December 2008

Table of Contents

Editor Column: Kate Kinkade

Technology Will Be in the Driver’s Seat with Consumer Driven Options
by Aamer Baig, Andrew Rocklin, and Srinivas Velamoor
• Consumers and employers are demanding a more consumer-friendly experience when it comes to consumer driven plans.

 How Dental Plans Can be Important to Overall Healthcare
by F.G. Chip Merkel
• You can enable current and prospective clients to make more informed decisions about dental benefits by explaining the risks associated with poor oral health.

Small Businesses Can Enhance Their Benefit Programs With Voluntary Dental
by Michael Schwartz
• Smaller employers are recognizing that workplace benefits can address employee retention goals.

Life Settlements: Market to Senior Advisors
by Bill Tsotsos
• The number of seniors reaching life settlement qualifying age is accelerating and will continue to accelerate as Baby Boomers reach senior status.

A Provider Reflects on Trends in the Life Settlement Industry 
by Craig Seitel
• Evolving industries almost always face volatility and this industry is no exception.

Life Settlement Synthetics: The Next Generation of Traded Longevity
by Corey A. Weiss
• The use of synthetic financial instruments is a relatively new development in the longevity markets. With the emergence of these vehicles, investors can now gain exposure to life settlements without the direct purchase of policies.

So Your Client Wants To Sell A Life Insurance Policy—Now What?
by Joel D Seigle, PhD
• The secondary market will be available for a long time to come now that it is developing appropriate regulations, norms of behavior and an understanding of financial realities. And that’s good for you and your clients.

Early Life Settlements: Don’t Let Your Client Lapse Their Term Policy Quite Yet
by Russell Steinberg
• Each of us can help a small percentage of the 78 million Baby Boomers unlock cash from unwanted and unneeded term policies.

The Difference Between Morbidity and Mortality and Why it Matters
by Howard S. Freedland, CFA
• Life expectancy providers should compete on their ability to provide timely, accurate, and consistent life expectancy reports as well as excellent customer service – not on their ability to package and sell proprietary black box systems that are neither standardized nor comparable. 

Domestic Violence: The Hidden Workplace Cost For Employers
by Wade Overgaard and Dr. Brigid McCaw
• Employers can meet an often unspoken, but pressing need by choosing the right health plan to address domestic violence issues in the workplace.

Worksite Marketing Review
by Leila Morris
• Voluntary benefits; why more workers are seeking personal coverage; open enrollment; worksite marketing’s momentum; and group life and disability at mid-year.

More War Stories From A Disability Claim Consultant
by Arthur Fries
• When criminal charges are pending against a disability claimant, there are often questions related to professional licenses being cancelled.

Agents and Disability Insurance Claims
by Gerry Katz
•A claim consultant can help clients through the process,  helping them produce an accurate understanding of the disabling condition for consideration by the insurance carrier.

Taking A Targeted and Genuine Approach to Ethnic Marketing
by Karen Gleason
• Statistics reveal the buying power of ethnic  markets. But, without a targeted and genuine approach, you may as well throw your marketing dollars into the depths of the Pacific.

 Insurance: The Ultimate Diversifier
by Jack BenAry, CFP, CLU, CAP
•Life and disability can be positioned with the kind of diversification terms that are associated with investments.  The financial services business has responded with a model that embraces uncertainty by spreading risk.

Premium Financing: What Works and What Doesn’t
by Allan D. Gersten, CLU, CFP, ChFC
•Find out how leverage can allow the shrewd life insurance buyer to get much larger amounts of coverage than they may have considered otherwise.

Reverse Mortgages: Understanding New Housing Law
by David Olson
• The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 appears only to restrict advisors’ sale capabilities, but for those who take a closer look, H.R. 3221 creates opportunities.