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
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