"Then how am I supposed to shop around for the best insurance?!? I wouldn't even know to ask those questions!"
Those were the words that an exasperated wife and mother cried out in frustration after I told her about the hidden details of an insurance policy that her husband was considering that was being offered by a different agency. "You're not," I replied, "that's my job." Too many people think that in order to find the best policy, they have to do the shopping for insurance themselves.
. . . and they're right! But they're not shopping for the right thing. They think they are shopping for insurance, but what they really need to be doing is shopping for an agent, not a policy.
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Shopping for life (or health) insurance is a full-time job, and not one that pays you when you're shopping for yourself. People who think that they will hop on-line and simply compare rates have a transactional approach to insurance. (They also tend to think that the cheapest insurance is the best.) The reality is that life insurance should be the foundation of your overall financial plan. It's a big piece, but it's still only one piece. Do you want to build your financial future on the cheapest foundation available or the most solid?
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It's not Death Insurance . . .
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When most people think about life insurance, they think about the death benefit. They're asking themselves, "What if I die tomorrow? How will my family be taken care of?" The death benefit is an integral part of life insurance and financial planning, but it is only one benefit of a policy. Equally important to us at Sheber Insurance is the question "What if I don't die tomorrow? What if I live to be 95?"
A well-structured life insurance policy will serve you for your entire life. It can be a safety net against periods of economic upheaval or high interest; a security blanket in times of unemployment; it can allow you to invest while protecting you against down markets; it can help you deal with adverse health conditions and protect your assets; it can--I would say should--even supplement your retirement income. After all those uses while you are living, the last thing it will do for you is to leave an inheritance for your heirs tax-free.
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The one benefit everyone thinks about is the final benefit. In the ultimate scheme of things, however, that might be the least important benefit of them all when it comes to living your life and designing your success.
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Choosing an Agent to Serve You
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Insurance should not be done on a transactional basis, but on a relational basis. You should choose an agent with whom you will want to have a continuing relationship, the same as you would with your accountant, your attorney, or your doctor. Yes, sometimes we have to go to the urgent care or the ER, but we feel better when we go to our regular primary care physician, therapist, chiropractor, or specialist. We may get to know them personally, but we definitely get to know them in their professional capacities. We have confidence in their recommendations because, as we have continued to go to them for care, we have seen their knowledge--and in many cases their continuing educational growth--on display. Thus, we know they are continuing to learn and they have the capacity to use that knowledge together with their experience to serve us by providing better care for us and our loved ones.
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If we lose confidence in them, we then begin our search for a new medical provider, or accountant, or attorney, or . . . insurance agent or financial planner.
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So what should you look for in an agent? Number one--i.e. most important--are they showing care and concern for you and for your priorities. Just like in other transactions, people want to buy insurance, but they don't want to be sold insurance. Also, just like in other industries, there are many "used car salesman" in the insurance business. These people are gregarious, maybe even avuncular, smooth talkers, but they are also more concerned about "closing the deal" than they are about your comfortability with what you are buying.
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Other questions to ask yourself:​
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Do you feel like you're dealing with a financial planner or advisor? Or just an insurance agent? Can they speak both intelligently and plainly about how the insurance products you're considering fit into a larger financial plan for both your retirement and your estate?
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Do you feel like the agent is educating you, consulting with you, or selling you?
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Have they shared with you what products and strategies they have used for themselves and their own parents, children, and other family members? In other words, how transparent are they being?
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How many different insurance companies do they represent? A broker or independent agent will have access to more products through more companies so that they can offer you some of the best options available to you.
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Are they providing choices in insurance products? Can they explain why they recommend one product over another? Especially if the agent is an independent agent (as opposed to a captive agent that only represents one company, e.g. New York Life), then the agent has a myriad of products available to them--perhaps even hundreds. Sometimes a person's circumstances are so unique, there may only be one product on the market available to them through that agent. Sometimes there's one product that clearly stands out because of benefits or price. Most of the time, there's more than one solution.
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- Where are they at with their professional development? Are they ahead on their continuing education requirements? Are they pursuing (or do they have) any further certifications so that they can continue to serve your needs and those of your family as the life goes on and circumstances change?
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Does your agent share your same values? This is not necessarily a requirement. As long as an agent respects your values and places your interests above his own, then he or she is meeting the ethical and, if the U.S. Department of Labor rule holds up, legal standard. But sometimes it might be nice to know you have a common basis off which to work. That probably disqualifies me from serving some clients and qualifies me to a greater degree to help others. However, I do work hard to build bridges and to be respectful of everyone's values and priorities. I always give my advice--I am an advisor, after all--but, ultimately, I am here to serve and carry out the desires of my clients.
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Finally, whether or not you buy an insurance or financial product or plan, would you want to refer your friends and family to the agent to whom you have been talking?​
This is not an exhaustive list. You may come up with your own points to consider.
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Why Sheber Insurance
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I have a simple philosophy when it comes to business. I developed it during my first career, in the mortgage business, which I was engaged in for a dozen years from my mid-20's to my
mid-30's. My philosophy is this: my job is to be busy enough that I can give you good advice. (Meaning I should never be so desperate for money that I am advising you to take an action for the benefit of my bank account.) This philosophy has served me well (even though it meant I went hungry on some occasions). More importantly, it has served my clients well.
This may sound strange indeed, but as an independent insurance agent and financial advisor, I often don't even know how much a particular company is going to pay me or what kind of fee I am going to charge a particular client. While I expect to be compensated for my time and expertise, the goal is to serve so many people that I don't need to look at the compensation schedules. At Sheber Insurance we love two things: the work and the people.
When I recruit people to join our agency, they must be like-minded. For all intents and purposes, my agents are my business partners. Most of them have other sources of income and are serving here in a collaborative effort so that we can take care of our clients--because they love the work and they love people.
At Sheber Insurance, we are constantly asking questions of the companies we do business with; questions like, "Are you a direct recognition or non-direct recognition company?" "What is the current interest rate, and do you have a floor and a ceiling?" "When is interest charged on policy loans?" "What are your rules for converting your children's term riders to permanent policies?" And a whole host of others. We like to get into the details because we want to make sure that our clients have the absolute best understanding of their policies possible. In the final analysis, our clients and their loved ones are depending on those contracts to perform exactly as we say they are going to perform.
We believe, whenever possible, financial planning should be done with a wholistic and generational approach. With proper planning, not only can wealth be preserved from generation to generation by minimizing or eliminating inheritance taxes, but through utilizing some perhaps counter-intuitive ideas, we can actually grow that wealth ahead of time. (As just one example, often one of the best investments someone can make is taking out a life insurance policy on his or her parents.)
If it was simply about selling insurance, we would sell the best policy you qualify for in the moment and move on. Instead, we have delayed applications so we can clear up prescription histories, spoken with underwriters at numerous companies to try to get better terms for clients with questionable health conditions, even spent hours doing education for clients so they can have a better understanding of how everything works together. (Trust me, it would have been easier to sell them insurance and move on! But that's not who we are.)
It is not unusual for professionals in real estate, the mortgage business, insurance and financial planning, law, and accounting--all of whom are required to take so many of hours of continuing education per licensing period--to procrastinate their CE hours to the very end of the allotted time, and then take whatever classes are available to satisfy the state-mandated requirement. I even had one broker recently ask me, as we were discussing a course I was taking, "Why don't you just have Chat GPT do it for you?" I was incredulous! At Sheber Insurance we value becoming better agents and advisors through greater education. We look at education as a way to better serve our clients and earn their continued business, trust, and referrals. My resident state requires me to complete a minimum of 24 CE hours every two years. My team and I are consistently taking more than the minimum CE hours. In fact, I have already completed 19 of my 24 hours just 13 months into this licensing period. Additionally, I also take courses that are not approved for my resident state, but for other states because I value the knowledge I will gain. (I am licensed in 30 states.) I am also in the process of pursuing several Series licenses and my CFP certification. Not to mention, we do a TON of reading for which we don't receive any credit--just knowledge. (Check out our recommended reads here.)
And although it is often considered impolite to discuss religion or politics, I have always been willing to discuss any topic that my clients feel is important. I aim to be transparent in all things. I do my best to live my religion. I love my country. My grandfather served in the army, my father and uncle in the navy, and my son is a United States Marine. (We definitely have a heart to help Vets!)
So let's talk about IRAs and 401(k)s, why whole life is preferable to term, how to develop a real estate and investment portfolio, why Warren Buffett sold a chunk of his Bank of America holdings in the fall of 2024, what the best Medicare Advantage plan is, whether you need to be concerned with long-term care, are annuities right for you, how to pay off your mortgage early, how to set up your children for the future, can you hold real estate or gold in your retirement account (let's talk self-directed IRAs!), whether you should take out a home equity line of credit on the house (you should!), what the stock market is going to do in the coming year, the election, the good ol' days, what colleges your kids are looking at, whether marriages are eternal, or anything else under the sun.
And that's why you're shopping for an agent and not trying to shop for insurance: expertise and an on-going relationship with someone who is going to put your interests first.
This may be a turn off to some. That's okay. There are other agents out there for you to choose from. I would still encourage you to shop for a good agent. Some of you will find all of this valuable and even refreshing. I look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
Damian Sheber
Click here to tell me what you're interested in or to get a quote.
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Become Your Own Banker
Becoming Your Own Banker is a financial strategy that involves using a specially designed whole life insurance policy as a tool for personal banking. This concept emphasizes the idea of creating your own banking system within the policy, allowing policyholders to borrow against the cash value of the policy to finance major purchases, investments, or other financial needs. By utilizing this strategy, individuals can potentially achieve greater control over their finances, build wealth over time, and reduce dependency on traditional lenders. Becoming Your Own Banker promotes financial independence, flexibility, and long-term financial security through a personalized approach to banking and wealth management.
Paying Off Your Mortgage Early
Paying off your mortgage early using life insurance involves leveraging a life insurance policy to accelerate the repayment of your home loan. By strategically allocating funds into a cash value life insurance policy, policyholders can accumulate cash value over time. This cash value can then be utilized to make additional mortgage payments or pay off the remaining balance of the mortgage entirely. In the event of the policyholder's passing, the death benefit from the life insurance policy can be used to settle the outstanding mortgage debt, providing financial security for loved ones. This approach offers a structured way to expedite mortgage payoff while simultaneously safeguarding your family's financial future.
Protecting Your Loved Ones
Life insurance serves as a crucial financial safety net by providing protection and security for your loved ones in the event of your passing. By purchasing a life insurance policy, you ensure that your beneficiaries receive a death benefit upon your death, offering them financial stability during a difficult time. This benefit can help cover various expenses such as funeral costs, outstanding debts, mortgage payments, and daily living expenses. Life insurance can ease the financial burden on your family, allowing them to maintain their standard of living and pursue their long-term goals. It offers peace of mind knowing that your loved ones are safeguarded and supported financially.
Creating Tax-Free Retirement Income
Life insurance can be a valuable tool for creating a tax-free retirement income strategy. By leveraging certain types of life insurance policies that offer cash value accumulation, policyholders can build up funds that grow tax-deferred over time. During retirement, these cash values can be accessed through policy loans or withdrawals, providing a tax-free income stream. The death benefit received by beneficiaries is typically income tax-free as well, bolstering the financial security of loved ones. By incorporating life insurance into retirement planning, individuals can potentially enjoy a tax-efficient source of income while also safeguarding their family's financial future.
Types of Insurance
When considering life insurance options, it's essential to understand the different types available. Here's a breakdown of some common types of life insurance:
Term Life Insurance:
Provides coverage for a specified period (e.g., 10, 20, or 30 years).
Typically offers lower premiums compared to permanent life insurance.
Does not have a cash value component.
Whole Life Insurance:
Offers coverage for the entire life of the insured.
Builds cash value over time that can be accessed through loans or withdrawals.
Premiums remain level for the life of the policy.
Universal Life Insurance:
Provides flexibility in premium payments and death benefits.
Accumulates cash value with a minimum interest rate.
Policyholders can adjust the death benefit and premium payments.
Variable Life Insurance:
Combines death benefit protection with investment options.
Cash value and death benefit fluctuate based on the performance of investment accounts.
Offers potential for higher returns but comes with investment risks.
Indexed Universal Life Insurance:
Cash value growth is tied to the performance of an index such as the S&P 500.
Provides a balance of potential growth and downside protection.
Offers flexibility in premium payments and death benefit adjustments.
Understanding the features and benefits of each type of life insurance can help individuals choose the policy that aligns best with their financial goals and needs.