If you’re an Advisor specializing in investment products, now may be a good time to consider adding insurance solutions into your practice. Today, clients are looking for holistic planning – that’s planning for a financial future with a knowledgeable, well-rounded Advisor who can offer a one-stop-shop for financial solutions and the peace of mind knowing they and their loved ones are safeguarded entirely with no gaps in their financial protection.
Here are 10 reasons to embrace holistic planning, including insurance, into your wealth practice… because insurance is not just a revenue opportunity, it’s a critical layer of protection for your clients and their families:
- Compete in the marketplace – all banks and some independent Advisors already offer insurance as part of a holistic planning strategy. To future-proof your practice, ensure that you compete!
- Multi Professional Approach – many wealth clients work with lawyers and accountants (or other professional Advisors) and those other professional Advisors recommend insurance; be the Advisor to deliver on those needs.
- Retaining Next Generation – not considering insurance as part of estate planning could mean the next generation inheriting the family assets receives a much lower amount and/or has to liquidate cherished assets (e.g., family cottage). This loss will only encourage them to seek advice from a different Advisor. (Fun fact: the number of kids choosing NOT to use the same Advisor as their parents is upward of 66%). (1)
- Tax and Investment Benefits – outside of registered investments, insurance stands out as being one of the most tax-efficient planning methods (accumulation, drawdown and at death, for example). It can also be used as a unique asset class to diversify into (participating insurance underlying holdings risk vs. return).
- Diversified Revenue Stream – where a wealth Advisor has fixed expenses and markets dip, insurance can be that diversified revenue stream.
- Additional Referrals – you get referrals for giving great wealth advice, but what if you add on referrals for insurance advice?
- Up-front compensation – you are compensated with first year commission (FYC) for insurance, which can smooth out your revenue stream. That’s two birds with one stone!
- Increase Book Value for Partial/Full Sale of your practice – the more accounts/services a client receives through you, the stronger your relationship with them, which could make a potential buyer more comfortable with the risk they are taking, maximizing your asking price. Ongoing insurance renewals will increase the value of the clients, alongside the revenue their investment business generates.
- Protecting Assets from sickness/disability – perhaps for clients starting out on their wealth accumulation journey, a sickness or disability could mean that they need to withdraw from their long-term investments (and get heavily taxed for this)! Living benefits would certainly help this client replace their income (and pay into those investments) until they are back to good health.
- Growing Practice – insurance revenue could facilitate the faster growth of your practice. Hiring that extra team member, investing in a Customer Relationship Manager (CRM), upgrading offices, upgrading your website, etc. – this can all help to take your practice to the next level!
Yes, adding insurance to an investment practice may seem daunting, but PPI is here to support YOU as you build your holistic practice. As a successful wealth Advisor, it’s important to know all the ways that insurance can add, not detract, from your wealth business and how it can provide your client with the holistic planning for their financial future that they and their family need and deserve.
For more information on holistic planning and the many benefits of insurance, contact your local PPI Collaboration Centre.
- Stewart, John. All in the family. Manulife Advisor Focus. 2023.