Life Insurance Rip-Off - Page 2

GarySpicuzza · #16 (**permalink**) 04-28-2008, 09:44 PM

Tom Chase wrote:

Quote:

Personal investment planning is littered with landmines for the unwary, only three of which are the cults you mention.

Agreed.

Let's move on to the next match.

I won this one typing with one hand.

There are "other" unspeakable financial products in which I hold a SAFE designation that most cult members including attorneys and news media just can't seem to comprehend.

Tom Chase · #17 (**permalink**) 04-28-2008, 11:05 PM

Man, just when I was trying to make nice. Whaa?? Lawyers and news media? That's a little out of left field Gary. The problem is brokers/financial advisors/insurance brokers who don't understand the crap they peddle. Auction rate securities being only the most recent example. BTW Gary, how do you structure your fees? By the hour? Assets under management? I doubt it, I think . . . maybe . . . do I smell a commission hooa? At least lawyers admit they owe their clients a fiduciary duty, do you?

Tom Chase · #18 (**permalink**) 04-28-2008, 11:06 PM

...............

GarySpicuzza · #19 (**permalink**) 04-29-2008, 07:55 AM

Tom,

I have been paid a commission on each and every insurance policy I have ever written since August 1985 and I will continue to be paid a commission on all pending business and future business.

Please allow me to copy and paste what I've already written above on post #9 regarding the Financial Services cult members.

Quote:

The first thing that comes out of their mouth is some assinine blanket condemnation of Insurance Agents and/or Brokers. Usually along the lines of commission. See THIS thread titled Life insurance - Top things to know. It was posted by one of these cult members.

There's nothing quite like perjorative blanket condemnations of an entire industry to build one's own self loathing.

Do you have anything substantive to add to the topic of your thread?

How about moving on to the Reporter's Guide To Fixed Annuities thread and humor me?

After all, annuities are a HOT topic these days and don't you want the General Public to have accurate information?

Tom Chase · #20 (**permalink**) 04-29-2008, 11:17 AM

Good point. I do have to give you credit for your criticism of variable annuities, a wildly abused and misunderstood product!

brian · #21 (**permalink**) 05-01-2008, 04:29 PM

Okay, let's try and keep discussions calm and avoid personal attacks, please.

choicearizona · #22 (**permalink**) 05-06-2008, 12:11 PM

I've been primarily in P/C for the past 8 years (15 years in insurance total) but do sell life insurance. I've lost a couple clients during that time and never once had a survivor tell me they were sorry they purchased too much life insurance. It's usually they wish they had bought more. Most clients already under-estimate their need (usually based on the budget or what they are willing to allocate to life insurance). I believe we have to be careful to not jump on that bandwagon too easily as well.
Overselling life insurance is not the same as overselling someone on buying an expensive SUV they can barely afford. You also have to be careful to not minimize the need for life insurance when people have young children, even IF they receive SS benefits. It costs a ton to raise children (I have 18 & 13 year olds). Add in the potential costs of college, weddings, buying vehicles (when they reach driving age), paying for increased cost of teenager insurance, gas, clothing, food and this year - Prom and all the stuff that goes along with it. And given the fact that those SS benefits cease once the children reach a certain age. If we minimize life insurance b/c they receive SS benefits until kids reach a certain age, we cannot ignore the need of the surviving spouse once those kids have reached adulthood. When a spouse loses a husband's/wife's income due to death, it's gone forever. Sure they can remarry, but life insurance gives them a bunch more options than remarrying out of financial need.

GarySpicuzza · #23 (**permalink**) 05-09-2008, 06:02 PM

Quote:

You also have to be careful to not minimize the need for life insurance when people have young children, even IF they receive SS benefits.

Exactly.

The one thing you should NEVER do in a life insurance interview with a young couple with small children is give the "bullet proof" twenty-something year old male who can barely find his assterisk with both hands a reason NOT to buy life insurance or a reason to buy less.

Mr. Chase is either naive, a cult member or simply has never first hand witnessed how emotionally and financially devastating the death of a parent is on the children and spouse.

Money is quite a useless commodity to 10 year old little boy who can never play catch with his Dad in the backyard anymore.

stockmarketreviews · #24 (**permalink**) 05-22-2008, 02:58 AM

hmm donot know about usa but here in india private insurance companies deduct huge amount from first year installment as expenses . also insurance is very expensive product (too much expenses) .

GarySpicuzza · #25 (**permalink**) 08-09-2008, 07:43 AM

Shamelessly bumping this thread to the top of the message board because it contains a lot of great material and it's fun beating up cult members.

david007 · #26 (**permalink**) 08-12-2008, 02:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stockmarketreviews

hmm donot know about usa but here in india private insurance companies deduct huge amount from first year installment as expenses . also insurance is very expensive product (too much expenses) .

Ya I know this. One of my friend (who is in India), he told me that the insurance companies deduct huge amount of money in the first year and gradually the amount decreases and after 3 or 5 years (depend upon the policy) it becomes zero.

GarySpicuzza · #27 (**permalink**) 04-16-2009, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Money is quite a useless commodity to 10 year old little boys who can never play catch with their Dad in the backyard anymore.

Best regards,

GarySpicuzza · #28 (**permalink**) 07-01-2009, 03:23 PM

...~^bump^~...

jamiekanfly · #29 (**permalink**) 11-14-2009, 10:05 PM

Gary, I completely agree with you. Besides, who wants to depend on the government to take care of their family? It is always better to ensure that people take responsibility for their own future and the future of their family.

Norwayguy · #30 (**permalink**) 06-30-2010, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Chase

Gary,
Yup, that $50K is paid in twelve monthly installments, every month, tax free and WILL BE ADJUSTED UPWARD TO ACCOUNT FOR INFLATION, a great benefit. You are right, that benefit is the maximum benefit, and the benefit will be less depending on your wage history.
But form many families even half the benefit of $25K for 18 years is a considerable benefit. The SS benefit is easy to calculate and explain to clients, so that clients can buy the RIGHT amount of insurance, depending on their needs. Gary, if you don't explain this to your clients, I am afraid that you are ripping them off. But like most brokers I am sure you will continue to do so and come up with convoluted rationales such as that SS is "too complicated" to justify keeping your clients in the dark. Pretty lame.

Tom,

The amount you quote is from a book and not from reality. Social Security bases the amount on wage earnings paid into social security so the amount can be much less it is also limited to a max per child and per family. Also a non-working spouse without children can be left in a huge lurch if lifestyle debts are left without the ability to quickly ramp up income earnings.

Do social security benefits exist? Yes they do. Is everyone covered by them? No they are not? Do I review these benefits with clients? Yes I do not only initially but also on annual reviews, I ask the client to keep them as they arrive around their birthdays and do not always coincide with reviews. Does this mean the purchase of life insurance is a rip-off? No the clients beneficiary will still recieve the stated death benefit and that will not affect any Social Security benefits.

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