Category: Advisor Resources

Collateral: Alternatives to Borrowing from the Life Insurance Company

by Elizabeth4TC | Feb 21, 2019 | Comments Off on Collateral: Alternatives to Borrowing from the Life Insurance Company

Those advisors that are “whole-life friendly” know the many advantages of a whole life insurance policy to its policyholders, and the options that are available with a little creativity and a prosperity mindset. One of the primary advantages of a policy is the ability to borrow against the policy’s cash value and secure a loan straight from the insurance company—without the long approval process of a bank loan.

While beneficial for a number of reasons, borrowing against the policy is not always the best strategy depending on your client’s desires. Using a policy as collateral, however, can be a great strategy for acquiring a bank loan.

For example, clients who are beginning a business might find it wiser to secure a loan from the bank while their credit is good. If the cash flow is less than expected in the first year, the client can utilize the savings of their cash value to assist in loan repayment. If the client approached the loan the other way around, they might be unable to acquire help from the bank if their business does not perform as expected. This strategy could end up consuming the cash value in repayment to the insurance company and put the business in hot water.

In this case, the client could use the cash value of their policy as collateral to secure a bank loan. And with whole life insurance, the policyholder can often use the policy as collateral from local banks and credit unions.

When using the cash value as collateral, banks loans often have high loan-to-value limits, usually at 80 or 90%. This means a client could borrow up to $80k or $90k with $100k of cash value as collateral. In addition, bank rates are often lower than the interest rates at the insurance company for policy loans, with current rates as low as prime.

While using the policy as collateral, the client can actually have more freedom in a new or uncertain business venture because of the opportunity fund of their cash value. In turn, the client has the opportunity for plenty of future business ventures. See our previous article for other underutilized ways to use a whole life insurance policy.

It’s important to note that for clients with a term insurance policy, there is no cash value at all, and therefore no ability borrow against the policy or use it as collateral.

While this option is most common with local institutions, the banks listed below have been referred to us as providing this service nationally. Please contact them directly for more information.

Jeanne Leconte
Kensington Financial Associates
18851 NE 29th Avenue, Suite 413
Personal AND “Direct to Business” loans
OK to use multiple policies for collateral
KensingtonFA.com
Aventura, FL 33180
(786) 574-4132
Kensington Informational Flyer

Matthew Hale
Heritage Bank
Greater Atlanta Area
matthew.hale@heritagebank.com
404.933.5144 (cell)

Patricia Davino
Valley National Bank
1455 Valley Road
Wayne, NJ 07470
PDavino@valleynationalbank.com
(862) 261-3065 (direct)
(973) 934-5886 (cell)

Kathy Smith
AVP, Portfolio Manager
3490 Piedmont Road NE, Suite 700
Atlanta, GA 30305
404.814.8006 | f: 404.393.9925
kathy.smith@lionbank.com

For more information on the living benefits of life insurance, see Kim D. H. Butler’s book, Live Your Life Insurance, and Kim and Jack Burns’ new book, Busting the Life Insurance Lies.

7 Blind Spots of Financial Advisors

by Elizabeth4TC | Jan 8, 2019 | Comments Off on 7 Blind Spots of Financial Advisors

Even a seasoned financial advisor can be vulnerable to certain blind spots within the field, what matters is recognizing and learning from these blind spots. Here we have gathered a list of the seven major areas in which advisors can falter, to save you from the same oversights.

1. Forgetting Time Value of Money

As an advisor, the time value of money must be applied to every calculation, and any calculation that does not take this into account is not accurate. Every dollar has a value that increases over time, or in other words, accrues interest. A common blind spot for financial advisors and clients is forgetting to account for this interest. Time value might seem minor with interest rates as low as they are, but when a cumulative sum is plugged into a calculation it loses all accuracy because the interest value is lost.

Interest rates vary depending on the scenario—whether money is being socked away into savings, paid in premiums to an insurance policy, or otherwise—but they are always necessary to include. Regular calculators don’t do a good job of applying the time value of money, which is why interest rates are often overlooked by advisors but Truth Concepts software makes the calculations of interest rates simple and makes the projections you show your client accurate.

2. Having Unequal Time Frames

It is all too easy to fall into the trap of comparing mortgage rates with unequal time frames. As with any scientific experiment, when comparing two things you must have only one variable. Often advisors make the mistake of comparing 15 and 30-year mortgages without adjusting the time frames to equal each other—a common mistake to make.

When comparing mortgages, you already have a variable, so all other components must be the same to get an accurate comparison. In simple terms, that means these mortgages must be compared at the same rates—the simplest being a 15-year mortgage over 30 years compared to a 30-year mortgage over 30 years. When advisors compare rates at unequal time frames, the data will be skewed.

3. Ignoring Opportunity Cost

Opportunity cost is closely linked to the time value of money, which can be boiled down to this: opportunity cost is the loss of a potential opportunity by taking another one. In typical financial planning, the opportunity cost is not often factored into discussions, or at least not in a way that reveals the whole truth. As with every choice, the possibility of another choice is ruled out.

When it comes to investing your money, opportunity cost can be everything—what is the opportunity cost of fees and taxes on the growth of many stock market oriented investments? What is the cost of taking out a loan with the bank rather than borrowing against your whole life’s cash value at the insurance company (or vice versa)? TC software makes it simple to map out multiple options for your client, and Truth Training shows you how through a three-day intensive course.

4. Not Understanding How Interest Rates Work

Interest rates are one of the most commonly misunderstood financial concepts, which is how banks are able to make large profits off of seemingly low rates. As a financial advisor it is crucial to understand the true nature of interest rates, so you can best demonstrate the principals to your clients. When assessing the difference between two rates, borrowing at 3% and investing at 9% may not seem too different—only a difference of 6%, right? Unfortunately, that’s the catch; banks and other companies depend on this misconception when the margin of increase is truly a 200% markup.

When working with interest rates, converting the rates to dollars can help in understanding their true nature. For example, if your client were to take out a loan of $100,000 at a 4% interest rate and invest that same amount at 5%, you can quickly see that the difference is not 1% but 25%. Learning to understand the truth behind interest rates can keep more money in your client’s pocket instead of the bank’s. Using the TC calculators make it simple to calculate these differences without needing a specific formula.

Figure 1 In this example we have shown 4%, the amount borrowed, as the present value. The future value of 5% is the amount invested. One year is the control. The difference is 25%, or a quarter increase from 4%.

Figure 2 This example serves to show the difference between a 4% rate and a 5% rate on the same amount of money over time. One percent makes quite the difference in this scenario–doesn’t look like 1% now, does it?

5. Thinking Life Insurance Only Works If It Has PUA’s

PUA’s can certainly benefit a whole life policy, but they do not make or break one. Whole life does not offer large immediate returns but requires patience to build up cash value. After 5 years a policy truly begins to pick up, which is why it’s important to encourage clients to start early to reap the most benefit from their policy. Even a minimum payment of $100/month for a young person can offer great returns only a few years down the road—and when things are looking up, it doesn’t hurt to add a PUA or increase the premium.

The best way to guarantee the failure of a policy is not to have one at all. Savings are a crucial foundation of prosperity, and a whole life insurance policy is an invaluable savings tool.

6. Believing Life Insurance Only Works If You Borrow Against It

The prospect of borrowing against the CV of a life insurance policy seems to be the biggest benefit, but it is not the only way to make a policy “work.” Life is unpredictable, and having a whole life policy in place can benefit your client in case of an emergency.

In fact, the first job of the cash value of the whole life policy should be an emergency fund, left there at the insurance company. This money creates peace of mind and financial confidence for the family so they can pursue the next phase of the policy: their opportunity fund. Many advisors know that families benefit from having large amounts of available cash value, even though they may never use it, just for the potential of being able to take advantage of an opportunity when it comes along. Additionally, the death benefit creates an immediate legacy or estate, just from the stroke of a pen. Whole life insurance provides options and thinking of it as an “and” account that has a death benefit and possibly LTC and Waiver of Premium riders helps out even more.

7. Talking More Than Listening

As advisors, it is easy to fall into the mindset that you have all of the information your client could want, so you must do all the talking. Though not entirely wrong, it is important to remember that the client is an individual, and he or she will have unique problems. Your client wants to be heard, and when you slow down and listen you might find there is a unique way to handle the situation. Typical financial planning tends to have a cut and dry formula for clients, setting up qualified plans left and right, and selling the products advisors are told to sell.

What sets a prosperity economics advisor apart is their willingness to look at the individual’s desires and provide real strategies to achieve prosperity. While it may be a smart move for one client to borrow against their CV and be their own banker, it might be more prudent for a newer client to take out a bank loan and only dip into their CV to bail them out should things go south. Families with few children will have different desires than families with many. As an advisor, set yourself apart by taking the time to listen to your client, and help them find the best strategy, instead of pitching them the typical plan.

Borrowing Against Whole Life Insurance at a Bank

by Todd Langford | Jun 12, 2018 | Comments Off on Borrowing Against Whole Life Insurance at a Bank

This post originally appeared as an article on Kim Butler’s Partners for Prosperity website at www.partners4prosperity.com/collateral

We thought this to be valuable information to also share with the Truth Concepts community.

We get many questions on using life insurance policies with cash value as collateral for bank loans.

First, you can ONLY borrow against a policy with cash value, such as whole life insurance. You cannot use this strategy at all with a term insurance policy.

Often, local (as opposed to large/national) banks and credit unions will lend against the cash value of life insurance. So you may want to start with your local banker.

Additionally, the banks listed below have been referred to us as providing this service nationally. Please contact them directly for more information.

Loan-to-value limits are usually 80 or 90%. (You could borrow up to $80k to $90k with $100k of cash value as collateral.) Bank rates are often lower than the interest rates for policy loans, with current rates as low as prime.

Brittnay Wittnebel
Kensington Financial Associates
2875 NE 191st Street, Suite 603
Personal AND “Direct to Business” loans
OK to use multiple policies for collateral
Kensingtonfa.com
Aventura, FL 33180
(305) 466-0577 ext. 102
(608) 346-3205

Kensington Informational Flyer

Brandon Miller
State Bank
Lines of credit from $20k
Georgia
Brandon.miller@statebt.com
404.290.0050 (cell)
404.239.8664 (office)

State Bank information flyer

Matthew Hale
Heritage Bank
Greater Atlanta Area
matthew.hale@heritagebank.com
404.933.5144 (cell)

Patricia Davino
Valley National Bank
1455 Valley Road
Wayne, NJ 07470
PDavino@valleynationalbank.com
(862) 261-3065 (direct)
(973) 934-5886 (cell)

Kathy Smith
AVP, Portfolio Manager
3490 Piedmont Road NE, Suite 700
Atlanta, GA 30305
404.814.8006 | f: 404.393.9925
kathy.smith@lionbank.com

For more information about how to use your life insurance to benefit you now, see Kim D. H. Butler’s book, Live Your Life Insurance, Kim and Jack Burns’ new book, Busting the Life Insurance Lies.

Is Whole Life Insurance a Bad Investment? (Book Excerpt)

by Kate4TC | Feb 7, 2017 | 0 Comment

In December, we announced the launch of Kim’s latest book, Busting the Life Insurance Lies, co-authored with Jack Burns and James Ranson. Below are two excerpts from the book, one from Part One.

First, we include the conversation that sets up the first several lies and shows how each lie is related to real-world myths and concerns as seen through the eyes of a family. Next, we jump straight to Lie #1, “Life Insurance is a Bad Investment.” This is the first of 38 lies and half-truths “busted” in the book.

A Family Conversation Around the Dinner Table

Kara found herself sitting a few places away from her father. “Dad,” she called across two cousins, “I was asking Mom about life insurance just now, but we got interrupted. How does yours work?”

“Oh no, not insurance!” groaned one of the cousins in between them before Bill Harding could answer his youngest daughter. “As if we didn’t have enough to spend money on already!”

“Right?” put in the other cousin. “And you gotta pay so much to it, it’s a wonder you’ve got any left to live on. I know a guy who only eats ramen because he’s got such high premiums to pay. Imagine having to live on ramen because of insurance! It’s ridiculous.”

Noticing both cousins shoveling down stuffing and mashed potatoes as if facing a three-month famine, Kara doubted either of them could actually imagine living on ramen. She very carefully did not say this out loud. Instead, she looked past them to her dad again. “Dad?”

“Well, K, we have a policy called a whole life insurance policy. It’s–”

“Say, don’t those policies have terrible returns?” This came from Kara’s brother-in-law, Chad, sitting across the table from her. “I hear the way to go is to invest, make a bundle for yourself, and then bam, you’re set for life. You don’t need insurance when you’ve got money invested!”

“You sure about that, honey?” asked his wife, Kara’s second-oldest sister Jeanne. “I thought the safest place for money is in a bank. That’s got to be way better than an insurance policy, anyway.”

“Make more money investing, but yeah, sure, both are better than insurance,” Chad said around a mouthful of turkey. “All the insurance companies are the same: out to take your money. Why do you think they get such big commissions?” There was general nodding in response to this declaration. Kara noticed her father didn’t join in.

“What do you think, Dad?” she pressed on, silencing one of the cousins with a glare when he attempted to interject again. “Well, K, I think this dinner table’s a terrible place to tell you what I think. It’d take me till dessert just to respond to what everyone’s just brought up, let alone tell you what your mom and I use and why. Why don’t we do this: tomorrow morning, after the kids go out sledding, let’s you and me and your mother and Stephen refill our coffee and talk about it then…. I’ll bring the cinnamon rolls.”

Lie #1: Whole life insurance is a bad investment

Probably the first and loudest lie we hear is that whole life is a lousy investment opportunity. People say this one all kinds of different ways:

The rate of return is poor, I can do better investing elsewhere.
If I buy life insurance I’ll lose out because I can’t invest elsewhere.
I have to die to get any value out of life insurance, so I’ll invest elsewhere.

When people hear statements like these, they tend to jump ship and pursue other investments…without actually checking to see if any of them are true or not. And they end up missing out on all the huge advantages that come with whole life.

First of all, we don’t feel like whole life should be called an investment in the first place, because it really isn’t one. It doesn’t actually invest in any market, it isn’t dependent on stock market swings, it doesn’t require a broker or financial advisor to manage it, it has much better liquidity and accessibility, it’s much more likely to pay dividends, it provides a death benefit, its fee structure is very different, its growth is tax-deferred as long as it stays in the policy…the list of differences goes on.

A whole life policy is not an investment, but it IS an asset of the highest quality. It’s a place to store liquid cash that also provides immediate protection benefits. It’s permanent life insurance, AND it’s the best long-term savings vehicle we know of. Not only does calling it a bad investment belie its relatively strong rate of eventual return, calling it an investment at all creates confusion around what whole life is, why you’d use it, and how to compare it to its alternatives.

Now about that return: if the rate of return is bad…compared to what? Once a whole life policy gets some cash value built up, its annual rate of return (AROR) actually rises higher than most liquid vehicles’ rates ever will (savings accounts and money markets). The growth of cash value inside whole life policies settles at about 3.5-5% (depending on age, health, and other factors) as of this writing in 2016. (You can ask your advisor to calculate your policy’s exact rate–it changes each year depending on dividends.)

Now, 3.5-5% may not impress you, but understand that cash value is a liquid, tax-advantaged asset that can never drop in value, like so many other investments. Taking the midrange of 4%, it is actually better than anything you’d get with typical liquid accounts like money market accounts (currently 0.2%) and treasury bills (currently1.7%). And it’s much better than a bank savings account’s return–as of this writing, bank interest rates are sitting just above zero. So with time, the return on whole life becomes stronger than many other options. (For a visual calculator comparing life insurance to an “alternate” account, see Appendix G.)

Plus, don’t overlook the death benefit! This is an immense “return” that a whole life policy gives immediately and permanently as soon as you pay the first premium. Too often, self-proclaimed financial experts, gurus and bloggers neglect to include the death benefit at all when comparing whole life with other assets. Of course, this skews build over time.

There’s nothing wrong with a diverse investment portfolio–we’re not saying insurance and investing are mutually exclusive or that you should do only one at the expense of the other. If you have the resources to do both, by all means do both. In fact, a whole life policy can actually help you invest. Some advisers recommend whole life as a highly effective diversification strategy that can strengthen overall returns and safety while making distributions from market-based retirement accounts more efficient. (After all, you don’t want to have to liquidate stocks when they’re down, do you?)

You can also use your cash value as collateral for another investment, or you can lean on it as a safety net if you run into any investment issues. For instance, real estate investors have a high need for liquidity for repairs, vacancies, and down payments on new properties. Whole life is a fantastic place to grow and keep cash that can be easily borrowed against.

This is why whole life insurance is an “and” asset, meaning you can have cash value for emergencies or opportunities and use it to invest in other things. Compare that to a 401(k) or 403(b) retirement plan as an example. We call those “or” assets, because you can either invest in them, or you can keep your cash liquid. With these products, you’re essentially putting your money in a box and throwing away the key. Try to get anything out of a 401(k) or IRA before age 59½, and you’ll likely pay significant penalties. This is why, if you only have the funds for insurance or investing, we’d recommend starting with insurance. You’ll want to build your savings and emergency fund first so that you don’t end up liquidating investments for car repairs or medical bills.

Not only should you start saving BEFORE you invest, but you may also want to put some protection in place, especially if you have a spouse or any dependents. This is another way that whole life is an “and” asset…you’ll be protecting your income while you’re saving for the future!

Finally, if you’ve been wary of life insurance because you’ve heard that you have to die before you get any value, hopefully you now understand this is not true. While many investment products (even good ones) are designed so that you DON’T have access to your money, whole life is just the opposite. It’s a financial foundation that is designed to be used…your whole life.

If there’s one thing we’d like you to take away from this book, it’s that life insurance is a tool for improving your life, not just covering for your death. No financial vehicle is as useful as whole life for emergencies, opportunities, investments, for providing your own financing, permanent protection for your earning capability, or for your peace of mind.

We hope you enjoyed this excerpt from Busting the Life Insurance Lies! Kim uses books in her practice to leverage her time and educate clients, often in combination with Truth Concepts (especially the Whole Truth videos in regards to life insurance returns or comparing mortgages, as she explains in our last post.)

Busting the Life Insurance Lies is available on Amazon in paperback and also in a Kindle ebook version. (Audio book to come.)

The 7 Figure Success Secret of Top Producers

by Kate4TC | Feb 2, 2017 | 2 Comments

“Success leaves clues.”
~ Tony Robbins

Question: What do —

Patrick Donohoe, founder of Paradigm Life, one of the largest U.S. financial services firms that focus on whole life insurance,
Michael Isom, a seven-figure wealth advisor and co-author of What Would the Rockefellers Do?
Garrett Gunderson, New York Times best-selling financial author and Wealth Factory founder, and
Kim Butler, top-producing advisor, author (and Todd Langford’s wife and lovely assistant)

— all have in common?

Answer: Besides their success, they have each attended MANY trainings with Todd Langford, perhaps more than any other advisors we could name.

They devoted themselves to learning how to master the use of Truth Concepts software and understand the financial truths it reveals. Then, they started teaching others what they had learned, through presentations, videos, webinars, and books.

We caught up with these folks this week to ask why they have attended so many trainings, and what did they get out of them?

Learning from Mentors and Colleagues

Patrick Donohoe makes room in his busy schedule for Truth Training, a three-day event led by Todd Langford with Kim Butler (Todd’s wife, also a top producer whom Donohoe names as a mentor) at least once a year. When asked why he’s attended about a dozen trainings in less than 10 years, Patrick says he “keeps going because there’s so much information it’s impossible to absorb all at once.”

Each time he attends, his business is in a slightly different place and he has new questions. He walks away with something different, depending on what problems he’s trying to solve for his clients at that given time, also who else is in the room at Truth Training and the questions they bring to the table.

A couple years ago, Donohoe began hosting Truth Trainings in the Paradigm Life office, partially for his own convenience, but also to encourage the local advisors who work with his firm to attend as well. “There’s a value to learning together. There’s a bigger presence, a tremendous value that comes from sharing insights, questions, and collaborating with others,” observed Donohoe. “Everyone looks at the world differently, so I can learn from other perspectives and opinions.”

Donohoe also observed of the financial industry, “There are a lot of advisors out there selling that aren’t knowledgeable,” he lamented, voicing his desire for the industry to retain it’s integrity. He believes that being able to use Truth Concepts has shaped his ability to educate others, which is why he advocates other advisors gain skills in using the software and sharing the stories and concepts they illustrate, as well.

“You can do anything with the calculators: prove, disprove, plan, compare, etc.,” says Patrick. Becoming proficient with the calculators “gives you confidence that what you are doing is superior… sure, you’re selling, but you’ve got to have confidence that what you’re teaching and recommending works.”

Passing on the Financial Education

In particular, Patrick uses the calculators to “demystify the sales rhetoric of traditional qualified plans, mutual funds and the stock market.” He also finds it’s just as important to “reinforce the benefits of whole life insurance objectively, rather than just talking about it.” Particularly when recommending strategies that are outside the mainstream, he believes that clients need numerical proof to give themselves confidence to try something new and stick with it.

While Donohoe occasionally still uses Truth Concepts in individual client consultations, he also leverages his time by recording videos and webinars that are used extensively in Paradigm Life’s client education process as well as in their marketing.

The Wealth Architect

Best-selling author Garrett Gunderson, author of Killing Sacred Cows and co-author of What Would the Rockefellers Do? calls himself the “Chief Wealth Architect” of Wealth Factory, which provides comprehensive financial education for entrepreneurs. He shared with us the difference that Todd’s trainings made for him:

“I have never considered myself a software or tech person, yet after attending Todd’s courses over and over people thought I was a tech whiz. The reality is that I attended over and over because he is an amazing instructor of finance, analyzing strategies, verifying what is truth and discovering what is fiction.”

Known for his own desire and ability to educate others about how money works, Gunderson adds, “I became a better teacher because of Todd. I made more money, had more confidence, and learned more every single time I was there.”

We saw a lot of Garrett for awhile… it seemed no matter where in the country we were training, there he’d be! “I think I attended 10 courses in two years,” he admits. Was it worth it? Apparently so… Garrett calls the trainings a “Game changer.”

The Top Producer Habit

Owner of Optic Financial and co-author of What Would the Rockefellers Do? with Gunderson, it was no surprise that Michael Isom attended the inaugural Summit for Prosperity Economics Advisors, as he had been attending trainings with Kim and Todd for the previous 15 years.

“Kim and Todd have both been mentors of mine in this industry since 2000,” Michael shares. After all these years — and since establishing a highly successful financial practice — why does Michael continue to attend Truth Training? He says it helps him “stay at the top of my game in communicating the truth about all things financial,” adding, “There is nothing out there at this same level.”

“I use Truth Concepts and the calculators with EVERY client I assist. I want to provide the truth about all things financial to my clients. Truth Concepts is the most complete source for that — period.”

Yes, the trainings take an investment of time and money, but Michael is clear that it is more than worth it. “When I do this, I ensure that I will consistently generate over 1m + a year in revenue as a result. No joke either, the last 3 years (I’ve earned) $ 1 million+ as a result of the regularity of my Truth Training attendance.”

Sharpening the Saw

But it’s not all about the numbers. One reason that advisors attend again and again is for the personal benefit they receive… the camaraderie with other advisors, the chance to grow as they learn.

Stephen Covey coined “Sharpening the Saw” in the quintessential success manual, The Seven Habits and Highly Effective People. As the Steven Covey website explains, it means “preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have–you. It means having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual. As you renew yourself in each of the four areas, you create growth and change in your life.”

Isom shares one reason he goes to Truth Trainings is to “Be inspired and inspire at the same time.” He adds, “My personal courage and confidence is increased dramatically as a result of TC.”

And although Truth Training is part of our business, those are the same benefits that make us look forward to each training… we love to sharpen our own saws, and the advisors who come and the conversations we have (during the training and also during the meals we share) help us do that!

A Skeptic Converted

When Kim started attending Todd’s trainings back in the 90’s (long before they dated or married), she was a “typical” financial planner and a skeptic about some of the concepts presented. Was whole life really a better option than “buying term and investing the difference”? Was a 30-year mortgage really more beneficial than a 15-year mortgage? Kim wasn’t convinced.

“It took me 4 or 5 trainings before I bought into it myself,” Kim shares. She attended several times in the first two years, oftentimes being “the only woman in the room,” although it’s never bothered Kim to be a pioneer!

Then, convinced of the value, she started sending assistants as well as going back for additional training at least every other year. “It was actually one of my assistants that used calculators to pull apart the mortgage discussion to show me how it was right, because I had always believed a 15-year mortgage was better.”

Since Todd’s new software (Truth Concepts) was released in 2008, Kim estimates she has attended 30+ trainings. “I am so grateful for that time, because even MORE, I have confidence and knowledge and increased ability to share with my clients the whole truth about whatever their financial question is… because I know those calculators inside and out.”

Kim claims she is “not a calculator person!” and admits that although she rarely uses them in client meetings these days, she says, “You don’t have to use them in front of clients, what matters is that you know and have confidence in what the software demonstrates.”

Kim uses a few of the Whole Truth videos to save herself time, such as the funding calculator (“The Truth About Whole Life Insurance Returns”) to prove the IRR of whole life, which she emails to clients to watch between meetings.

No matter what software system you use, learn it well. Learn it thoroughly. Become confident in using your financial software, and pay special attention to mastering the stories — the narrative — that make the numbers meaningful to your clients.

And whatever you do, don’t struggle in isolation or frustration! Gather together with other like-minded advisors to learn, grow, and to encourage and be encouraged. Together, we make a bigger difference!

It’s never been easier. This February, it’s never been more convenient or more affordable to attend Truth Training, because February 15-17, 2017 we’re offering Truth Training via LiveStream! Patrick, Michael, Kim and Todd will all be there live, and we’d love to have you join us virtually.

Want to attend a Truth Training live? We recommend it as the BEST way to learn and gain confidence using Truth Concepts. Get the details, see the dates, and register here. We’d love to have you, whether it’s your first Truth Training or your tenth!

Busting the Life Insurance Lies

by Kate4TC | Dec 21, 2016 | 5 Comments

We’re Launching a New Book… and It’s Our Gift!

My wife, Kim Butler, and our friend, Jack Burns, have joined forces to write what just may be the definitive book about whole life insurance: Busting the Life Insurance Lies: 38 Myths and Misconceptions that Sabotage Your Wealth.

This book is written for every American who’s gotten conflicting advice on life insurance from their insurance advisor, financial planner, and the financial “gurus” on TV and radio:

“Is life insurance a bad investment? Shouldn’t I just make a bundle and invest it instead? Don’t I lose all my cash value when I die? What about my spouse or my kids—do they need life insurance?”

These are the questions that confuse people and even prevent them from establishing a firm financial foundation. Unfortunately, myths, misunderstandings, and outright lies cause uncertainty around what life insurance is, how it works, who needs it and when, and—most importantly—the great benefits it can bring to your life. This book clears up all that confusion.

Busting the Life Insurance Lies is also written as a resource for advisors. It contains an extensive 50-page appendix with policy illustrations, with nearly 20 policy illustrations, as well as a transcribed Truth Concepts presentation demonstrating the Internal rate of Return of a whole life policy, using the Funding calculator.

Here’s the book trailer:

And now, to help us launch the book…

Download YOUR copy and enter a DRAWING for an Amazon Gift Card and (for those who don’t already have it) – ONE YEAR of Truth Concepts software!

The official book launch is today and tomorrow, December 21 and 22, 2016.

During that time, you can download the book on Kindle for FREE.

(You can also purchase the paperback, if you prefer.)

Comment below (or on our Facebook page) “Got it!”

We will draw a random winner to receive an Amazon gift care AND… (for new users), a Year of Truth Concepts!

Why This Book Was Written

It’s possible that there has never been a financial product that has been so misunderstood as whole life insurance.

You can find debates on the internet with hundreds of comments that will take you hours to read.

“Financial gurus” dismiss it, or even argue against it. (Especially critics not certified to give financial advice.)

Most investors ignore it, not comprehending the value of savings, liquidity, stability, and leverage.

On the other hand, some insurance agents and advisors believe it is the sole solution to every financial problem (even when it’s not).

So what’s the TRUTH about life insurance?

In the foreword to my wife Kim Butler’s revised and updated Live Your Life Insurance (her best-selling little book that reveals how to get the most from a whole life policy by putting it to use before you die), I wrote:

“It has surprised many people–including myself–that the mathematical calculations reveal that one much-maligned, often-misunderstood financial product is actually superior in many ways to other financial products, when all factors are considered… That product is participating (dividend-paying) mutual whole life insurance.”

In Busting the Life Insurance Lies, my wife Kim and our friend, Jack Burns of JB Life go into great detail to dispel the myths and clear up the mystery of (especially) whole life insurance.

Some of the 38 lies and half-truths they “bust” in this book include:

Lie #1: Whole life insurance is a bad investment.

Lie #7: You’d do better to be self-insured by building up your own net worth.

Lie #8: Life insurance is just for burial costs.

Lie #9: Only people with dependents need life insurance.

Lie #10: Never buy life insurance for a child.

Lie #15: “Buy term and invest the difference” works.

Lie #17: The insurance company keeps your whole life cash value when you die.

Lie #19: If you can’t pay your premiums, you’re in serious trouble.

Lie #20: If you borrow against your policy, you’re borrowing your own money.

Lie #22: You can only count on the guaranteed column (not dividends).

Lie #28: A whole life policy means you don’t need any other investments.

The book even tackles “pro” whole-life insurance lies, such as:

Lie #30: When you borrow against a policy, you’re paying interest to yourself.

And it has a section for more advanced or technical myths and half-truths that will most appeal to advisors, agents, and others in the industry, such as:

Lie #31: Universal Life gives policyholders more flexibility and costs less.

Lie #32: Direct recognition is bad, non-direct recognition is good.

Lie #33: You never want to purchase a MEC, or let your policy become one.

Lie #36: You need buy-sell insurance to protect your business.

Lie #38: The gross dividend rate equals what you’ll receive in dividends.

Want to know how Kim and Jack answered all these questions… plus 21 more?

Get the Book!

Download your Kindle copy of Busting the Life Insurance Lies now… and/or you can purchase the paperback on Amazon.com.

Then be sure to comment “Got it!” below in the comments or on our Facebook page so that your name will be in the hat when we draw a contest winner for the gift card (plus a year of TC if you don’t already have it).

Help Kim and Jack tell the truth about life insurance.

Feel free to share this post or the Amazon link; copy and paste this for the Kindle download — www.amazon.com/Busting-Life-Insurance-Lies-Misconceptions-ebook/dp/B01N1JNNS9/ — with others… there’s a lot of misinformation to be busted out there!