BUI Brokerage Briefs November 2008 Welcome to the latest edition of the BUI Brokerage Briefs. You are receiving this communication because of your business relationship with BUI or due to your registration as a BUI web site user.  Previous editions are archived on the BUI web site at www.brokerageunlimited.com.    Many of you have asked for a BUI Staff Directory, so one is provided by clicking on the link.  An updated staff directory is also always available on the BUI web site.  We welcome your comments and suggestions (send to  marketing@brokerageunlimited.com).  We hope you find the material in this communication valuable. In This Issue Newest Teammate Enhances BUI Advanced Planning Resources Latest Carrier & Product News BUI Leaders Club Announcement The Countdown Has Begun Estate Planning: Life Insurance And Credit Shelter Trusts Executive Benefits: Making It Easy Using Life Insurance As An Asset Long Term Care Insurance Corner Helpful Hints From Your New Business Consultant NEWEST TEAMMATE ENHANCES BUI ADVANCED PLANNING RESOURCES Welcome Brian Seigel, JD   BUI is pleased to introduce a new team member and an expansion to our advanced planning capabilities.  Brian Seigel, JD, was a practicing attorney for 14 years, specializing in estate planning and business succession planning, prior to joining BUI.    We are confident that you will appreciate his exceptional ability to help you integrate with your client's professional advisors.  Brian is also available for seminar presentations, conferences with clients, etc.  Please don't hesitate to set a time to visit with Brian by phone or in person.  Just call or drop him an email at bseigel@brokerageunlimited.com.  LATEST CARRIER & PRODUCT NEWS Following are important announcements from our carriers.  Details may be obtained from the BUI Marketing Team by email: Marketing@brokerageunlimited.com   American National Life Currently our most popular annuity carrier.  Now offering a cash bonus on fixed annuity business.     In addition to very competitive rates, the Palladium Single Premium Immediate Annuity contains a liquidity option that offers partial withdrawals or surrender of remaining proceeds.  Click on the link to download the BUI Fixed Annuity Spreadsheet     AXA Now more liberal with certain diabetec risks.  Those over the age of 50 may be eligible for standard rates.   Banner Life New Umbrella 120 guaranteed death benefit UL introduced (not yet approved in all states) with premiums based upon 2001 CSO mortality table and a 24-month rolling target premium.  This product is also available for term conversions.   Banner will also accept an application for up to $1 million on a dependent spouse provided working spouse has a like amount.    Genworth New single premium deferred annuity products, Stable 5 and Liberty now offer bailout provisions.  See the BUI annuity spreadsheet for details.   New Total Living Coverage-Annuity (TLCA) product now available in some states.  Joins the previously introduced Total Living Coverage (TLC) single premium life product.  Both products contain long term care features attractive to those clients who do not wish to purchase stand-alone long term care products.   Newly improved Lifetime Provider SUL II has been repriced for 2001 CSO mortality and is more competitive for full pay scenarios.    ING  This carrier will not preclude Super Preferred or Preferred to applicants with a cancer death in their family history.    Two new UL products join the portfolio emphasizing cash accumulation.  They are ING UL-ECV (Enhanced Cash Value) and ING VUL-ECV (Enhanced Cash Value VUL).  These products feature high early cash values and no surrender charges, but also a low, level compensation structure.    They are perfect for use in Executive Benefit Programs like Split-Dollar, Deferred Compensation, Key Person, and Premium Financing.      John Hancock Protection VUL and Protection SVUL both offer extended no-lapse guarantee Investment Options along with an array of lifestyle portfolios.   Underwriting niches include an elimination of temporary flat extras on certain cancer histories, and family history guidelines allow preferred if no more than one death of a parent or sibling before age 60 from coronary artery disease or cancer.   MetLife External Term Conversion Program allows term contacts under five yeras old to be converted into universal life with limited underwriting.  Contact our marketing team for program details and limitations.    Nationwide Life New VUL products introduced princed for 2001 CSO Mortality.  YourLife Proctection VUL and YourLife Accumulator VUL are now available.  Both product allow the addition of Nationwide's unique long term care Rider.     The Long Term Care Rider can be added to trust owned life insurance contracts without adverse tax consequenses.  This important feature is unique in the industry.   Transamerica Term Opportunity Program (TOP) 25 offers additional converage with limited underwriting.  Trendsetter 25-year term will be issued and full commission paid.  Click here for a list carriers eligible for this program.  Contact the BUI marketing team for all program details and limitations.       United of Omaha New Term Exchange Program.  Will issue new coverage for equal or less face amount up to $1.5 million using simplified underwriting if existing coverage in force for one year or less.  Contact marketing team for additional details.   West Coast Life New Golden Legacy Proctector X survivorship UL product now available in most states.  This product offers guaranteed death benefit features, and has a minimum death benefit of $250,000.   If this e-mail was forwarded to you by a friend or colleague, we encourage you to join our e-mail list Brokerage Unlimited, Inc. P.O. Box 419006 St. Louis, MO 63141 marketing@brokerageunlimited.com 314-392-2841 / 800-645-2841 brokerageunlimited.com For Broker Use Only! Not intended for use by the general public ------------------------------------------ IRS Circular 230 Disclosure : To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS and other taxing authorities, we inform you that any tax advice (whether U.S. federal, state, local or otherwise) contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (1) avoiding penalties that may be imposed on any taxpayer (under the Internal Revenue Code, state tax law, local tax law or otherwise) or (2) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.      Your Real Questions.....Our Real Answers       BUI LEADERS CLUB MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT!   Will you join us at the Ritz-Carlton in Palm Beach, Florida?   We want YOU to be a part of the 2008 BUI Leaders Club meeting at the fabulous Ritz-Carlton in Palm Beach, Florida!  The meeting dates are May 28, 2009 through May 31, 2009.  The qualification period ends on December 31, 2008, so time is short.      Click for photos of Ritz-Carleton Palm Beach, FL   Click for Leaders Club Qualfications for 2008     THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN! The deadline is fast approaching for all insurance carriers to make the mandatory transition from the 1980 Commissioner's Standard Ordinary (CSO) Mortality Table to the new 2001 CSO Mortality Table.  The deadline is December 31, 2008, and many carriers have already made the required changes to their products.     Click for full article   ESTATE PLANNING Life Insurance and Credit Shelter Trusts   Most wealthy individuals use credit shelter trusts and marital trusts in their estate plans.  The maximum amount that can pass free of estate taxes is placed in the credit shelter trust with the remainder passing to a marital trust.  This is the classic A/B trust estate plan that is most commonly found.    Many financial advisors have successfully placed substantial life insurance policies by showing widows and widowers with assets in their credit shelter trust how those funds can be leveraged into a significant income and estate tax free legacy for their children and grandchildren.     Click for full article   EXECUTIVE BENEFITS:   Making Executive Benefits Easy For You and Your Business Owner Clients   Now is the time to get into the Executive Benefits business, as the opportunity is big.  If your client is a business owner, he/she has the need for incentives which can be used to recruit and retain talented employees.  If your client is a highly paid executive, he/she has some leverage to negotiate with their employer for a plan for supplemental retirement benefits that go beyond the standard 401(k) plans, profit-sharing plans, pension plans, SEP's, etc.    Executive Benefits refers to supplemental retirement benefits that employers can make available to their most valued employees.  These are non-qualified retirement benefits that are offered to supplement what employers are allowed to offer as qualified benefits.  The purpose of offering these benefits is to help the employer recruit, retain, and reward the talented executives needed to make their business a success.     Click for full article   USING LIFE INSURANCE AS AN ASSET TO STABILIZE WEALTH TRANSFERS   For many decades, but especially since the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 (ERTA), life insurance has been a long-standing estate planning liquidity device.  You may recall that ERTA significantly expanded the "exemption equivalent amount" that passes to the next generation free of estate tax.  It also enacted the "unlimited marital deduction" which delayed the estate tax until the death of the surviving spouse, thereby ushering in the popularity of joint & survivor life insurance contracts.   Today, life insurance is being used in estate planning for much more than just estate settlement liquidity.  Life insurance is now also being used as an asset in the estate that, for a relatively small outlay, provides the safety of guaranteed benefits and the unique leverage only life insurance can offer.  It is, in effect, another investment in the estate's portfolio; one that provides a significant return relative to its low risk.     Click for full article   LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE CORNER Contact Roger Lintner, BUI's Director of Long Term Care Insurance for details on all of the items that follow (rlintner@brokerageunlimited.com).     MetLife Long Term Care Pricing Changes   MetLife Long Term Care Pricing ChangesMetLife has announced it will file for an in force rate increase on their LTC97 and VIP1 policy series.  The rate action of approximately 18% is scheduled for the second half of 2009.  MetLife has stated they will attempt to limit the increases on older policyholders.  Please review the official MetLife release for additional details.   LTCi and Year-End Tax Planning   The end of the year is when many business owners ask for ideas on reducing their tax liability.  Be ready for these questions with a great answer...LongTerm Care.  Did you know LTCi premiums paid by a business offer a great way to: Deduct: All or part of the premium may be deductible Discriminate: Select who will be included in the plan Discount: Premiums are discounted 5% to 10% for employer sponsored programs All participants can qualify for simplified underwriting Contact BUI's LTCi Expert, Roger Lintner at for more details and to receive a FREE Tax Guideline Brochure.  Producer Discounts of 5% to 15%   Be your own best client.  Select LTCi carriers will give you and your spouse a serious discount on your own long term care premium.  In most cases, you will also be able to deduct the premium.    A Better Way to Leverage Assets?   Asset-linked long term care solutions have become increasingly popular, and BUI has numerous asset-linked products from which you can choose.  Imagine leveraging $100,000 of client assets (as a simgle premium) to create a $650,000 pool available for long term care benefits with no additional premium outlay, while guaranteeing the return of the original $100,000.  Let Roger Lintner (rlintner@brokerageunlimited.com) show you how this concept can work for your client.      HELPFUL HINTS FROM YOUR NEW BUSINESS CONSULTANT   Hints to shorten processing times and increase the chances for a favorable underwriting result. Accepting an initial premium payment with an insurance application should be as easy, or so you would think.  BUI New Business Consultants reviewing incoming applications that have initial payments encounter several every month where the conditional receipt requirements were not properly followed.  In those cases, the carrier will return the money to the proposed insured and the conditional coverage will not be in affect.     Each carrier has differing rules with regard to payments and conditional coverage.  Several have updated their applications recently to reflect changes in their rules.  That is why it is always a good idea to carefully read the conditions of the receipt to be certain you are permitted to accept the initial payment and conditionally cover your client.    We find most of the problems in this area occur when: Answers on the conditional receipt are marked "Yes", Payment is accepted when the amount applied for is over the binding limit, and When different dates are entered on the check, the application and the receipt (all should be the same).     To avoid the issue of having money returned to your client and having to explain why they are not conditionally covered, please take an extra moment to familiarize yourself with the receipt before meeting with your client.  Here is a very helpful summary of appropriate forms of payment.  As always, please contact you New Business Consultant if you have any questions.