Your Whole Life Policy Year One Best Practices

Your Whole Life Policy Year One Best Practices

We are a few episodes into the Welcome Series. We’ve reviewed many of the core benefits and solutions the show offers. We’ve got a special guest here to talk about what to expect during your first year of adopting this new financial strategy from continuing your financial education to finalizing the important details of your policy. There are a few things you’re going to want to put on your radar.

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I’m here with my good friend, Nick Welch. Nick, how’s it going?

It’s going great.

We have a couple of things we’re going to review in this episode. Nick has been an instrumental part of Paradigm for the last couple of years. He’s had a unique opportunity to work with me as well as another one of the senior wealth strategists here. He also played an instrumental role in helping to edit the book, Heads I Win, Tails You Lose, because of some of his backgrounds. I’m going to let Nick talk about a few of the points of his background and what his experience has been like at Paradigm Life briefly. We’re going to get into the things to be focused on as you come to the end of your first year with incorporating the Perpetual Wealth Strategy into your overall financial picture.

People have latched on to the idea of utilizing life insurance as a mechanism for savings and investing. Click To Tweet

A few years ago, I was working with a consulting firm that worked primarily with business owners. This idea of utilizing life insurance as a mechanism for savings and investing was something that had come across to us. I was intrigued by it. I had a number of experiences that changed my perspective on finance in general to the extent that I knew that this is something that I wanted to do for my future. One thing led to another. I saw an opportunity to come on board at Paradigm Life and I’m excited to be here.

Your background is unique because you worked in the business field, but you also had a business writing minor as part of your degree.

I’d love the analytical writing type. I envy those people like yourself who are able to sit down and write a lot of things because for a simple email, sometimes it takes me on a long time. You know how analytical I am, so I like to dissect things. When it came time for the editing of the book, that’s where I was able to put those analytical skills to use. I wasn’t the one that had to write all the content, but I was able to go through and see where some things could be changed word-wise to make it a little bit more digestible.

It was a long experience and that’s something very unique because you were able to learn so much about not only the philosophy but a lot of the strategies as well. Coupled with what you were doing there, maybe talk about how you have interacted with clients over the last couple of years and some of the things that you’ve learned, specifically those common questions that are often asked.

I have had the opportunity to work in tandem with you as well as one of our senior wealth strategists here at Paradigm Life and helping them, helping you with existing clientele. Helping them answer questions that they have in regards to their policy or this specific strategy that was put in place for them. It’s been a tremendous experience to hear from our clients how this has benefited their lives in various ways.

What are some of the things you hear over and over again that are most likely to be some questions that those who are reading would have?

I would say that typically the questions fall into one of three categories like the what now? What do I do? I’ve got this policy in place or whatever the strategy is for that particular situation. What do I do at this point? Maybe logistical questions of who do I contact for requesting a policy loan or changing a beneficiary or things of that nature. Also, as far as communication is concerned and further education, where do I go for those types of things. We have a number of resources available to help solve all of those questions and issues.

Let’s talk about those. There are essentially two relationships, one with the insurance carrier themselves and one with Paradigm. Maybe talk about that dynamic, how to communicate with both and what resources are available with both?

Every year you're going to get an annual statement sent to you from the insurance carrier. Click To Tweet

I would say that given that we have a unique approach to utilizing whole life insurance, there are frequent questions that will come up that are tailor-made to your situation because what we do is not a one size fits all solution. It is tailor-made to each individual client. For example, I had a client I was talking to who had specifically designed their strategy to only fund their policy for a certain number of years. When they got a bill in the mail that was telling them otherwise, they called the insurance carrier and they were telling them otherwise, the client was quite frustrated. It wasn’t until I had an opportunity to speak with them and say, “Yes, your policy is right on track with what we had projected. It’s doing exactly what we had planned it to do,” until they were able to put their mind at ease and knew that they didn’t have to pay a premium like they were told they were going to have.

If clients are in a situation where they do receive their notice to make the year’s contribution if that’s how they’re paying and it’s different, or there are some questions that they have, what are typically the resources that we provide? How are they different than what the carrier would provide?

Noticing that there was a need for that, we’ve developed an entire team to help facilitate those questions and answers as they come up. We’ve got a servicing team that is going to help you with requesting policy loans, with directing you as to how to potentially pay back a policy loan. Pay a premium payment or simple policy changes like the change of a beneficiary or things of that nature or like a name if you get married or something like that. Those things are constantly happening. We have an in-house team here at Paradigm Life that is going to help facilitate those things so that you don’t have to contact the insurance carrier and sometimes not get the help that you’re maybe looking for.

Maybe talk about the other ways that clients can talk with their wealth strategists or perhaps their wealth strategist is no longer with Paradigm. What are the ways in which those resources are available to clients and when and how should they reach out?

We have troves of information. That’s one thing that sets Paradigm apart is we have a lot of different online free resources that are available, whether it’s articles, videos, podcasts, or eBooks. There are a number of things that are available to continue education and to pass on maybe to other individuals that have questions that you’ve been talking to. That’s one of the things that sets us apart. Most of that information caters to a broad audience. When it comes to a specific type of questions about your policy or your specific strategy, that’s where turning to your wealth strategists or the team that we have here at Paradigm. You’re going to be able to get those questions answered for you.

As you’re reading to this Welcome Series, we’re talking about the basic fundamentals of how to communicate and what are some of those common questions. We’re going to get into other material, strategy and other things in the future but it’s important to have that line of communication both from questions that you have, but also the communication back to you. The client newsletter is one way we do that. This show is another. The array of resources that we have on the ParadigmLife.net webpage has a robust amount of information and education both for those that are learning as well as those that are experienced. Make sure that you have either the website bookmarked, subscribe to the show or also on our email list so that you get the newsletter. Nick, what are maybe some final points that a client should be aware of as they’re maybe approaching the end of their first year? They’ve just started, what can they expect?

Every year, you’re going to get an annual statement sent to you from the insurance carrier. That gives essentially a year-end report on how the policy performed. That’s one form of communication that you’ll receive from the carrier. You should also be hearing from your wealth strategist intermittently throughout the year to help answer any other questions that you might have or to refresh or renew the strategy that was put in place because I’ve never seen a financial situation that is static until somebody is 100 or 121 years old. Things are constantly changing in individual’s lives. The way that we are designing a strategy allows for flexibility so that as those things change for better or potentially for worse, we can accommodate those fluctuations on an annual basis.

There are a lot of options. Since we’ve been doing this, the economy has changed multiple times. Careers have changed. We’ve seen marital situations change. We’ve seen having children go to college, graduate college and get married. There are all sorts of situations that change the dynamic of someone’s financial life. The reinforcement of communication is vital. As those things change, the flexibility to have your policy and your strategy adapt to that is important. Nick, is there anything else before we wrap up?

Things are constantly changing in individuals' lives. Click To Tweet

One thought that I always share with clients, especially when they’re first starting the strategy for their personal situation is to have in mind a particular purchase or investment that they would be able to utilize their policy for and utilize the policy values for making that purchase. Be it for a purchase of a real estate, the financing of some large purchase that would normally have to be done through a bank or financial institution, a vehicle or vacation, something so that you can see the Perpetual Wealth Strategy in action. That is an important way to see its value come to fruition.

Nick, that’s a great tip. The experience is something. The literal experience definitely beats having the information any day of the week. Thanks for joining us. It’s been a fun time.

Thank you so much for having me.

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Thanks for joining Nick and me in this episode. Year one is a pivotal time for continuing your education and we appreciate you being here. As always, be sure to check out ParadigmLife.net for all this episode’s content. There is an additional video and an infographic to download and help you remember some of the most important takeaways from this episode. You’re free to share them with anyone you wish, friends, family, etc., as you start having these important conversations.

Next is a truly special episode. You’ll get to learn not only from one of our most tenured and knowledgeable wealth strategists but also from one of our incredible clients who has mastered this strategy. Wealth Strategist Gary Pinkerton and Paradigm Life client and finance veteran, Aaron Chapman will be talking about one of the most important and valuable aspects of this financial journey, which is talking to and teaching your family and children about the Perpetual Wealth Strategy. You’ll learn real-life stories and get tips and advice from both Aaron and Gary who have mastered family adoption with every member actively participating in family finances. You’re not going to want to miss it. I’d encourage having your own spouse or partner with you. Please invite them to join us in the next episode. It’s going to be great.

Important Links:

• Nick Welch
• Heads I Win, Tails You Lose
• Gary Pinkerton
• Aaron Chapman