3 Mark Financial, Inc.

8/2/2017

Join Darrell Wolfe & Bruce Alfredson as we introduce 3 Mark Financial's new Longevity Specialists platform

Webinar later today at 3:00 pm central

Medicare Can Be Complex. This Guide Puts It in Plain Language.

And since Medicare doesn't cover everything, our guide also spells out other options that can be used to help pay for healthcare expenses in retirement. Download the Guide Now

DOL Do’s & Don’ts

Check out our suggested best practices for producers when selling life insurance in a post-DOL Fiduciary Rule environment. It’s also a great reference tool to keep on-hand after completing our DOL training course!  DOL Check-list

Section 162 Executive Bonus Plan - Providing For Key Employees

With the onerous Deferred Compensation rules contained in Internal Revenue Code Section 409A along with the lack of tax deductions in funding, many employers are turning to Section 162 Executive Bonus Plans to provide for key employees. An Executive Bonus Plan is a way to provide additional benefits to key employees while being able to discriminate as to who receives the benefits.  Read More

Tremendous Opportunities for You in the Multicultural Market

Our new report gives strategies, ideas, and insights that can help you tap into the increasingly diverse multicultural market and position your business for long-term growth. Read More 

Closing the Retirement Income Gender Gap

Prudential's newest report provides insights that can help employers improve the retirement security of all their employees, while also achieving better business outcomes. Access the Full Report

July Economic Dashboard: Pro-Growth Agenda in Doubt

Although consumer spending remains muted, business and consumer surveys suggest solid economic growth ahead. Equity markets continue to trend irregularly upward to record levels. Long-term interest rates have edged higher as global central bankers have become a bit more hawkish. Find more in this month’s issue. 

UL University: A Quick Way to Get Up to Speed on our IUL Products

View our series of short, easy-to-follow training modules to learn all about indexed universal life insurance and our two product offerings. 

Help Your Clients Determine their Life Insurance Need

Use our Life Insurance for Living (LIFL) app to help your clients determine how much life insurance they need. Read the article to find out how to download the app.

SBLI Completes Conversion to Mutual Insurance Company

I am delighted to inform you that The Savings Bank Life Insurance Company of Massachusetts (SBLI) has now successfully completed its conversion from a stock insurance company to a mutual insurance company owned by its policyholders. Following the conversion, the company’s name will change to The Savings Bank Mutual Life Insurance Company of Massachusetts. While the conversion changed our legal name, it did not change the way we plan to operate our business, we will continue doing business as 'SBLI'. The enclosed Press Release provides further details. If you would like to get any additional information, please feel free to contact the SBLI Brokerage Hotline at 1-888-224-7254.    

Principal announces  a re-price on the UL Protector IV product on effective August 28^th.  Learn more  

AIG is discontinuing the sale of Inheritance Life Plus.  

Read the Product Bulletin to learn more.

Select-A-Term Reprice

Check out our new, market-leading premium rates on face amounts of $500,000 and above plus other great news. The higher bands on Select-a-Term just got more competitive nationwide and in New York!  Learn more.  

Living Benefits Sale Made Easy with 10-10-10 Plan

Selling living benefits has never been easier. With this supplemental financial professional tool, find your client's age bracket and rate class combination to see if the 10-10-10 works for them. Pay premiums for 10 YEARS, wait for 10 YEARS, and get your money back over10 YEARS – as a supplemental retirement benefit.  Learn more. 

Jumpstart Your Business

Need an easy way to jumpstart your business over the summer? We have the perfect solution for you with our Guaranteed External Term Exchange program. We will accept term policies from an extensive list of carriers issued within the last 36 months at Standard or better rates. They can convert to any of our permanent policies with no underwriting!  Learn more. 

Exit Strategy for Changing Life Insurance Needs

In addition to competitive premiums, Symetra UL-G’s Return of Premium (ROP) Rider offers clients an “exit strategy” should their needs change. The rider is designed to return up to 100% of the cumulative paid premiums if requested during two available exit windows. Learn more.  

Case Study: Cross Purchase Buy-Sell Agreement

Two brothers are equal owners of a closely held “C” corporation. They would like to ensure the survival of their business and protect their families if one of them dies unexpectedly. In a new case study, see how the brothers use a cross-purchase buy-sell plan using Symetra UL-G with a Return of Premium (ROP) Rider as their life insurance solution. The plan allows the brothers to purchase life insurance policies on each other, so the surviving brother can use the death benefit to buy out the deceased brother’s shares at death for sole ownership of the business. They also have the option to get up to 100% of the cumulative paid premiums back if the buy-sell is no longer needed.  

2017 Advanced Markets Q&A

The 2017 edition of the Advanced Markets Q&A book is one of our most popular resource guides that answers a variety of questions on topics like qualified plans and IRAs, nonqualified annuity taxation, life insurance, and estate planning – common questions that the Advanced Markets team receives on a daily basis. Be sure to keep our latest version handy to help your business stay running smoothly. Download here or contact us to get your hard copy today. 

Working with Small Business Owners

Our client-approved presentations can help you educate your business owner clients on the various life insurance strategies. Learn more.

Hybrid or linked-benefit products are a fresh approach to retirement and estate planning. These products, cover opposing risk groups by combining long-term care coverage with life insurance or an annuity.

Help Women Maintain Their Independence with LTC Planning

Older parents and grandparents can help satisfy an important planning need for their children and grandchildren, while leaving a lasting legacy. Look in your book for clients who may be gifting annually to their children or have contributed to a 529 for a grandchild. Here’s an example of how annual gifting can help fund LTC protection for the next generation and beyond.

Virtual Care Solutions University: Your one-stop shop

Register for webinars, download resources and access presentations, all on the VCSU website. 

Consider CareMatters

Nationwide CareMattersSM helps your clients save time and avoid hassle by paying an upfront, easy-to-manage cash benefit at claim time. Have a client in mind? Run an instant quote based on their gender, age and selected premium with our Benefit Estimator Tool.

SecureCare is #1

SecureCare UL ranks #1 for common competitive LTC scenarios. SecureCare Universal Life provides your clients with flexibility and helps protect their assets from rising long-term care expenses - all while maintaining life insurance protection. View competitive flyer. 

We are pleased to introduce improved allocation and disclosure forms. Our new allocation forms are designed by product and can take away confusion on which form to use. We have also combined state-specific disclosure forms whenever possible to reduce the number of variations. Please use these forms for business effective June 9, 2017 and after.

Click here to read the announcement

DOL Update

April 6, 2016, the United States Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued final rules to expand the definition of an “investment advice fiduciary” under ERISA, and redefined certain prohibited transaction exemptions (“PTEs”) to be applicable as of June ‌9, 2017. Some components of the rule become applicable on June 9, 2017. In order to help you navigate the rule, please see the Continuing to Do Business with Lincoln in a Post-DOL Environment bulletin. The attached bulletin outlines key information regarding sales of annuity and life contracts for the June 9, 2017 to January 1, 2018 transition period.  Also attached is a sample 8424 template.  Please read page 1 for important information about this sample template.

Annuity Fact Finder 

Click here for a great Annuity Fact Finder

ASSET TRANSFER TIPS 

For all annuity carriers

Transferring assets, or exchanging money via section 1035 of the tax code, may have tax consequences. Any questions regarding taxation should be referred to a qualified tax professional.

1. Call the Financial Institution/Insurance Company to see what they require to transfer the money e. g. some financial institutions, like Fidelity, require a call from the client to release money, others like Northwestern Mutual require their own surrender form to accompany the 1035/transfer form from the company receiving the money.
2. Attach a copy of a current policy/ account statement for the funds being transferred to the 1035/transfer document.
3. Complete the 1035/transfer form carefully and completely. Be sure all necessary signatures are obtained.
4. Send original transfer forms with the application to 3 Mark for processing.

Underwriting Guideline Changes Regarding Sales to Foreign Residents

Effective June 12, 2017 underwriting guideline changes were made regarding sales to foreign residents. New is the introduction of a US nexus requirement that must be met for any sale to a foreign resident.  Learn more. 

MIB Frequently Asked Questions

As an important part of our underwriting process, we want to share some information about MIB, Inc. Read more.