Year-end discussions are a great way for financial professionals to reinforce their credibility as trusted advisors. What decisions should be made before year end to avoid leaving dollars on the table? Will any benefits be lost because of delay or lack of information? Should an action be taken in 2009, or deferred until 2010?

Utilizing a Pension Maximization Strategy can offer your clients the best of both worlds with a solution that allows them to receive the higher pension income, while maintaining the spouse's ability to receive benefits.

The following is a case that came into North American Company's Sales Support team. The clients wanted a product that could, if needed, provide a lump sum loan amount for future costs of education for a newborn child.

Even in a tough economy, buy-sell arrangements present great sales opportunities with the small business market.

At its most basic, premium financing allows wealthy people to borrow money to pay large life insurance premiums. Generally, premium financing should be considered by clients with large estates who need to purchase substantial amounts of insurance but do not have the available cash to pay the premiums on such a policy. As with anything, there are pros and cons to such a practice, which we explore in the remainder of this article.

So your client wants an indexed universal life policy to supplement his retirement income, but he can’t currently afford to fund the policy to the extent that it will yield a substantial cash value at retirement. What do you do?

By Pat Sheridan, Director of Life Sales

Tapping this trillion-dollar market is easier than you might think. In fact, it can be done without even prospecting for new clients. Look no further than your existing Medicare Supplement clients for the perfect “lead program” for identifying suitable candidates for wealth transfer products, particularly Single-Premium Whole Life insurance.

It's no secret that underwriting can often be a hurdle for life agents. That's why Senior Market Sales offers “The Dr. Is In.” Input your client’s health ailments into our online questionnaire and a professional underwriter will respond with a probable rating range, a suggested company and helpful hints for presenting and placing your case.

Although Indexed and Variable life products are somewhat similar, the disparities between them are enough to create a gap in both the type of client who would be interested in the products and the potential for future sales.