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Life insurance can be a crucial financial tool that provides protection, security, and peace of mind for families and businesses. However, it is also often an unmanaged and least understood asset. Clients and their advisors often require guidance to navigate the complex landscape of evaluating policies and their options. An independent life insurance broker can offer some advantages to these clients by focusing on client advocacy instead of what is in the best interest of a life insurance company. At C3 Financial Partners, our experienced team’s independence is our clients’ and their advisors’ advantage.
Clarity
Those seeking clarity on purchasing life insurance and having their policies serviced for decades in the future have a choice of how to access the life insurance market.
One type, a career agent, typically represents one life insurance company. As such, they are typically restricted to recommending only the life insurance solutions offered by, or approved by, that life insurance company.
Conversely, an independent broker represents their clients and not any one life insurance company. This means more choices and options for the client. We believe this is critically important when addressing what may be someone’s largest unmanaged and least understood asset.
Here are several advantages to working with an independent broker at C3 Financial Partners:
Client Advocacy: As an independent broker, the only focus is on the client’s best interests. Unlike career agents who represent a specific insurance company, independent life insurance brokers have the freedom to work with multiple carriers. This impartiality can allow them to objectively evaluate various policies from top carriers and recommend the one that best aligns with the client’s needs and goals. Independent brokers act as client advocates, offering unbiased advice, comparing options, and negotiating on their behalf to ensure they receive the most suitable coverage at the best possible rates.
At C3 Financial Partners, we combine our expertise with access to multiple carriers to get the market to compete for a client’s business. For example, different carriers can take the same client information, run that information through their internal underwriting, and offer vastly different health ratings, which impacts the cost of coverage. We advocate for our clients to multiple carriers to compare and improve ratings. The C3 goal is for our clients to qualify for the best rating (and the best price) possible.
Tailored Solutions: Life insurance is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Each client has unique circumstances, financial goals, and risk tolerance. Independent brokers possess a wide range of products from different insurance carriers, enabling them to offer tailored solutions that match clients’ specific requirements. They can customize policies to address individual needs, such as income replacement, estate planning, business succession, or community giving. This flexibility allows independent brokers to design comprehensive coverage that reflects the client’s current situation and future aspirations.
At C3 Financial Partners, we work with a client and their advisors to first identify the problem we are all trying to address (which may not be obvious at first) and then see how that problem may be solved with an insurance solution.
Extensive Market Access: Being independent means having access to a diverse market of insurance providers. Independent brokers can explore a broad spectrum of policies, including traditional whole life, term life, universal life, indexed universal life, and variable universal life insurance, including private placement versions. This wide range of options allows them to select the most suitable product based on factors like premium, death benefit amount, cash value growth potential, investment options, and policy flexibility. With access to numerous carriers, independent brokers can find competitive rates and more favorable underwriting terms for their clients from top-rated carriers.
At C3 Financial Partners, we actively monitor the latest in product and company developments from all the carriers and use this market intelligence in advising clients and their advisors regarding their life insurance policy options.
Holistic Financial Planning: Life insurance is often a critical component of a comprehensive financial plan. However, many clients may underestimate the potential of life insurance as an asset class. Independent brokers, with their expertise in insurance and broader financial planning, can educate clients about the unique benefits and potential of life insurance in wealth accumulation, tax-efficient strategies, and legacy planning. They help clients understand how life insurance can play a vital role in protecting and enhancing their overall financial well-being.
At C3 Financial Partners, coordination is literally one of our three C’s. We actively work with a client and their advisors to ensure that any life insurance purchased fits within the client’s larger estate and financial planning.
Ongoing Service and Support: Life insurance is a long-term commitment, and clients benefit from continuous support and service. Independent brokers provide personalized attention and ongoing management and reviews to ensure that the policy remains aligned with the client’s evolving needs. They assist with policy updates, changes in beneficiary designations, or modifying coverage to accommodate major life events such as marriage, the birth of a child, or business expansion. Independent brokers are committed to building long-term relationships with their clients and being there to guide them throughout their life insurance journey.
At C3 Financial Partners, we invest in creating a team that will be around for the long-term, providing clients and their advisors with continuous, uninterrupted, high-quality service both during and after any life insurance purchase.
Confidence
Clients must have confidence their insurance professional is sitting on their side of the table. The absence of a direct affiliation with a single life insurance company eliminates an independent professional’s potential conflicts of interest and fosters trust with clients.
Additionally, independent brokers, such as the planning specialists at C3 Financial Partners, often have a wealth of industry knowledge and experience, which further enhances their credibility, and the confidence clients have in their expertise. Ultimately, the independent professional’s ability to offer personalized solutions, unbiased advice, and a broader selection of insurance options creates a sense of confidence and trustworthiness among clients, resulting in stronger and long-lasting relationships.
Coordination
For those seeking new life insurance or clarity around their existing policies, partnering with an independent broker can be a wise decision to ensure that their needs are met with professionalism, expertise, and unwavering commitment to their best interests. C3 Financial Partners can support these clients and their other advisors by serving as a knowledgeable resource and a valuable part of a planning team. We look forward to helping our clients and their advisors gain clarity in their goals and objectives, confidence that they are making the right decisions, and coordination with other advisors.
Securities offered through Valmark Securities, Inc. member FINRA, SIPC. Investment advisory products and services offered through Valmark Advisers, Inc., an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Representatives may transact business, which includes offering products and services and/or responding to inquiries, only in state(s) in which they are properly registered and/or licensed. C3 Financial Partners is a separate entity from Valmark Securities, Inc. and Valmark Advisers, Inc.
