Volume 2, Issue 7 & 8 July & August 2009
THE LEVINSON *411
CARY A. LEVINSON & ASSOCIATES, INC.
BREAKING NEWS IN THE INSURANCE INSIDE THIS ISSUE: WORLD
MetLife Retention up to $20 million MetLife is pleased to intro- 1 John Hancock on permanent cases ($15 million duce a new sales campaign to help producers stay in term). WCL Underwriting Sweet Spots touch 2 Fidelity Life Life is sweet with competi- • Additional capacity up to with clients during these diffi- tive, responsible underwriting $114 million may be available cult economic times. The Our 3 Promise is for Life Prudential solutions that include world- through facultative reinsurance. campaign highlights the flexi- class foreign travel guide- • Underwriting Credit and bility of life insurance to help Banner lines and enormous reinsur- accumulate, protect and 4 Assurity ance capacity. Consideration opportunities transfer wealth – backed by that take into account your cli- guarantees. The campaign ent’s entire medical history and American General 5 MetEdge facultative reinsurance materials provide financial Genworth 6 advances in clinical medicine professionals the tools to program, which could improve some engage clients in: Transamerica 6 Table B and C cases to Standard.* Now • Life Insurance Reviews LTC 7 available for all products, including • Estate Planning Survivorship, for up to $10 million in • Business Planning Annuity Division 8 Put the promise of MetLife to Company Info 9 coverage. work for you with materials • Foreign travel guidelines that that can be co-branded with are among the industry’s best! your firm’s logo and contact information. • A leader in financial underwrit- For more information, please ing — from income replacement Term Conversion Check- list Updated contact the Life Insurance and autobinding to jumbo limits. Sales Desk or go to The Term Conversion metlifeinvestors.com. Checklist has been updated to reflect minor process changes and form changes.
John Hancock's Performance UL - Reaching A Larger Premium Increases: Audience John Hancock's new Performance UL is the lowest cost The average level-pay increase at ages permanent life insurance policy in our portfolio, in many 45+ is 3% for UL-G and 4% for SUL-G. cases it's the lowest in the industry. Performance UL remains Single-pays increased 6% for UL-G and 4.5% SUL-G. The overall premium in- extremely competitive for lifetime level-pay scenarios at older crease to each product is about 4%. Here's another reason for your client's to ages and now features significant premium reductions at choose John Hancock... ages 40+! Take a look at the new Performance UL today it's We are also increasing, in some spots, DID YOU KNOW....that John Han- a performance you don't want to miss! the threshold requirement to qualify for cock's Term 09 product contractually the Policy Protection Rider Enhanced. allows policy conversion to any perma- This will result in higher premiums in cases involving first-year lump sums nent policy of insurance for sale by the It has Arrived! A new Protection UL-G micro site that houses everything you need to help guarantee that no longer qualify for PPR En- Company? hanced. DID YOU KNOW....that John Hancock a sale. This self-contained website is focused on has the highest Comdex rating (96) of the features, concepts and sales materials specific any of our competitors? only to Protection UL-G allowing easy navigation and instant access to product information. For more info: http://www.jhillustrator.com/ProtectionULG
1 Volume 2, Issue 7 & 8 July & August 2009
CARY A. LEVINSON & ASSOCIATES, INC.
West Coast Life is pleased to introduce an innovative solution to meeting the permanent insurance needs of individuals with substandard underwriting ratings. Introducing the Return of Substandard Charges Option (ROSCO)…a new and innovative rider designed to encourage individuals to improve their health through key lifestyle changes, with the goal of outliving their estimated life expectancies. How does ROSCO work? ROSCO can help enhance the many powerful benefits and features of our LifeTime Advantage Plus universal life insurance policy for clients issued with substandard underwriting ratings. Upon expiration of the rating period (15 or 20 years), all substandard charges associated with ROSCO will be returned as a credit to the policy value and the substandard charges will be reduced to standard charges.
As we continue to strengthen our position as “Your new UL CHOICECHOICECHOICE carrier”, West Coast Life is excited to announce additional en- West Coast Life LifeTime Platinum III and Life- - hancements to its already strong underwriting program. Time Platinum III Plus universal life products CE A ST PL JU Requirements applicable only to UL and SUL products. Ex- have a new feature that flat out rocks! RE T E UC N A NEW Lapse Protection Premium Solve offers OM OD DI cludes Term and SPWL products. C R E !! IN P OV !! NT R A More Flexible Treadmill & EKG Requirements endless choices for adjustable premium pay- E PP ID M A OR FL ment patterns and lapse protection durations. Go More Flexible Approach to Private Pilots ahead and say “yes” to clients who would prefer guarantee periods to age 80, 90, 100 or any age up More Flexible Standard-to-Preferred Upgrade Program* to lifetime.
Flexible Age & Amount Requirements
Policy pages in their entirety (with amend- ments if applicable) are now posted on Fidelity's website upon issuance. Agents and all managing uplines have $ REMINDER $ REMINDER $ REMINDER $ access to these via CA$H INCENTIVE$ FOR PRODUCTION the Pending Business & Inforce Status link $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ within their REMEMBER - For every month between July 1st and Dec. 31st 2009 agent website (log in). FIDELITY LIFE will pay: $150 for every 5 policies paid with in a month Marketing hosts 4 weekly webinars that cover AND an additional $300 for every 15 policies all Fidelity products and paid with in a month demonstrate Rapid App 2 - online application *Top 10 producers will be entered in a drawing to receive one additional $1000 prize at system. the end of the promotional period. Schedules updated weekly and posted in the For $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Agents section of Place 15 policies in one month = $750 www.fidelitylife.com Check out Fidelity Life's Return of Premium Rules and restrictions: rider available on Rapid Policies written on self or family members do not qualify. Decision Term and Rapid Decision Mortgage Term.. Agent must be the producer/writing agent - no uplines will qualify For just over $300 in additional annual premium, for business written/paid by their agents or multiple agents using one GA’s writing number. a 35 yr old Male Sole writing agents only, no “users” under an agent (ie- in the case of adding users seeking $300,000 of term life insurance would end up for Rapid App) can submit business to pool policies to qualify. getting over No captive/call center agents will qualify - agent must be an independent producer. $30,000 back at the end of 30 years.
Policies can be any combination of either Fidelity Life’s Rapid Decision Term and/or Rapid Decision Mortgage Term. WebinarTraining Schedule: (The link ad- Any new products introduced with in incentive period will not qualify. dress is: http://www.fidelitylife.com/agents/ Agents can track their own business via the Production link with in their Webinar.asp) own Fidelity Agent Website. Schedule is: “Not Takens” and lapsed policies will not count towards final tally. Tuesdays and Thursdays 10am Central is Rapid
All payouts will be paid in one final sum at the end of the promotion Decision Term overview with Rapid App 2 period after final report is run in February 2010. online app system demo. Tuesdays 3pm Central is RD Mortgage Term $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ overview with Rapid App 2 online app system demo.
2 Volume 2, Issue 7 & 8 July & August 2009
CARY A. LEVINSON & ASSOCIATES, INC.
Prudential Goes Live with e-Signature through iGO e-App! iGO e-App with e-signature is an automated wizard that is used for electronic completion of pre-issue life insur- ance application forms. e-Signature through iGO e-App will allow all pre-issue application paperwork to be collected and submitted elec- tronically, ensuring the fastest and easiest submissions for you and your producers! iGO e-App; WHAT IS IT, AND WHERE CAN I FIND IT? iGO e-App enables the submission of new business application packages via the on-line completion of forms using iPipeline's intelligent wizard technology. The tool is available via www.pruxpress.com and is also linked to your website via PipePass (single sign-on security). With e-signature: If forms are submitted using an iGO e-App link from your Website, the completed forms can be submitted to your office electronically. The client and producer are prompted, via e-mail, to access and review completed required forms on- line and provides the necessary steps to collect their digital signatures. Without e-signature: If iGO forms are accessed via the PruXpress Website, the producer will print out completed forms to be wet signed for standard submission by your office to Prudential.
ADVANTAGES OF USE Creates efficiency for the Producer and for General Agency Case Managers! Reduces the need to distribute and scrub forms, and increases the likelihood that the initial submission will be “In Good Order” as the tool utilizes "smart edits" that pro- vide reasonability checks on information, and also ensures that all of the appropriate state-specific forms are com- pleted....significantly increasing In Good Order and "once and done" processing! Ease of Doing Business! Saves time and prevents inconvenience to producer and client by minimizing the possibility of the producer having to follow up for missing information or forms. The tool also provides a professional quality look and feel to the application package the producer provides to the client. Great "Value Added" Service! iGO e-App make it easier for producers to submit business with you! Obtain the “iGO” Gold Star by fully completing all required fields, and enabling expedited processing! Reduce Cycle Time and Get Paid faster! Agents using iGO e-App cut 10-14 days out of the sales cycle! e-SIGNATURE RESTRICTIONS Note that the initial roll out of e-Signature with iGO e-App is limited to single-owner arrangements. As a result, the following situations will not be eligible for e-signature at this time (however, iGO e-App can still be used via wet sig- nature submission method): trust-owned applications, multiple owners, or anything outside of a simple single own- ership arrangement.
To serve and Protect ...... !!! Over the past 2 months we've heavily promoted ROP Term for two reasons: 1) It's a great product with some great "markets" college funding, divorce planning, savings vehicle, Exec Bonus, Loan Protection, etc.... 2) At some point, ROP products will either be pulled by many insurance carriers....OR....rates will go up dramatically. One market we haven't mentioned is FIRE, POLICE, and MILITARY. If your producers are looking for a "Market"...... how about "protecting those who protect us" ? Most of these positions will allow an individual to retire after 20 25 yrs...... a perfect time frame for ROP Term. This will provide needed coverage during their working years and a nice walk away nest egg at retirement. Also, we can issue up to Preferred Best on these individuals (working in the US).
It's Official - Repriced 2009 SUL Protector is now available for sale!
3 Volume 2, Issue 7 & 8 July & August 2009
CARY A. LEVINSON & ASSOCIATES, INC.
Compensation Banner: Effective NOW commission on the OPTerm® 20 and 30 year plans will be reduced by 5 percent on all applications received on or after this date. William Penn: Compensation for all Penn Term plans will re- main unchanged. Annual Policy Fee
Hypertension.
At Banner Life Insurance Company and William Penn Life Insurance Company of New York, you’ll find them competitive on cases for applicants with well controlled high blood pressure. Best underwriting class is available whether treated by medication or not. Standard readings cannot exceed 156/94 in the past two years; standard plus, 152/92; preferred, 146/90 and preferred plus, 136/86. That may be a real advantage for prospects whose blood pressure rises with the cost of life insurance. We want your business, so take the pressure off your next applicant.
In today’s economy, insurance buyers are buying less. Those scaled-back pur- chases affect agency income because smaller policies mean smaller commis- sions. Time spent on app completion and case management is disproportionate to its value. Banner and William Penn want your small case business and have made it easier and more affordable for you to submit it. Rates in the $100-$249,999 face amount bands of our OPTerm and Penn Term portfolios are competitively and affordably priced. Operationally, we have the underwriting and administrative services capacity to handle more volume in cases this size. With AppAppist, brokers can complete the request for life insurance online and the applicant can authorize the application by voice signature. You get full comp...and if the policy is issued other than applied for, the informa- tion behind the decision is available to the BGA via secure link so the privacy of all parties is protected.
This is to notify you that Assurity will be changing the frequency of payment of advance commissions (Individual Sales only) now in effective . Beginning on August 3, we will no longer pay advance commissions on a daily basis. If you or your subagents are currently receiving daily advance commissions, Assurity will pay these advance commissions on a weekly basis as of August 3, 2009. This weekly payment will apply to any business that is pending and has not yet been issued as of August 3, as well as newly submitted business. No exceptions will be made to this commission rule under any circumstances. The weekly advances will be processed on Friday evenings. Assurity will submit the deposits to the banks on Monday. Your bank has until midnight on Tuesday to post the deposit to your account.
Anyone currently being paid semi-monthly (15th and last day of the month) advances will not be affected by this change. In addi- tion, as-earned commissions will continue to be paid on a semi-monthly basis.
This change is being made subsequent to a comprehensive quality of business review, in combination with a review of advance commission and debt collection practices at Assurity and throughout the industry. This change in process is being made pursu- ant to paragraph 11 of our Advance Agreement which states that the agreement may be modified at Assuritys sole discretion at any time.
We plan to send related communication to affected agents via e-mail in the next few days; however, it is also your responsibility to inform your downline producers. If you have any questions regarding this advance commission rule change, please contact your Assurity Regional Sales Manager.
4 Volume 2, Issue 7 & 8 July & August 2009
CARY A. LEVINSON & ASSOCIATES, INC.
To our Valued Distribution Partners: I have some exciting news to share. American International Group, Inc. (AIG) announced that Jay S. Wintrob has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of Domestic Life and Retirement Services, a new position. Jay, who most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of AIG Retirement Services, will lead AIG’s U.S.-based life insurance and retirement services businesses, which include American General Life Companies, SunAmerica, Western National and VALIC. What does this mean for you and your clients? Placing your clients’ financial security with a company who has the staying power is of para- mount importance. With $213 billion of admitted assets as of March 31, 2009, the newly combined organization is the third-largest life insur- ance organization in the United States, making us a powerful ally for your business. The breadth of product offerings of these unified busi- nesses will provide you and your clients with a comprehensive suite of products to meet changing needs. I am excited and honored to be selected as the new President and Chief Executive Officer of American General Life Companies, reporting to Jay. I am succeeding Matt Winter who was recently promoted to AIG Vice Chairman of Administration. I will be working closely with Jay to position the unified life insurance and retirement services businesses to operate with greater autonomy going forward and build upon the improved operating income results delivered in the first half of 2009. I am also pleased to report that we have the explicit support of AIG’s new President and CEO Bob Benmosche. In fact, Bob spent his first week on the job visiting with the employees and management teams of the life insurance and retirement services companies to better under- stand our needs. Bob believes AIG is too large and will likely continue divestiture activities for other parts of AIG, but not for the U.S.-based life insurance and retirement services companies. Bob is a veteran of this industry and a great believer in the significant role our businesses play in the domestic marketplace. He knows this business, likes this business, and is committed to ensuring we have the necessary resources to succeed. We have an exciting future ahead of us. With our combined expertise in protection, savings and retirement income solutions – and with your support – we are well positioned to anticipate and meet the next generation of consumers’ finan- cial security needs. We believe we have an opportunity to reinvigorate our collective businesses over the coming months as the country pulls out of recession. We hope that you, too, are excited about our prospects, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with you.
Sincerely, Mary Jane Fortin
What do you call a Guaranteed level-premium guaranteed term prod- term uct that offers clients 17 term durations for true client customization - 10-year 17 different durations? and 15- through 30-years We call it AG Select-a- - with expanded issue TermSM and it's more ages on many durations competitive than ever! New low band for face amounts of $100,000 - Call your representative $250,000 about AG Select-a-Term — Most competitive rate band competitive, customizable, lowered to $500,000 from convertible coverage from $1 million American General Life Com- Convertible to our fixed, index panies insurers. Still the right and variable universal life choice for your term products and to our guar- business. anteed UL product during first 60 months Now convertible to our return of premium term product - AG ROP Select-a-TermSM - for two years
5 Volume 2, Issue 7 & 8 July & August 2009
CARY A. LEVINSON & ASSOCIATES, INC.
Update of Product Changes - SUL & UL Product Name is changing from Lifetime Provider SUL II.B to GenGuard SUL on 8/17/09 Product Name is changing from FlexPlus II to GenGuard UL on 9/28/09 Pricing designed & optimized for death benefit guarantee coverage to age 105 for both GenGuard SUL & GenGuard UL GenGuard SUL - Targeting top 5 position at $1 MM Face for all ages for short and single pay GenGuard UL - Targeting top 5 position at $1 MM Face for all ages for full-, short- and single pay scenarios
We are pleased to announce our new death benefit guarantee survivorship universal life (SUL) insurance product, GenGuardSM SUL, the first in our new universal life (UL) series -- GenGuardSM. GenGuard SUL is part of a very competitive UL portfolio that includes our death benefit guarantee Lifetime FlexPlus® II, our Life ReadySM UL II cur- rent assumption UL product, and our Lifetime Protector SG II conversion product. As of August 17, GenGuard SUL replaces Lifetime ProviderSMSUL II.B. Our new death benefit product guarantee will continue to make coverage available to age 121 but is optimized for a death benefit guarantee to 105 and will be competitive to 110. GenGuard SUL is particularly attractive with single- and short-pay scenarios. Toward the end of September, we will expand the new GenGuard series to include our single life death benefit guarantee product, Lifetime FlexPlus II, which will become GenGuardSM UL. As with our SUL, GenGuard UL will continue to make coverage available to age 121 but is optimized for a death benefit guarantee to age 105. It is important to note that Genworth's cash value story remains one of the best in the industry. UL remains a vital part of our product offering and we are strongly committed to independent distribution. We be- lieve consumers are looking for products that provide competitive solutions while offering an optimal blend of value and benefits. Our goal is to bring you and your brokers the best possible products that provide great value to your clients and are capital efficient in today's environment.
Did you know that Transamerica Life Insurance Company offers exceptional rates for their 25 Year Level Term??
Did you also know that this remarkable policy can be written for applicants to age 65?
That is correct. Guaranteed coverage until age 90 on a 25 year term policy
Hot Points: Family Markets! Great for large cases. Great for cases that will require advanced underwriting support from home office. H O T P O I N T S : Good with foreign nationals and foreign travels Direct Home Office Access. Uses actual age. New lower term rates for cases over $250,000! Daily Commissions.
6 Volume 2, Issue 7 & 8 July & August 2009
CARY A. LEVINSON & ASSOCIATES, INC.
LTC DIVISION:
Genworth LTC Launches New Website Let's Talk Campaign Genworth's Let's Talk campaign began this month with the launch of a new website: www.genworth.com/lets-talk going live. Let's Talk is being deemed as Genworth's first stages of a "got milk" approach offering company generic suggestions to difficult topics such as "talking to loved ones" and "planning" for LTC. Regardless of your carrier affiliations, we believe this information can become a great tool to use in your communications with your prospects and clients. Virginia Morris is a subject matter expert for Genworth Financial's Let's Talk. She has devoted more than 25 years to researching and writing about health care, medical research, and related social and political issues. (Read more about her on the website) Take a look at the link and get ahead of your competitors. Let's Talk starts this month and will only continue getting better. More Genworth Updates: Commission Statements Available Online Read more. First Quarter 2009 Investments Overview This document provides an overview of their consolidated investment portfolio and their investment management practices, which are core elements of their overall financial strength. Read more. Read remarks from Buck Stinson, President of Insurance Products for Genworth's Retirement and Protection Business, at the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging On June 3, Buck Stinson participated in a hearing of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging to provide a deeper understanding of the value and viability of long term care insurance. For more information, review their press release and visit the Senate Aging Committee Website.
Genworth Strength and Stability Click here to view the "Making a Difference" story posted on genworth.com. Prudential LTC Revises the PruXpress Website Redesigned for Individual LTC Materials Prudential Long-Term Care is pleased to announce that they've recently redesigned the ILTC section of www.PruXpress.com and have modified the categorization of their materials - making it simpler than ever for our producers to locate materials and information about our LTCi products. All of the ILTC marketing materials can now be found under the "Marketing" tab on PruXpress. Please note that the process for accessing Applications and Web Case Status has not changed. There are individual tabs for information on all of Prudential's LTC products currently on the market including LTC by Design, LTC3 SM, and LTC Evolution SM. Additionally, there's an LTC Administration tab which links you to: Communications, Forms, Illustration software, Sample policies, Shoppers' guides, Underwriting infor- mation, and more. There's also a "Contact Experts" tab where you can submit a question that will be answered by a Prudential Long-Term Care professional.
We welcome you to visit or revisit the new and improved PruXpress and we're confident that you'll find this newly-designed site simple to navigate. A new one-page highlighter has been created to help guide you through the site and have attached it below for your convenience. They've also created a highlighter that provides simple instructions on how to download PruQuote, Prudential LTC's illustration software.
Click to find out how to access ILTC Marketing Materials on PruXpress. Accessing Marketing Materials
Click below to read about how to locate and download PruQuote Software on PruXpress. Downloading PruQuote Prudential "Choose Your Rewards" Incentive Program Begins August 1st As we announced last week, Prudential's popular gift card incentive program is back! Here's your chance to reward yourself by redeeming earned gift cards at your choice of over 350 leading merchants including popular restaurants, department stores, specialty shops, movie theatres, hotels, travel websites, airlines, cruise compa- nies, home improvement stores, car rental companies, and more. Please click on the link below for the full communication and the flyer. Choose Your Rewards Newly Enhanced Group LTCi Plans from John Hancock And other news... Seize opportunities in the employer market with new Group LTCI plans Check out the newly enhanced CareChoice and CorporateChoice group LTCI plans that target small to large-sized employers. Read this communication for plan highlights and administrative details. MARKETING NEWS Cost of care brochure expanded to show costs in 274 cities John Hancock has expanded their Cost of Care Survey results booklet to reflect the cost of care in 274 cities across the country. Download the latest copy today. Form: LTC-3367 rev. 6/09 Reach prospects with new brochures & direct mail tools - now in GA & VACheck out the fresh new needs-based marketing materials and prospecting tools to help grow your business and maximize your success with prospective clients. Click here to view a collateral guide of materials. New advertising and seminar tools - now in IN, KS, LA, MD, MT, OK and WV Use these new market-specific advertising and seminar materials to increase your prospecting efforts and your LTCI sales. Click here to view a collateral guide of mate- rials. Educate prospects about the claims process with new brochure This new brochure provides prospective clients with information about our claims process. It also details the valuable support and services available at time of claim, such as advice, discounts, and care coordination. Form: LTC-3462 Leverage Colorado's upcoming launch of the Own Your Future campaign In early July, Colorado will launch the Own Your Future consumer awareness campaign. Read this article for details about the campaign and the tools you can use to leverage it with your own prospects.
COMPLIANCE NEWS Correction: Custom Care II Enhanced product brochure in TX The brochure incorrectly indicates that benefit increases taken through the 5% Compound Inflation will increase the annual premium. The brochure has been updated on the web and will be available in print the week of June 29.
7 Volume 2, Issue 7 & 8 July & August 2009
CARY A. LEVINSON & ASSOCIATES, INC.
Levinson Fixed Annuities Good Time for Guarantees For clients that are looking for safe guarantees from quality carriers, consider these fixed annuity products... Safe Deferral and Income 10% Bonus - 7% Commission >> 10% Premium Bonus >> 8% guaranteed roll-up income rider >> 10% free withdrawals >> A rated carrier >> Up to 7.00% commission
Guaranteed Rate Annuities >> 3.33% for 3 years >> 4.20% for 5 years >> 4.40% for 10 years >> 10% free withdrawals
Income annuity spreadsheets too
Let us shop your next case… Fixed rates, indexed products and guaranteed income Call for Details and a Sales Kit Bill Levinson at 800-375-2279 [email protected]
www.CaryLevinson.com Rates Subject to Change
8 WE’RE ON THE WEB! WWW.CARYLEVINSON.COM OUR FREE AGENT WEBSITES Dear Levinson agent, Many of you have been using your InsProfessional.com website for the past few months, customizing your own pages and benefiting from the Quote Engine. Some of you may have been a bit intimidated by the process; if that describes you, fear not! We have created 3 great video tutorials for you, that will show you step by step instructions for signing up for your website, creating your website, and then customizing your site with text and pictures. So whether you've been using it and can use some help customizing your site a bit more, or if you never got off the ground with it, it's now easier than ever. Also very important: your website's address will be insprofessional.com/username however, you can use your own domain instead! For example, instead of using insprofessional.com/bob, we can help you register your own domain BobIn surance.com for example, and then you can put your InsProfessional site on this custom domain, which you can then advertise. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
CARY A. LEVINSON & ASSOCIATES, INC.
5551 N. University Dr. Suite 201 Coral Springs, Florida 33067 Toll Free: 800.375.2279 Fax: 954.746.9535 E-Mail: [email protected]
Levinson & Associates “Where Old Fashioned Service Meets Today’s Technology”
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