Brandon Roberts | The Insurance Pro Blog

Whole Life Insurance Versus Stock Market a New and Updated Numbers

Several years ago, I published a blog post that used real whole life data results to compare to passive index investing results. The results showed that a well designed whole life policy that maximizes

Building Safety Against Bad Market Conditions

Investing in the stock market certainly has its advantages. It can produce some incredible new wealth for those who are disciplined (and in some cases lucky). But the market is not the panacea when

How the Current Market Affects Life Insurance

The U.S. stock market just wrapped up one of its worst weeks ever. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped around 17% this week alone. The S&P 500 finished the week down 13%. And the NASDAQ

How Indexed Universal Life Insurance Minimizes Sequence of Returns Risk

We started sounding the alarm about the sequence of returns risk way back in 2013. Since that time, others jumped on our train to warn retirement savers that one of the most dangerous risks they face

Why Bloggers Hate on Whole Life Insurance

Some financial bloggers appear to hate whole life insurance. A good lot of them have blog posts dedicated to extolling the virtues of term life insurance over whole life insurance. According to them,

Whole Life Insurance Study 2020

The Whole Life Insurance Study began as a question concerning the impact modern communication technology had on the sale of life insurance–specifically whole life insurance. Given the freedom to

Should You Borrow Against Your Life Insurance to Buy More Life Insurance?

I appreciate creativity. When I first started selling life insurance, I spent hours studying the product. Prodding it in various ways to see what it did. When I happened upon a few tricks I could

Why Paid-Up Additions Matter

If I had to pick one, and only one, additional feature of whole life insurance, it is hands down the paid-up additions feature. Even if I lose the ability to blend death benefit, if I still have the

Indexed Universal Life Insurance Sales Success Myth

Industry chatter about indexed universal life insurance spans a wide spectrum of woohoo! and boohoo! Regardless of your position on the product, the one apparent consensus is: the product is on fire!

The Doomed Index Universal Life Insurance Policy

You don't have to look far on the interwebs to stumble upon a blog post, video, or infographic that throws a little shade at indexed universal life insurance. The product is attacked relentlessly by

The Ups and Downs of Automated Life Insurance Underwriting

One of the coolest things going on in the life insurance industry is the rapid adoption of an underwriting process that seeks to streamline the process of applying for life insurance. This so-called

Indexed Universal Life: Market Neutral?

The other day I was part of a conversation with another agent about Indexed Universal Life. The conversation was more of a challenge to my position that, like whole life insurance and current

Consumer Reports “Study” on Whole Life Insurance

In April of 2015, Consumer Reports published a report on life insurance titled: Is Whole Life Insurance Right for You? The report used the subtitle: Follow our Advice to Assess this Most

The Incredible Flexibility of Blended Whole Life Insurance

Today I want to talk about a subject that comes up every time we discuss whole life insurance with someone. The flexibility of whole life insurance is a major concern among our clients and prospective

Life Insurers Focus on Safety Not Risky Returns

It's no secret that interest rates are not in a place that life insurers favor. With interest rates so low, one might think that life insurers will move to more exotic investment ideas to recoup

Likely Changes Coming to Indexed Universal Life Insurance Illustrations: Actuarial Guideline 49 Updates

In 2015, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners's (NAIC) Life Actuarial Task Force (LATF) codified new rules for life insurance illustrations with indexing features. Actuarial Guideline

Mutual Life Insurers Investment Income Vs. Obligations Analysis

I often field questions about what financial metrics I hold most important when analyzing life insurance companies. While my answer can be a tad complex, I do have a short list of key metrics on which

Comparing Permanent Life Insurance Policies: The Linton Yield Method

There are numerous ways to compare cash value life insurance policies. Some of them are pretty well recognized though of relatively little use like the Net Cost Surrender Index. Others are known within

New York Best Interest Rule Regulation 187 Everything you Need to Know

Earlier this year, New York State amended Regulation 187 to establish what we're all calling the “Best Interest Rule.” After taking some careful time to pick through the entire amended regulation,

The End of the Insurance Pro Blog Podcast

We started podcasting seven years ago. It seems a little crazy to me to write that. But our first foray into the podcasting began in early September 2012 with the Financial Procast. Here's the

Is the Cash Surrender Value of Life Insurance Taxable?

The taxability of life insurance cash surrender value causes much confusion. Agents often extol the tax free nature of life insurance. But the marketing brochures often have numerous footnotes on the

Does Whole Life Insurance Cost More than Term Life Insurance?

You might have heard that whole life insurance cost more than term life insurance. This very statement is the foundation of many arguments suggesting that term life insurance is simply a smarter financial

Penn Mutual Suspends Sale of Life Insurance and Annuities in New York

In a statement made by CEO Eileen McDonnell and President Dave O'Malley, Penn Mutual announced it will suspend the sale of its life insurance and annuity contracts in the state of New York. The

Please Don’t Compare Whole Life Dividends to Universal Life Interest

It's hard to figure out what life insurance policy is best. When it comes to purchases focusing on cash value, we want an easy way to compare policies and declare a winner. A naturally obvious way

IUL Bonuses Pay You Double Digits?

We're no strangers to voicing our concerns about lofty indexed universal life insurance assumptions. In fact, we were an early voice seeking to temper the returns on IUL as the product began picking

Return of Premium Life Insurance Strategies

For most agents, return of premium life insurance likely conjures up thoughts about term life insurance. This comes from the marketing hurrah over return of premium term life insurance now over a decade

The Ultimate Guide to Whole Life Insurance Companies

Whole life insurance companies or life insurance companies that offer whole life insurance comprise a much smaller pool of insurers versus universal life insurance. However, a lot of these companies

Independent Life Insurance Broker Myth

Being an independent life insurance broker sounds like a lot of fun. You don't work for any specific company. You have no quotas to worry about. Instead, you work independently and make unbiased

Northwestern Mutual’s Dishonest Sales Tactic

Northwestern Mutual is a huge mutual life insurance company in the United States. The company boasts an impressive policyholder count, an extremely large asset pool, and enviable profitability. These

Advantages and Disadvantages of Life Insurance

Life insurance comes with great benefits and a few disadvantages. For the average person out there looking to gain a better understanding of life insurance, we put together this list of the top three

All posts by Brandon Roberts