July 2008

Table of Contents

Editor Column: Kate Kinkade

Fearless
Dental Taking the Mind-Numbing Pain Out of Finding the Right Carrier With Our Annual Survey
Welcome to Part I of California Broker’s annual dental survey. We’ve asked California’s top dental providers to answer 28 crucial questions to better help you, the agent, understand their benefits, features, and services. Look for Part II in our August issue. Read the responses and sell accordingly!

Communicating the Real Cost of Self-Insuring
by Eric M. Williams, LTCP
• For your higher net worth clients, the conversation about long-term care insurance should focus on the complete financial impact of a long-term care event. When you take the time to show them the real cost of self-insuring, you should find that most of your clients will see the value that long-term care insurance brings to their retirement plan.

Managing Longevity Risk with Long-Term Care Insurance
by Richard Alvarez
•As financial services professionals, we constantly strive to help our clients manage risk, most obviously the risk of death and disability. But a less-understood risk is emerging as a threat to even the best-laid financial strategies -- the risk of longevity.

Providing More Choices With Worksite Marketing
by James W. Greth
• Designing a comprehensive benefit plan for a small business is more complicated than at any other time in history. Small group health and benefit plans are increasingly expensive and economic pressures are wreaking havoc on a business owner’s profit margin.

Critical Illness Insurance: How to Sell It
by Jacqueline London
• Undoubtedly, critical illness insurance sales are on the rise. Critical illness insurance may not be the answer to the health insurance crisis, but it can certainly ease the financial burden on families and individuals when illness strikes.

Focusing On Eye Care Benefits for Baby Boomers
by Karen Gustin, LLIF, Ameritas Group
• The Baby Boomers’ special health needs offer excellent opportunities for producers to promote benefits that help employers address some of the Baby Boomers’ health issues, such as eye care insurance options.

Reintegration Programs Help Veterans Get Back to Work
by Michael Fradkin
• As employers think about the entire disability package, they should be aware that comprehensive return-to-work programs and employee-assistance programs could be vital to helping returning veterans remain effective employees.

Return of Premium Term May Be Just the Right Blend
by Alan S. Lurty
A scan of product offerings from the major insurers this year reveals that ROP term products are now more common and are required for any company that wants to be competitive in the term life arena.

Creating Flexible Retirement Strategies With VUL
by Shawn Britt
• Charitable universal life insurance can create flexible solutions for supplemental retirement needs.

It’s Time to Take a Fresh Look at VUL
by Josh Durand
• The VUL policy has a distinctive combination of protection, premium payment flexibility, tax-advantaged growth potential, and guarantees.

The Case for Disability Insurance
by Leila Morris
• Your employer clients may be underestimating how much an employee’s disability would cost them while overestimating the cost of group disability insurance.