Real Solutions for Risk Management
Risk Management & Insurance
Plan for the worst and hope for the best.
Whether you’re just beginning your career or retired, whether you’re running a family business or a professional helping others: managing risk is something we all must do. We’ve found that even well-crafted game plans can be useless without effective risk management.
While some risks are obvious and simple to manage, others are more ambiguous and complex to address. Left unattended, either can be devastating. Through thoughtful planning, appropriate ownership arrangements and other structures, and the acquisition of competitively priced insurance coverage, we help our clients reduce their exposure to risk, and then effectively transfer the risks they can't bear themselves.
By acting as our client’s advocate rather than solely as an agent, we use optimized combinations of planning and coverage that together strive to give our clients the confidence and peace of mind that they’re prepared for the worst while they journey toward their objectives. Some of the areas we address are:
Protection for your family
- Premature Death - Most people realize that life insurance can protect a family from the financial hardship caused by the premature death of the income earner(s). However, beyond that, there are many decisions to make, such as: Term vs. permanent? How much is enough? What company? What type of product? How do I get the most competitive pricing? Our team helps clients answer these questions everyday.
- Disability - For many clients, the ability to work is their most valuable asset – and a long term disability the most likely threat to that asset. Liquid emergency funds and disability income insurance are the most important tools to protect against such a risk. Through our relationship with a specialty disability brokerage firm, we can often secure more coverage for an executive or professional when they seemingly have “maxed out.”
- Long Term Care - The statistics on how many Americans will need an extended stay in a nursing home or require in-home care are sobering, and government programs require that we spend down nearly all personal assets to qualify for assistance. The long-term care issue thus becomes a fundamental piece of many families’ financial planning. With team members who specialize in the issues faced by retirees and affiliations with elder-care attorneys and long-term care insurance specialists, we are uniquely positioned to help you address this growing concern.
- Wealth Transfer - Without proper planning, clients with taxable estates now face transfer taxes of 40%+. With the benefit of significant experience and the assistance of our on-staff attorney, we help our clients reduce or even eliminate the impact of transfer taxes. We can also connect clients with our nationwide network of estate planning and tax attorneys, valuations experts and other partners to assist in the implementation of these solutions. When liquidity is needed to pay anticipated estate taxes, we help our clients assess the costs and benefits of insurance and other alternatives and acquire insurance, if necessary.
Protection for your assets
- Annuities - Like cash value life insurance, annuities, when structured properly, may offer tax benefits, asset protection qualities, and principal protection in ways that other asset classes cannot match. These advantages are especially applicable for those in or close to retirement and those concerned about outliving their capital or just “living off the interest.” Our team has educated many clients on this asset class and helped them understand how it might play a role in their overall wealth plan.
- Life Insurance as an Asset Class - Fewer people understand that permanent (cash value) life insurance can serve as an alternative asset class with unique wealth accumulation attributes. Structured properly, it may offer tax benefits, asset protection qualities, and principal protection in ways that other asset classes cannot match. Our team has educated hundreds of clients on this asset class and helped them understand how it might play a role in their overall wealth plan.
- Trusts - Rather than seeing them as a rigid straitjacket, more and more successful families are realizing that trusts can be strong financial partners for future generations. Our well-educated and experienced team can help you evaluate which may be right for you, and then act as your advocate with other specialist professionals in their establishment and operation.
- Family Holding Companies - Like trusts, family limited partnerships (FLPs) and limited liability companies (LLCs) have become a popular choice for protecting, managing, and transferring family assets. We can help understand, implement and manage these effective tools.
Protection for your business
- Buy-Sell Arrangements and Key Person Insurance - One of the biggest risks to a closely-held business is the disability or death of a partner. The appropriate agreements combined with effective insurance protection can shield the business, the injured/deceased partner’s family AND the remaining partners. Our team is quite familiar with different arrangements and coverages and how they fit into a well-planned business protection strategy.
- Non-Qualified Plans - For some businesses, non-qualified plans can be ideal tools for recruiting and keeping talent. They can also become powerful vehicles for executive wealth creation as well. Either as a stand-alone or in tandem with retirement plans, we have years of experience designing and implementing these plans.
- COLI/BOLI - For many years, Corporate and Bank Owned Life Insurance has served as an effective tool for businesses to both obtain coverage on key team members and diversify corporate assets. We have the expertise and, perhaps more importantly, the access to these unique insurance products.
Other areas
- Captive Insurance arrangements - With rising levels of risk and taxation, one solution that more and more small to mid-size companies are considering is the formation of their own “captive” insurance company. By providing a means of deducting premiums which are not reportable as income to the client-owned insurance company, families may be able to reduce current and future taxes as well as transfer significant wealth to future generations. We bring the expertise and relationships to help you evaluate and, if warranted, establish these beneficial structures.