LTCI products are more important than ever for your clients. A new survey provides additional information regarding various types of LTC in the U.S. and a detailed breakdown of costs by region.

Ever wondered whatever happened to the past winners of Advisor Today’s Four Under Forty Award? Well, here is your chance to find out.

2012 won’t be boring. Be ready to take advantage of opportunities and avoid the downdrafts. And consider whether this combination of events might cause a “tip” in the market that has had virtually no upward movement since 1999.

In all the years that I’ve worked helping families protect themselves financially, never has the significance of what we do been more clear than in the past few years.

Use small bets to achieve growth and avoid big failures.

Taken together, our aggressive efforts on three fronts – governance, membership, and messaging – form a coordinated strategy to ensure NAIFA’s indispensable role in protecting our industry and helping members like you grow their business and protect the financial security of the American public.

The Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education has appointed new officers and members to its Board of Directors.

The main reason for leaving financial planning out of resolutions was the respondents’ belief that they “don’t make enough to worry about it” (35 percent), according to a survey by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.

Workers can expect modest pay raises averaging 2.8 percent next year, compared to 2.7 percent in 2011 and 2.9 percent in 2010, according to a survey by Buck Consultants.

Employees increasingly view the workplace as an important source for personal insurance and savings products.

By recognizing these elements and trying to practice the principles of giving and taking in equal measure, you can revolutionize your own workspace, no matter what position you may have.

“NAIFA continues to support the growth of our industry and will unwaveringly protect the future of our profession and the clients we represent.”

Successful advisors know that New Year’s resolutions are merely the first step in the process. It is actually the implementation of goal-related activities that lead you along the journey to your desired destination. Here’s how to get there.

A new federal health insurance rule in President Barack Obama’s health care law was supposed to crack down on wasteful administrative expenses, but insurance agents and brokers say they’re about to become unintended casualties.

New York Life Insurance Company has named Robert H. Petrocelli, Jr., as Council Vice President, an honor bestowed annually on the New York Life agent with the second-highest performance achievements in the company. As Council Vice President, Petrocelli is a leader of the company’s elite national field force composed of 11,900 licensed New York Life [...]

By Ayo Mseka A Life Insurance and Market Research Association (LIMRA) study finds that more than a quarter of producers consider the financial strength of an insurer one of the two most important factors in 2011. The study, What Producers Value: From Companies and Independent Intermediaries in 2011, examined the types of service and support [...]

Because of NAIFA, I have helped my clients in ways they never thought possible. Because of NAIFA, I have helped other people survive the perils inherent in this great business.

With the launch of the AT blog, I’m looking forward to creating a lively and engaging forum about all things NAIFA.

From the best minds in the industry, the Advisor Today Blog brings you the tools, ideas and techniques you need to build and enhance your financial practice.

I’ve been a NAIFA member since 1977. As a new agent, NAIFA provided me with strong mentors, fellow NAIFA members who were willing to provide guidance in the profession not only to assure my own personal growth in knowledge, but my ethical standards as well.

As agents and advisors, our creed is to help society help itself. We support the American public in the most personal and meaningful ways. When everyone else is at the door with their hands out, we are there to give and aid those who need it the most.

By Ayo Mseka Facing an uncertain economic future and critical of government, Americans plan to remain focused on their personal well-being in 2012, according to TD Ameritrade’s annual New Year’s Resolution survey. Most respondents plan to make at least one personal resolution in 2012, the two most common being “have more fun” and “relax and [...]

Most recently a partner in Goldwasser-Appel Insurance Advisors, Appel aims to continue to grow his reach and specialty in serving emerging wealth couples, established families and successful companies.

Be sure you’re doing all you can to attract clients through referrals—the way they prefer to meet you. These seven proven methods will help you stay on the right track.

The marketing materials developed by the LIFE Foundation can be a great help in our business. I myself didn’t have a full understanding, until recently, of the breadth and depth of LIFE’s marketing tools, such as the online calculators and the all the resources available for Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM). As a third-party trusted advisor, LIFE provides resources for use in educating and marketing insurance to prospects and clients, so check them out.

Many advisors are using LinkedIn to identify prospects on from their clients’ profiles. Have you found the right words to have a comfortable conversation with these folks without sounding sales-y? Using LinkedIn is a viable strategy, but you need to proceed with caution.

When it comes to long-term-care insurance, thinking outside the box and adopting a less conventional selling system will result in increased sales. The saying “telling is not selling” is particularly true in our business, and producers will often learn this lesson the hard way when emailing a quote, sending out a product brochure or supply a premium price over the phone. LTCI needs an explanation of all its moving parts—therefore, it needs to be agent-delivered.

Closing a sale requires that you focus not on your prospect’s needs, problems or pain, but on what he wants. Whether it’s prospecting or closing the sale, sales trainers tell us that we must be prepared to overcome objections.

Find out why they create problems—and how to fix them. Have you gone to one of those big bookstores and looked at all the books promising a solution to your challenges as a salesperson? If you have, then you know that they all provide essentially the same strategies.