I wonder- what specifically are “large, undisclosed commissions?”
January 31, 2023 by Sheryl J. Moore
Do you guys remember when California had a bounty program, where they would pay professionals to turn in sheisty insurance agents?
Well, remembering that got my attention, when I saw this article promoted in my Google alerts.
I wonder- what specifically are “large, undisclosed commissions?” This guy makes it sound like annuities pay 10% comp and life cases are at 150% of the guideline premium? Not all life insurance and annuity products pay high commissions; most don’t. Sales of high commission products are nominal. Is the article’s author even referring to sample data, when making these claims?
I don’t know how someone can forecast the rate of lapse on universal life? Where is that data found?
“Annuities and investment-oriented life insurance are too complex for consumers to make sound choices by themselves. They have no choice but to trust their agent, often without realizing the conflict of interests at stake.”
Just because an insurance agent gets paid a commission does not imply that they have a conflict of interest. It is just a different way of getting paid on a financial services product. I would counter that getting a commission isn’t any more of a conflict than an advisor being paid on your assets, every year, year after year, for eternity?
Fiduciaries account for 0.8% of deferred annuity sales and 0.0% of life insurance sales. If a fiduciary was the only individual that could recommend life insurance and/or annuities, where would Americans get their guaranteed lifetime income? Their death benefit protection.
I am earnestly surprised to find that Jerry Vanderzanden, CLU, ChFC and Richard Weber serve on the board of the organization that the author, Brian Brosnahan serves. I have stood in agreement with these first two gentlemen a lot throughout my career.
The mission of the Life Insurance Consumer Advocacy Center is strangely targeted at universal life. I have to assume indexed universal life? At any rate, there is no such thing as a bad life insurance or annuity product; only unsuitable sales.
This- is concerning. I would expect such a consumer advocacy group to ensure its target audience has the resources they need, in order to make informed decisions. This seems more like a hit piece, based on conjecture.
