E. With these audio cassettes, CDs and DVDs to video applications come several questions: Will a streaming. We lived through the Lanier direct link to an internet-based application word processor and then computers really help build my business, or will it only arrived—remember the AS400 and the confuse my clients? Will delivery of a policy Commodore 64. When the first box phones via PDF cause me more or less work, and came out, we all felt like we were in an epi- how will my clients like it? Will I be able to sode of “Get Smart” or “James Bond.” Some submit a $20 million application over the in the industry are too young to remember internet when I am not even with my client? the days before photocopy machines, but   The answer to all of these questions Reprinted from BROKER WORLD November 2013    www.brokerworldmag.com Used with permission from Insurance Publications                        Subscriptions $6/yr. 1-800-762-3387

BROKER  WORLD  MAGAZINE should be: Yes, technology and a mobile app a communication device that has enough make this new technology work for me to can enhance your practice. information, but not too much. It needs to enhance my business?   Here’s how: Let’s say that you have just be easy to use, easy to navigate, and easy for   •  Does my staff know enough about the finished a round of golf with some friends. a BGA providing the app to their advisors new technology, and can they adapt to it? At cocktail time, one of them asks you: to educate them in how to use it.   •  Will using a BGA mobile app help me “How much do you think $10 million of make more sales and communicate better term insurance would cost me with my Conclusion and Summary with my BGA and clients? health conditions?” With your iPhone and   Yes, technology is moving faster than   The steps to take in order to achieve mobile app you can quickly give him a all of us and we need to keep up with it as the goal of enhancing your practice with simple answer and make the sale! much as we possibly can, while at the same technology are:   Communication between advisors, time continuing to write business, contain   •  Become educated in technology and BGAs, clients and carriers has become cost, retain relationships and maintain the terminology used in the new world. one of the most important aspects of our everything that goes with being an advocate   •  Read as much as you can about new business, and the introduction of the for life insurance clients. hardware, software and technology for smartphone and tablets has enabled us   Here are my recommendations, and I your practice in general. to keep in touch anytime and anywhere. know that if you follow these practices you   •  Leverage your knowledge about tech- Enhancing this level of communication will be even more successful in your prac- nology with your staff and your clients. available to us today is access to a user- tice, enhance your relationships and build   •  Work with a BGA that is a leader in friendly mobile app specifically built for some new, vitally important relationships. technology—to not only enhance your time the purpose of education, communication,   The questions to ask about technology management, but also to enhance your and providing important information are: bottom line and make more sales. to you, the advisor, in order to provide   •  Am I working with a BGA who can   Working with a BGA who can provide enough information so that a sale can help me in the area of technology and use you with leading technology—which be made. of a mobile app? needs to include a mobile app—will be   The most important feature of an advi-   •  Do I know enough about technology? a game changer for you and your entire sor-friendly life insurance app is that it is   •  Do I have the tools necessary to ­organization.  Reprinted from BROKER WORLD November 2013    www.brokerworldmag.com Used with permission from Insurance Publications                        Subscriptions $6/yr. 1-800-762-3387







LIFE Foreign Nationals an Untapped High-Net-Worth Market H igh-net-worth immigrants most important question is how will advisors 40% of Time Warner Center’s be educated about this market. residents are students at may be a potential market that top colleges in New York. Let’s take a deeper look at the foreign THESE STUDENTS ARE you haven’t considered. Some national market and examine some of the NON-U.S. CITIZENS. drivers in this space, which include: information on what drives this The Time Warner Center as viewed from » Changing demographics. Central Park West. emerging market and details » The U.S. remains No. 1 in attractiveness » A solution for significant tax issues that you must consider in obtaining to foreign investors. foreign nationals must address. coverage for foreign nationals. » The globalization of many parts of the » The foreign nationals’ quest to leave world. their family a legacy. By Gary Bleetstein » Increased property and business owner- Here are a few important things to consider Do you know that the largest col- ship by foreign nationals in the U.S. when proposing life insurance as a solution for lege undergraduate dormitory in a foreign national’s financial protection needs: the U.S. is in New York City? The » Increased educational opportunities for address is 25 Columbus Circle, the Time foreign nationals in the U.S. » Whether the prospect is classified as a res- Warner Center. Over 40 percent of the ident alien or a non-resident alien. A resident building’s residents are students at Colum- alien is a non-U.S. citizen with a permanent bia University, New York University, Bar- home in the U.S. A resident alien is subject nard College, Hunter College and several to federal estate and gift taxes on worldwide top-tier medical schools in New York City. assets. A non-resident alien is a non-U.S. cit- What is more interesting is the fact that izen who resides outside the U.S. Only the these students are non-U.S. citizens who U.S. assets of a non-resident alien are subject are residing in luxury units that cost their to federal estate and gift taxes. parents several million dollars apiece. Furthermore, several national publica- tions have described American cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and Dallas as “the New Beijing,” “the New Tehran,” “Mexico City North” and so forth. Do you see a theme emerging here? According to the Lusk Center at the Uni- versity of Southern California, the following metropolitan areas are the growth cities of the U.S. for new high-net-worth immi- grants: Miami, Denver, Colorado Springs, Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta. And the list doesn’t stop there. Tuscaloosa, Ala., has a 3-million-square-foot Mercedes-Benz assembly plant, employing hundreds if not thousands of foreign nationals. As this trend continues, the question is not whether these foreign nationals need life insurance. The questions instead are who will be qualified to sell and service these policies, and where will they learn about this new and rewarding marketplace? Now that we have already established the size of the market as well as its growth poten- tial, exactly who are the potential prospects, how do we identify them and which carriers are selling products for these individuals? The 34 InsuranceNewsNet Magazine » September 2014

LIFE FOREIGN NATIONALS AN UNTAPPED HIGH-NET-WORTH MARKET » Whether the prospect has a NEXUS card for frequent travelers CASE NO. 2: A couple from Hong Kong owns a high-end apart- to the U.S. ment in New York City. Their daughter lives there and is a grad- uate student at Columbia University. The couple also owns a » How often the prospect travels to the U.S. and for what reasons. business in the U.S. worth $15 million. Solution: A Delaware limited liability corporation bought a $25 million universal life policy on the » Whether the foreign national is married to a U.S. citizen. husband, who is 59 years old. The $60,000 Question CASE NO. 3: A 55-year-old citizen of Singapore and resident of Dubai has a $10 million account that he intends to pass to his chil- This may be one of the most crucial parts of the discussion with your dren at a later date. He wants to be sure the money is guaranteed prospect. Knowing the rules will make the difference in whether your somehow. The solution: a $15 million life insurance policy. His discussion results in a sale or turns into just another appointment. children will receive their inheritance, and, if needed, the cash val- ue of the policy may be accessed via withdrawals or loans. A non-resident alien who owns real property in the U.S. will be ex- posed to federal estate and gift taxes. If the property is owned directly Although there is tremendous opportunity in this market, there by a U.S. corporation, a U.S. partnership or a foreign partnership, the are still a few things that the advisor must understand. maximum amount one may shelter from federal tax is $60,000. Bot- tom line: The estate tax rate applicable to the value of the property in » The prospects are there, but you must find them. Certified excess of $60,000 is 40 percent, and that comes due nine months after public accountants, attorneys, real estate agents and business asso- the non-resident alien’s death. In other words, the lifetime estate tax ciates are all good centers of influence to help you find them. exemption for a non-resident alien is equal to approximately $13,000. » The solutions may sound simple, but they are really not. A Few Case Studies There are many “moving parts” to this market, including the prod- uct availability, the status of the prospect, the country where the CASE NO. 1: A 60-year-old Israeli citizen and resident of Tel Aviv prospect resides and the prospect’s marital status. owns several pieces of residential real estate in Florida worth $8 mil- lion. Solution: He purchased a $20 million guaranteed universal life contract at preferred nonsmoker rates with an A+ rated U.S. carrier. » Each carrier in this market has its own rules, underwriting reg- ulations and solicitation guidelines. For the most part, all solicita- tions, exams, and application and form signing must be done on U.S. soil and the client must have a NEXUS card identifying him as a pre- screened frequent traveler to the U.S. Insurable interest and financial justification also are very important elements in the life insurance sale. » Each carrier also views each individual country differently. Each carrier has its own set of rules and regulations as well as its own interpretation of the laws that govern the purchase of U.S. life insurance policies by citizens of other nations. As the foreign national market is emerging very quickly, it is import- ant that any advisor attempting to get into this market work with a bro- kerage general agency (BGA) that has extensive knowledge in the field of foreign nationals. In looking for a BGA to help you sell to this market, the questions you need to ask include whether the BGA has the ability to write a foreign national with several carriers, whether the BGA can obtain translated medical and prescription records, and whether the BGA has errors and omissions coverage for this line of business. Educating yourself about the opportunities available in serving new high-net-worth immigrants can help you serve a marketplace that you may not have considered previously. If you become familiar with the market, develop the right contacts, use best practices and, most of all, use a well-qualified BGA to help guide you through the process, you will be successful in serving foreign nationals. Gary Bleetstein is a partner and principal of Agent Sup- port Group located in New York and New Jersey. Gary may be contacted at [email protected]. 36 InsuranceNewsNet Magazine » September 2014

BROKER WORLD MAGAZINE SAM J. Look Out – Your KAUFMAN, Clients Are Not Walking Down The CEO, began his career in the life Yellow Brick Road insurance industry in 1968 after graduating from The University of Astorm is brewing and it is about to versus those projected originally, being can- Miami, and in 1973 founded Agent hit—with great force and intensity— nibalized and hence the policy terminating Support Group (then Agent Support your policyholders that have older current sooner than expected without substantial Services), a life insurance brokerage assumption universal life policies. The additional funding. agency. He built ASG into one of the magnitude of the destruction will be greater first true multi-company agencies in than even that witnessed by Dorothy and Why is this happening? The actual inter- New York. His focus on providing Toto and will need more than a wave of the est rates and mortality assumptions have value-added service as well as insisting Good Witch of the North’s wand to save. been poorer than those used in creating the that ASG become a leader in technology COIs originally projected. Replacement allowed the company to grow to become Got your attention now? Do not ask where has resulted in a significant proportion of a powerhouse and one of the largest you will be able seek protection, as there healthy policyholders moving to guaranteed independent life operations in the will be no shelter to be found as this storm universal life, leaving a pool of insureds with Northeast. ravages policyholders caught without any adverse mortality. This same thing has been warning. Even those policyholders and happening with older dividend paying poli- The pioneer who gave brokers their advisors who tried to prevent this devas- cies as recognized by the bifurcation of the first computerized sales illustrations tating event will be caught in its path as it dividends allocated to older policyholders (Kaufman was one of the first in New attacts unsuspecting policyholders. versus new. However, in current assump- York to even own a computer) has tion universal life policies the result of the now pioneered the ASG mobile app, It’s the increases in the cost of insur- increase in the COIs is more devastating. allowing life agents the ability to do ance—those non-guaranteed COIs that are business anywhere and access the latest internally deducted from the account values Companies are notifying policyholders, information in the palm of their hands. to cover the net amount at risk and provide but often not their advisors. General Agents Kaufman has played an important role in the total desired death benefit. Although and advisors are notified via a general product development and marketing and most advisors and policyholders were led announcement, but not told of the specific has lectured before the New York chapter to believe that COIs would be stable and the polices affected and a general idea of what of NAIFA and the Society of Financial reason for their indeterminate structure was the effect will be going forward. This Service Professionals. He is a member to benefit the cost structure while reducing leaves us with no alternative but to review of NAILBA and has won numerous reserve costs for the insurer, that myth is internal records and request re-projections industry and carrier awards, including about to end. based upon the current scheduled premium lifetime achievement recognition. outlay and the outlay now required to keep Many companies are looking at the COIs the policy in force to maturity. The poli- ASG, a Lifemark Partner Agency, is in their older current assumption blocks of cyholder receiving the notification that the a leading multi-company life insurance business and determining that these costs cost of insurance has been increased has no brokerage agency with operations in should be increased. Given the fact that way of interpreting the increase relative to New York, New Jersey and North most current assumption universal life poli- their policy. Carolina. They serve as a general agent cies are aged, the policyholders are older— for many of America’s strongest and with most being over age 65. The increase As a Brokerage General Agency we are most competitive insurance companies, in the COIs results in their cash value, now trying to be pro-active, but in many cases we offering a broad spectrum of products to being credited at minimum interest rates are working with companies that are no lon- suit many life, annuity, long term care and disability income needs. Kaufman can be reached at Agent Support Group, 99 Park Avenue, Suite 1910, New York, NY 10016. Telephone: 212-292-5760. Email: sam@asglife. com. Reprinted from BROKER WORLD January 2016    www.brokerworldmag.com Used with permission from Insurance Publications                        Subscriptions $6/yr. 1-800-762-3387

BROKER  WORLD  MAGAZINE Climbing Kilimanjaro A Promise Nearly Broken By Jay Scheiner, JD, CLU two promises to her, I could go. The first promise was that I would do everything in my power to “not die” on Kilimanjaro. The second promise was to climb only as high as I could safely go—even if that meant descending down the mountain without reaching the summit.   I made these promises freely, feeling confi- dent they would be easy to keep. In reality, I came very close to breaking both of them. After overcoming personal challenges, an insurance professional set out to fulfill his dream of climbing Africa’s tallest mountain. Little did he know that surviving the descent back down the mountain would prove to be his greatest challenge. Ernest Hemingway writes in the intro-   Like the leopard, I, too, was searching duction to The Snows of Kilimanjaro: for something unknown on Kilimanjaro. “Kilimanjaro is a snow covered mountain When I announced to my wife and daugh- 19,710 feet high, and is said to be the highest ters that I was planning to climb Mount mountain in Africa. Its western summit is Kilimanjaro, they thought I was nuts. After called Masai, the House of God. Close to seeing a Kilimanjaro video, their position the western summit there is a dried and moderated to just, “Please don’t do it.” frozen carcass of a leopard. No one has Eventually my wife agreed that as long as I explained what the leopard was seeking at trained sufficiently, chose the trekking com- that altitude.” pany with the best safety record and made Reprinted from BROKER WORLD April 2012 www.brokerworldmag.com Used with permission from Insurance Publications                        Subscriptions $6/yr. 1-800-762-3387

BROKER  WORLD  MAGAZINE   It is just before sunrise on August 13, 2011. We are making the final push to the top of the crater rim of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Although we are near the Equator, the weather is brutally cold, so cold that my water is frozen and I cannot feel my fingers. Thankfully, the night is almost over. The moon is full and millions of stars seem to be following us as we climb in single file behind our guide, Tobias. As the hours crawl by, the torch beam of my headlamp is focusing on the boots of Sarah, the climber just ahead of me. Looking up, I see the Rebmann Glacier, a silver overhanging piece of the ancient ice cap that crowns the square top of Kilimanjaro. High above is the rim of the great volcano itself—closer now—but still beyond reach. A chill creeps through each layer of clothes and begs every part of me to cry out. The temperature is minus 20 Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit).   Almost forgetting the reason for coming, I am tempted to end it and ask a guide to lead me back down the mountain. Then I remember what it took to get to Africa and thought back to a time, three years earlier, when illness was getting the better of me and I promised myself that upon recovery I would do something important, just for me. With the singular clarity of Hemingway’s leopard, I am reminded of the reason I had come and why I have to push on.   In 2008 I was 49 and faced both prostate cancer and a heart condition. The cancer was diagnosed early and I decided to treat it aggressively with radical prostatectomy. Just after recovery from surgery, I developed a rapid and irregular heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation. As with the cancer, I chose the most invasive approach, but the one with the best chance of full recovery. In December I underwent a five hour surgical procedure to cauter- ize (burn) the sections of my heart causing the abnormal rhythm, thereby eliminating the atrial fibrillation. Thus, 2008 was a year that could have turned me into an old, sick man. Instead, I had overcome two potentially debilitating illnesses and could begin to dream again.   I wanted and needed an adventure, something to test myself, something significant. It was hard for me to shake the underlying fear that I was not done with the illnesses, but merely between them. If another medical incident occurred, the door could close and my one chance would be lost. Searching for the dream, I looked into my past and saw things I could no longer realisti- cally accomplish for a variety of reasons. Before marrying my wife and starting our family, I took a long, solo voyage in a small sailboat and hoped in my lifetime to sail alone to Bermuda or beyond. Such a voyage now would be out of the question due to the unacceptable level of risk it involved. I also dreamed of bicycling 3,500 miles coast to coast, but this would be too time consuming; I could not be away from my insurance practice for more than a few weeks at a time. Reprinted from BROKER WORLD April 2012 www.brokerworldmag.com Used with permission from Insurance Publications                        Subscriptions $6/yr. 1-800-762-3387

BROKER  WORLD  MAGAZINE   The goal of climbing Kilimanjaro arose at my three-year post www.brokerworldmag.com surgery cancer check-up as my surgeon described his trek up  Subscriptions $6/yr. 1-800-762-3387 Africa’s highest mountain. The seed was planted; I was hooked and there was no turning back. Half a year of intensive training followed, which included daily two-hour workouts, thousands of stairs climbed, long city miles walked and timed, hills run up and trainers obeyed. I hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail on weekends with Outdoor Bound and hired a nutritionist to help turn fat into muscle, dropping additional weight; all culminating in my trip to Africa to attempt to scale the great mountain. By the time I landed in Tanzania, I felt as though my entire life was leading up to this moment. These memories motivated me to keep pushing on.   Back on the mountain, we continue to move in silence. Our climb- ing party includes Larry, an American living in Nigeria; Wendy, an airline pilot; and Sarah, an attorney. We had never met before the climb. Of the four of us, I am the only one without high altitude climbing experience and, not surprisingly, am having trouble at this extreme altitude. In five days we had climbed through a dense rainforest, over heathland and moorland, used our hands and feet to scramble up an 800 foot volcanic rock face called The Great Barranco Wall and through a high alpine desert. At this point we are scaling the scree (a combination of shale and gravel) toward the icecap on the way to the summit. Twelve hours earlier, during our final meal before starting out on the all-night summit attempt, I admitted I would willingly lose a finger, a toe, or a few of each, in exchange for making it to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. With that, I was on my way to breaking my second promise.   We began this sixth day of hiking at midnight. Each of us hav- ing donned every layer of clothing in our arsenal. I had multiple layers on top and bottom including: hats, face mask—even three pairs of socks.   Our guides were carrying the safety equipment, including large tanks of oxygen and masks for each climber. A rescue porter car- ries a portable altitude chamber called a Gamow bag and folding stretcher. In all, each guide is burdened with 75 pounds of gear. At this stage of the climb, I had merely to lug my own 52-year-old, 5’10”, 205-pound butt 4,000 feet up to the top of the mountain. To put the trek to the summit in perspective, journalist John Reader describes: “It is equivalent to clambering up the side of nine Empire State Buildings laid end to end at about sixteen degrees. Yet, at 4,710 meters (15,452 feet) there is little more than half the density of oxygen which occurs on Manhattan or at the foot of most stair- cases. So in effect, the aspiring climber attempts the equivalent of those feats with the equivalent of only one lung.”   Throughout the preceding days, as we climbed to ever higher altitudes, our bodies worked to acclimatize to the decreasing amount of oxygen pressure. Failure to acclimatize could result in acute mountain sickness (AMS). The intensity and severity of AMS symptoms can vary, but can quickly become extremely serious and, although rare, prove fatal. Of those who attempt the climb each year, more than 1,000 are evacuated from the mountain and approximately 10 deaths are reported—mainly due to AMS. Reprinted from BROKER WORLD April 2012 Used with permission from Insurance Publications                      

BROKER  WORLD  MAGAZINE   Despite these risks, Mount Kilimanjaro is sometimes called “everyman’s Everest,” because it is the most achievable of the Seven Summits (the highest mountains on each of the world’s seven continents). No technical climbing skills or mountaineering equipment such as ice axes and ropes are required. While thou- sands of people climb the peak successfully, the mountain is often underestimated. Fewer than half of those who begin the trek up Kilimanjaro reach the top of the mountain due to the debilitating headaches and nausea from altitude sickness, or physical maladies ranging from blisters to fever or an infection from water borne organisms. Sometimes failing to reach the summit is a simple lack of will on the climber’s part.   As we climb through the night, we pass many hikers on their way down—some dragged down due to the effects of AMS. The sight and smells of the remnants of their illnesses line our path up the mountain. Looking up toward the top of the crater rim called Stella Point, I feel that I cannot go on any longer. The positive thoughts that helped me put one foot in front of the other for so many hours have vanished because breathing takes so much energy. Several hours and a thousand feet remain to climb. Having already asked my guides to stop for me several times, how can I ask again?   And then there is the secret I am keeping from my guides and climbing partners. For the past three nights I have not slept at all. Alone at night in my tent, working to breathe and nursing a deep, persistent cough, I am fearful that if I fall asleep I will not wake up. My resting pulse rate on the upper mountain is more than 100; although my heartbeat is regular, I fear a return of the atrial fibrillation high on the mountain. If the guides learn the extent of my insomnia, they will surely make me descend the mountain, ending my climb. Sleeplessness is my demon; I spend the nights praying for morning to come.   As the sun makes its slow rise over Mawenzi, Kilimanjaro’s eastern summit, the scree forces us to slip back and dig our poles into the earth, pulling up with every step in order to advance. A howling wind picks up and, with it, the top soil of the slope becomes airborne. I take out my goggles, but it’s too late. Gritty dust gets in both eyes, stinging and temporarily blinding me. I can’t give up, I must get to the top of this mountain, which is so close now. We reach the top of the volcano at 7:30 am—but this is not the true summit.   Now we must hike from Stella Point around the crater rim to the summit—Uhuru (Freedom) Peak, which could take another hour. The going is painfully slow; but thankfully, with an elevation gain of 500 feet, not as steep. I can barely see due to the sand in my eyes. For a time, I follow Tobias, fixing my gaze on a red string hanging from his backpack to guide my way. Above the clouds the land- scape looks unworldly. Breathless, we trudge around the volcano, passing other climbers who successfully reached the summit and are now on their way down. Reprinted from BROKER WORLD April 2012 www.brokerworldmag.com Used with permission from Insurance Publications                        Subscriptions $6/yr. 1-800-762-3387

BROKER  WORLD  MAGAZINE   The summit is capped by a primitive, hand-carved wooden www.brokerworldmag.com sign proclaiming “Congratulations you are now at Uhuru Peak  Subscriptions $6/yr. 1-800-762-3387 Tanzania 5895 M. AMSL.” We can see it long before we arrive. For me, there’s no more air to breathe, and I am parched, but my water is still frozen. The thought occurs to me to puncture my arm and attach a straw to quench my thirst; then I realize I’m not thinking clearly.   We hike up to the sign and arrive at the mountain’s summit. It’s 8:30 am and after climbing throughout another sleepless night the experience is quite literally breathtaking. I cannot believe I am standing on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro!   We wait to be photographed at the most famous marker in Africa. A German group is ahead of us—shooting every possible angle to document their journey. Then it’s our turn. Amazingly, even at 19,340 feet, in the purest, cleanest air in Africa, graffiti litters the sign. Stickers advertise Fila and radio stations; one proclaims Nick’s famous roast beef restaurant. All are slapped on this sacred sign by those wishing to capitalize on their achievement, marring the beauty that is Kilimanjaro’s summit.   Mount Kilimanjaro is a geographical wonder. Rising majestically from the Tanzanian plains near Kenya, it can be seen from 95 miles away. It remains one of the world’s largest volcanoes and is techni- cally not extinct. Kilimanjaro was first documented by the ancient world when the Egyptian geographer Ptolemy recorded a great snow mountain in the second century AD. In 1849 a German mis- sionary reported seeing a snow-capped mountain at the Equator, but was ridiculed by the Royal Geographical Society—believing snow near the Equator to be an impossibility.   After our summit pictures we sit by the sign. My head spins and my breathing is labored. We stay too long in the thin air. Now it’s time to trek back around the crater rim and head down the mountain—which we do—although I have almost no memory of this. At 9:30 am we reach the point where we descend steeply. It is then that I physically implode; it feels as though someone with a baseball bat is whacking me repeatedly on the back of the head I sit down—or fall down—and stay there.   Tobias takes out his medical kit and measures my blood oxygen saturation with a pulse oximeter. It reads 58 percent; a normal read- ing is above 90 percent. A reduction in blood oxygen (hypoxia) can become life-threatening. I feel disoriented, so another guide sets up his oxygen tank, affixes the plastic tubing and puts it around my neck. I breathe like the first breath after being born. I have early symptoms of high altitude cerebral edema—swelling of the brain due to AMS. The guide gives me Decadron, a powerful steroid used to reduce inflammation of the brain. I take it and breathe more oxygen. After 20 minutes I am stable enough to continue. My climbing partners patiently wait while I receive treatment. Since the sun has been up for several hours, the air finally warms enough for our water to de-ice. We are at 18,900 feet, still 6,500 feet above a helicopter rescue possibility. In obvious peril, I realize I will have to walk many hours down this steep mountain from now until dusk. We begin without delay. Reprinted from BROKER WORLD April 2012 Used with permission from Insurance Publications                      

BROKER  WORLD  MAGAZINE   Ascending the mountain consisted of back and forth trails called Jay Scheiner, JD, CLU, lives in Long Island, NY. For the past 20 years, he has been switchbacks—to lessen the effect of the steep terrain. Descending is a partner at Agent Support Group, a life insurance brokerage agency based in New literally straight down. I’m determined to descend under my own York City, which is a member of LifeMark Partners. An avid fan of the outdoors, power. A guide, aided by the porter who carries my backpack, Scheiner enjoys boating and bicycling—in addition to hiking. He can be reached by steadies me as we head down the side of the volcano. The only telephone at 516-467-1190 or email at [email protected]. cure for my sickness is a quick descent to lower altitude. Despite the trekking poles I use to keep me upright, I fall frequently. For hours we stumble down the pebbly scree toward Barafu (Ice) camp at 15,000 feet. It seems to take a lifetime.   We finally arrive in the early afternoon. Waiting for us is a lunch of soup and rice with butter and bread prepared by the porters who awaited our return. I breathe more bottled oxygen, take more steroid pills, and am told to take a brief nap. Head still pounding, I fight the need for sleep and choose instead to stay awake—convinced that I cannot safely sleep at 15,000 feet with symptoms of brain swelling. I recall the promise I made to return safely. The medicine and oxygen must be working because I am feeling some relief now. We decide to continue down toward our planned destination of Mweka Camp—at 10,400 feet—a four-hour hike from Barafu.   As we descend, the terrain becomes more earthly. We see lush, beautiful vegetation found nowhere else in the world and running streams. The air fills with increasing amounts of oxygen. We pass Millennium Camp with its helicopter landing field and continue down the mountain. Time and miles pass by and the pounding in my head subsides. I become more alive with each passing hour. It is dusk when we reach Mweka Camp, after hiking for 18 hours, including the brief stop at Barafu. I send a text to my wife Carol to let her know I am safe.   That night I sleep in my tent like a child without a worry in the world. Although spent and exhausted, symptoms of illness have disappeared.   In the morning, our porters and guides who had cared for us over the past week, serenade us with African songs. We shake hands and thank them using the few Swahili words and phrases we had learned over the past seven days on Mount Kilimanjaro. Together, we descend to the base of the mountain.   When I consider how easily my experience could have had a different outcome, I shudder. Every aspect of the climb was more difficult than I had envisioned. Like Hemingway’s leopard, I was driven to climb to a dangerous altitude. But unlike the leopard, I knew both why I was driven to climb the mountain and the reason I had to return home. In my promise to descend if I became sick, I did not count on pushing myself so hard to get to the top, leav- ing absolutely nothing for the return trip down. However, I was comforted in knowing that there were those at home—family and friends—who helped will me up the mountain, giving me strength during the endless nights and praying for my safety. The new friends and guides with whom I was climbing understood how to help when things went wrong. I learned that I was not alone.   Looking back on the adventure of my lifetime, I wonder how in the world I got through each day, let alone stood at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. ˛ Reprinted from BROKER WORLD April 2012 www.brokerworldmag.com Used with permission from Insurance Publications                        Subscriptions $6/yr. 1-800-762-3387



BROKER WORLD MAGAZINE ger active and therefore have no relationship. it is most needed. policyholder to make an educated decision Many blocks of business have been sold to Insurance departments designated to on which they can move forward. reinsurance companies who serve strictly as administrators and offer minimal policy- provide policyholder protection are often When the dust settles and the storm ends holder service, making it difficult to identify not providing mandates or instructions that will your clients land safely, as did Dorothy situations where COIs have been increased. serve policyholders by protecting their abil- and Toto, knowing the protection intended Those companies that have increased COIs ity to maintain their policies. This all leaves to protect their families and businesses ful- have not been pro-active in providing poli- us in an untenable predicament in serving fills its objectives? cyholders nor advisors sufficient information our advisors. We strongly suggest you con- to make any required changes. This will tact companies with which you have policy- You can help assure a happy ending to this all result in some policyholders finding out holders that purchased current assumption story by making certain that your clients are their policy is about to lapse at a time when universal life policies pre-2000 and request informed and make any adjustments needed re-projections that will enable your client/ to keep their policies from falling into the hands of the Wicked Witch.  Reprinted from BROKER WORLD January 2016    www.brokerworldmag.com Used with permission from Insurance Publications                        Subscriptions $6/yr. 1-800-762-3387

BROKER WORLD MAGAZINE J AY Breathe Deeply Mr. SCHEINER, Rockefeller And Enjoy Your Sixth New Heart! JD, CLU, is a principal at Agent Support Group, a NAILBA member If you knew you would live to 100, and LifeMark Partner agency, and would you still buy life insurance? manages ASG’s Manhasset, NY office. He is a member of the New York State Bar and is the author of “How I Turned an Orphan Lead Into a $50 Million Dollar Insurance Sale,” “Climbing Kilimanjaro” and “Insurance Company Apology Tours.” Scheiner can be reached by telephone at: 516.467.1190. Email: [email protected]. Recently I read that billionaire phi- serious disability along the way; and, lanthropist David Rockefeller had 3. Of course nobody else knows this so successfully undergone his sixth heart transplant in 38 years at the age of 99. the actuarial tables don’t change. The article said Rockefeller, now 101, had a team of private surgeons perform the Knowing you’ll live to 100 eliminates the last transplant at his Hudson Valley, NY, need for life insurance, right? estate. After fuming about how unfair it is that the very rich could essentially Yes and no. When you are young and “buy” decades of additional lifespan by raising a family, you may still want some procuring an unlimited supply of human life insurance to replace your income just replacement parts, I decided to check out in case that plane you are on falls from this story further. To my relief the article the sky or the drunk driver comes out of was untrue, a total fabrication, and prob- nowhere to find you. It will be harder ably designed to malign Mr. Rockefeller— for you to bear writing a check for insur- who is purported to be a very generous ance in these years when death seems so and kind man. remote. But what if it was true, and you knew Life insurance as an investment–no joke! that at least regarding your own life you However, you can use both insurance could know that: and your assurance of longevity to create 1. Absent a car or plane crash, or being a veritable super-fund for yourself and devoured by sharks, you’ll live to be at your family. Remember, now that you least 100; and, won’t die young, you will have to fund for your extended old age, which will 2. As with David Rockefeller, you will last decades. This will require savings retain your full faculties and suffer no discipline, being able to set aside as much Reprinted from BROKER WORLD November 2016    www.brokerworldmag.com Used with permission from Insurance Publications                        Subscriptions $6/yr. 1-800-762-3387

BROKER WORLD MAGAZINE as you can tolerate saving each month. plan using either whole life, which carries ship so you’d never be forgotten. Knowing you will have such a long life high contractual guarantees and where in store, you will want or need a financial the underlying investment is within the You can crack the code by buying an product that: insurance company’s general account, Immediate Annuity! or an indexed universal life plan, where • Grows tax deferred through the the underlying investment is based on If you know you will outlive the aver- power of compounding; the returns of a stock index, usually the age Joe/Jane by twenty years, then why Standard & Poor’s 500. Either way, the not buy an investment that pays you • Can be accessed in a tax-advan- plan we would create would incorporate principal and interest over your lifetime? taged manner to supplement your long the lowest possible amount of insurance It’s called an immediate annuity and with retirement; allowed and still retain the tax benefits of your extreme longevity you will receive life insurance. The insurance would grow far more in benefits than the actuaries • May be protected from creditors in value over time and would be set up assumed, creating a moral dilemma for (check your individual state laws on so that the cash value could be accessed you, but also exceptional personal wealth this); and, in life for many years, which is appropri- as your monthly income will continue ate given your newfound anticipation until you die. • Has a death benefit that far exceeds of longevity. When you do eventually the life value of the investment – for those pass from this world, the remaining life Do you need insurance if you know great-grandkids (whom you’ll already insurance benefit could be used to create you will live to be 100? Mr. Rockefeller know). a legacy for your family or as a charitable might say, “Only if you are smart enough gift to your alma mater or house of wor- to uncover the power of life insurance and Which type of insurance will support its hidden potential!”  your exceptional longevity best? In choosing the “engine” that could accomplish the above, we would design a Reprinted from BROKER WORLD November 2016    www.brokerworldmag.com Used with permission from Insurance Publications                        Subscriptions $6/yr. 1-800-762-3387

BROKER WORLD MAGAZINE J AY Insurance SCHEINER, By Selfie! JD, CLU, is a principal at Agent Support Group, a NAILBA member and LifeMark Partner agency, and manages ASG’s Manhasset, NY office. He is a member of the New York State Bar and is the author of “How I Turned an Orphan Lead Into a $50 Million Dollar Insurance Sale,” “Climbing Kilimanjaro” and “Insurance Company Apology Tours.” Scheiner can be reached by telephone at: 516.467.1190. Email: [email protected]. Insurance companies can’t keep up with early signs of heart disease, diabetes, or buyers’ demand for instant product even dementia. It can help estimate your gratification; even “accelerated” underwrit- body mass index (BMI), determine your ing programs aren’t fast enough for some physiological age (how old you look), and consumers. Meanwhile, companies have an indicate whether you’re aging faster or interest in eliminating costly exams and lab slower than your actual age. A selfie can fees. So, 21st Century tech to the rescue! even hint at whether you smoke, or smoked Enter Chronos, a new technology from in the past. Lapetus Solutions, Inc. (LSI), the science and technology company that uses facial If a proposed insured applies for coverage analytics to estimate life expectancy, with with a carrier that uses Chronos, the theory an approach similar to what advanced law is that buying a policy online could someday enforcement uses to predict how a fugitive take only minutes; clients may also avoid a may age over decades. The client submits paramed exam and labs. Many insurers are a selfie to the insurance company and the looking into this new technology, but the insurance company provides an indicative makers of the system are reluctant to dis- quote for life insurance. close which ones just yet. “[Chronos] may or may not meet the vetting process to make A selfie reveals more than whether it’s carriers comfortable,” says Robert Kerzner, a good hair day: Facial lines and contours, president and CEO of LIMRA. droops and dark spots could indicate how well you’re aging. A photo may reveal Facial analytics that can predict life expec- tancy have the potential to revolutionize life Reprinted from BROKER WORLD December 2017    www.brokerworldmag.com Used with permission from Insurance Publications                        Subscriptions $6/yr. 1-800-762-3387

BROKER WORLD MAGAZINE insurance underwriting, as the technology insurance company which, through the represent has the system in the testing may prove as accurate in predicting risk as technology, will give the person their facial stage. Ominously, the company execu- current methods, and additional electronic age. Then the information gathered goes to tive announcing it on LinkedIn has the checks such as the MIB, MVR or prescrip- Lapetus for beta testing and data collection title, “Vice President, Direct-to-Consumer tion drug database might be used as a to expand their research. I was told they Distribution.” cross-check. Chronos could also streamline then delete the information. I hope so. the process of buying insurance by reduc- Smile and say “cheese.” This is one story ing the number of questions clients have to Will insurance-by-selfie replace tradi- we should all keep watching…  answer, another sore spot for consumers. tional underwriting procedures or even But—while the newswires have lit up over the newer rule engines that companies are Sources: the past six months with articles and press using to access risk and make underwriting 1. How your Selfie could affect your life insurance, releases about selfie insurance being here, decisions? Probably not. Could it become they’re wrong! I can’t find a single carrier another tool that insurers can use to assess USA Today, Barbara Marquand, NerdWallet, April that will actually write a policy based on risk and streamline the process? That’s 25, 2017. this technology right now. I was told by more likely. 2. Can a Selfie get you quicker life insurance coverage?, one senior insurance executive exploring Accuquote.com, Byron Udell, May 2, 2017. Chronos that they’re now just using it for And then there’s the further concern that 3. Underwriting Life Insurance with a Selfie, GlobalData, analytics. When someone takes the selfie insurance-by-selfie can become another Danielle Cripps, News Archives 2017. quote on their site, the responses go to the way the industry attempts to bypass the 4. Interview of a confidential source (We’ll call this officer agent in transactional insurance sales. It’s “Deep Selfie”) who is a top executive at a major life possible. One of the insurance carriers we insurer, September 26, 2017. Reprinted from BROKER WORLD December 2017    www.brokerworldmag.com Used with permission from Insurance Publications                        Subscriptions $6/yr. 1-800-762-3387

Life Insurance Needs For Foreign Nationals POST WRITTEN BY Gary Bleetstein I am an owner of a Major Life Insurance Brokerage Agency in New York and New Jersey. I have been in the insurance business for 30 years. We've all heard stories about the number of students in top-tier universities, medical programs and law schools flooding in from other countries to take advantage of our education system. Along with these tales also comes the idea that many of these students are living in multi-million dollar apartments in cities such as New York or Los Angeles, making their property taxable under U.S. law. But these students aren't making their own six-figure (or more) salaries just yet. In most cases, it's their parents -- high net-worth (HNW) foreign nationals -- who are footing the impressive bills. So, how do the needs of these foreign nationals factor in for finance professionals? Many legal and tax experts have been recommending U.S.-based life insurance to these HNW individuals, and for good reasons. U.S. demographics have been rapidly changing for decades, and Pew Research estimates that immigrants will be major drivers of growth among the working-age population through at least the next 18 years. Meanwhile, the health of financial markets makes the U.S. attractive to foreign investors -- especially as many foreign currencies are facing major devaluation. Shutterstock

Life insurance is particularly enticing for HNW foreign nationals because of tax advantages, but just like any other individuals, these men and women are also looking to secure legacies for future generations. Legacy planning, estate planning and tax planning are just a few of the ways that life insurance can be used by HNW foreign nationals. Before offering U.S.-based life insurance for a client who is a foreign national, there are a few basic questions that must be answered: Is the individual a resident alien or a non-resident alien, and is the individual married to a U.S. citizen? This will determine his or her tax obligations. It's important to keep in mind that even non-resident aliens can be exposed to federal estate and gift taxes if they own property in the U.S. Under current tax law, these foreign nationals can shelter up to $60,000 in assets from federal taxes. Estate tax rates currently top out at 40%, and these individuals can receive a credit of just $13,000, per I.R.C. §§ 2102(c) and 2001(c)(1). Given these potential tax burdens, our firm and others like us are finding the need for high net worth foreign nationals to seek financial planning and life insurance, as well as tax professionals to assist them in their planning. While leaving a legacy is important to foreign nationals, there is a potential tax burden that needs to be addressed and life insurance is one of the best financial instruments to do so in these situations. Life insurance can provide clients with a tax-free death benefit, assist in planning for U.S. estate and gift taxes, build cash value tax-free in most policies and even provide a tax-free stream of income for retirement. Life insurance is also an excellent financial instrument used for legacy planning allowing an earner to leave a legacy for his or her heirs. The potential benefits available to HNW foreign nationals using life insurance are many but clients should always consult with their own professional CPA and legal advisors before completing their planning.

J AY Life Insurance As SCHEINER, Long Term Care JD, CLU, is a principal at Agent Insurance Support Group, a NAILBA member and LifeMark Partner agency, and manages ASG’s Manhasset, NY office. He is a member of the New York State Bar and is the author of “How I Turned an Orphan Lead Into a $50 Million Dollar Insurance Sale,” “Climbing Kilimanjaro” and “Insurance Company Apology Tours.” Scheiner can be reached by telephone at: 516.467.1190. Email: [email protected]. Some of our clients apply for long term out the long term care rider would cost her insurance (LTCI) or combined life with $9,800 per year. While Denise is accepted a long term care rider, only to be denied as a standard risk for life insurance, she is coverage due to adverse health history. denied coverage for the long term care rider. Often these clients already own, or can Denise accepts the policy as offered without qualify for, a life insurance policy without a the long term care. long term care rider. In this situation, many families can preserve family assets by using life Fast-forward 20 years and Denise, now insurance as a stand-in for an LTCI policy or age 80 and disabled, requires long term long term care rider. care services and would qualify for a long term care claim. She remains disabled for Example: Denise, age 60, is a non-smoker, 36 months before she dies. in reasonable health except for type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and a questionable If Denise had a policy with long term echocardiogram. She applies for $600,000 of care she would have paid $236,000 in pre- guaranteed universal life with a long term miums until the time she became disabled, care rider that will provide up to $12,000 and another $29,900 until she passed away. a month for up to 50 months of care. The After a 90-day elimination period–during $600,000 policy with long term care rider which Denise would pay $36,000 for her would cost Denise $11,800 per year at care–the policy would pay her $12,000 per standard. The same $600,000 policy with- month for the remaining 33 months of her life, for a total of $396,000. At her death her

beneficiaries would receive the balance of $432,000. After her death her beneficiaries of funding the cost of care. Sometimes the the policy, $204,000, as a death benefit. The would receive the $600,000 death benefit solution comes in the form of a traditional total Denise and her heirs would receive tax-free—effectively replenishing all of the LTCI policy. More often than not it is in from the policy would be the combined costs of Denise’s lengthy illness and care the form of life insurance with a long term policy limit of $600,000. plus an additional financial legacy for her care or chronic illness rider, and certain loved ones. situations call for a single premium long If Denise had a policy without long term term care hybrid product. There are times, care she would have paid $196,000 in premi- As you can see from Denise’s story, life though, when a family like Denise’s, which ums up until the time she became disabled, insurance can act as an ideal asset to replace bears the burden of long term care expenses, and another $29,400 until she passed away. the cost of care even in the absence of a long can best be reimbursed using the death By spending down her savings, Denise term care component. We have worked claim from a life insurance policy.  would pay $12,000 per month for care for with agents and advisors in structuring the 36 months of her disability, for a total of hundreds of insurance plans for the purpose Reprinted from BROKER WORLD February 2019    www.brokerworldmag.com Used with permission from Insurance Publications                        Subscriptions $6/yr. 1-800-762-3387