Insurance Advisory Services

WealthPoint was founded on our innate desire to eliminate conflicts of interest in the life insurance relationship. In order to do so, we had to create a delivery system that did not yet exist. Our Know your story model mirrors our belief system: life insurance is simply a tool for solving a specific set of objectives. Conversations need to start with if a need exists, not how much or what type. Together, we determine the nature and duration of any given liability, and whether life insurance makes sense economically, or whether a non-insurance solution is more viable.

In any professional firm, the behavior of the partners has a trickle-down effect on the behavior of the team. If the primary goal is to get a sale, the agent’s motive directly impacts how their internal team designs and presents your clients’ insurance options.

If the goal is to determine whether or not insurance can be helpful, there’s a completely different internal directive in the policy design phase. At WealthPoint, our teams begin by modeling your client’s situation to see if insurance is viable. They’re mentored to direct your client’s insurance dollars toward the insurance protection itself, reducing compensation where possible.

This mentorship is backed by our proprietary IV™ software. It’s a trademarked financial modeling tool that allows us to stress test policy design against real world objectives. In doing so, we uncover intended and unintended consequences in three essential realms: numerical, operational and relational. We identify both the upside and downside risks embedded in our proposed solutions, and we put Mutual Transparency into play, with our presentations clearly communicating both

In large, complex situations – such as significant multi-generational issues, complicated entity structures or unusual financing needs – this combination of technology and team elevates the nuance and creativity embedded in your clients’ solutions.

Most clients and their advisors haven’t been privy to the connection between policy compensation and policy performance. This connection underpins the primary conflict of interest in the traditional delivery system. As such it is a key area in which we seek to educate all parties at the planning table.

Compensation is the largest expense in the first 10 years of a life insurance contract. With many top quality products, it is also a subjective element of policy design. This means the person developing the recommendations has the ability to increase or decrease their compensation based on the variables they dial into the policy design software

When your client writes a premium check, it flows into a variety of internal drivers inside the policy. Design decisions directly impact the efficiency with which those dollars are applied, and in turn the policy’s short-term and long-term performance.

At WealthPoint, we have an unusual practice of proactively disclosing all compensation every time. In addition, we proactively reduce compensation where prudent, by calculating the age of the client, the complexity of the problem we’re trying to solve, and the long-term service needs of the policy. The result is Mutual Transparency – we share as much about our model as we expect the client to disclose about themselves. It creates space for Mutual Ownership – a process that honors and respects all participants.

In traditional approaches to underwriting, there are often substantial discrepancies between the insurance companies’ perceived risk, and the client’s actual health and projected longevity. These information gaps and inaccuracies inflate policy pricing. Gaps exist because underwriters lack sufficient medical evidence to support accurate risk assessments.

Standard industry practice is to gather and aggregate existing medical information and present it to underwriters with a cover letter. However, medical records only tell the clinical part of the client’s story. Also, the records typically contain inaccurate and outdated information.

In contrast, we begin with a gut instinct regarding what we can achieve in underwriting for the specific client at hand. We use our instincts to drive a specific discovery process. We interview the client regarding their sense of their health and well-being to confirm the accuracy of their medical records. If necessary, we interview client’s physicians and do our own due diligence on medical conditions reflected in the client’s records. We then reconcile our findings against the existing records, and facilitate the clarification of this vital information.

This early stage strategic work allows us to present underwriters with a full set of accurate information: one that tells the clinical story alongside the human story. They’re able to envision the living, breathing person whose risk they’re assessing. Also, because we’re communicating through an advisory lens, instead of the sales lens they’re accustomed to, it deepens collaboration. It allows us to advocate for your client on a peer-to-peer basis.

When underwriters have the evidence they need to make accurate risk assessments, policy pricing is no longer unduly inflated to safeguard insurance companies’ profit margins.

Historically the insurance industry has operated primarily as a distribution model. As such, there is a void of post-acquisition service. Ironically, insurance vehicles actually change post-acquisition. The state of our economy, the financial markets, the tax code – and the insurance markets themselves – directly affect long-term policy performance.

Without diligent, annual care, there is little guarantee that policies will be there in the manner hoped for at the time of need. The greater the lapse of time between reviews, the more severe and costly the problems become. WealthPoint has three proprietary post-purchase review systems.