Medicaid Qualified Annuity, Buyer Beware and Agent Liability

The need for some clients to protect assets from Medicaid Spend down is obvious. It can be because of the well spouse?s needs, a handicap child or a myriad of good solid reasons. This is where the annuity salesperson come charging to the rescue.

Most agents know that certain types of annuities can avoid spend down and can provide protection for the assets in the annuity. These annuities have specific language to make them fully qualified under Medicaid rules. Most annuity contracts DO NOT contain the language to qualify for the Medicaid rules.

The monthly payout must be for the life expectancy of the annuitant. The annuity cannot have any free look in the contract and the value of the annuity is agreed by all parties to be zero. The only value of the annuity is the monthly income. These features are actually part of the contract and are allowed by 29 states in the US. It is sometime referred to as the ?name on the check rule.?

The personal liability comes into play when an agent does not fully understand the rules nor the process that must be adhered to in order to qualify the funds. An agent will sell ?just an annuity? explaining to the client the funds are safe from spend down. You have to ask yourself why would this happen? The reason is obvious, large commissions.

Commissions for the Medicaid spend down annuity are often very low while the commissions for a standard annuity are usually much higher. The agent will sell the concept of the annuity but provide a product that will never qualify for Medicaid spend down. This is where the liability issue comes to the surface. Of course by then the agent could be on to a different career or the obvious answer is ?I didn?t say that.?

At the time of need the client could be faced with additional stress and maximum exposure to exposed assets. This creates a very unfair situation for the client and the agent is almost never left holding the bag. Then of course there is this sales pitch and explanation.

Recently I ran into a situation where an annuity agent had sold a 17 year surrender contact to a widow aged 77. She was told that the annuity would protect all her assets and she could leave those assets to her children. In a couple of years she became ill and was in need of nursing home car and the annuity was the primary asset. Of course as a single person there was no way to protect the funds in the annuity and with the children, I called the agent. His reply was amazing, he said he knew the annuity was not going to be Medicaid qualified but it was not his problem, it was his ?errors and omissions? problem. He knowingly sold the product for the monstrous commission and had calculated the insurance company would make things right.

The client had to eventually cash in the huge surrender penalty annuity and suffer the losses. She was ill and not up to a fight with anyone and just wanted to be left alone.

The shame of this story is as annuity salespeople we are all considered guilty by the actions of a few. So here is my advice.

? Always work with an attorney who specializes in Medicaid planning

? Never call yourself a Medicaid specialist

? Never give legal advice

? If you sell a Medicaid qualified annuity make certain the contract will work in your state, ask the home office, they are there to help

And finally, be honest and open. Make certain the prospect understands exactly how a Medicaid Qualified Annuity works and how the benefits directly affect them and their personal situation.

Bill Broich is a 30 year annuity salesman who helps agents generate annuity leads. Visit his website to learn more - Annuity.com.

Use The Adwords Miracle To Get More Annuity Leads

Working with insurance agents over the years I have found one commonality? they fear technology. Of course, not all do, most of you reading this online article probably don?t? but in my experience I find fear of technology generally to be true. Some agents I work with still refuse to use email.

What they?re missing out on is an abundance of fresh, precision targeted leads that can only be found on the web.

I?m not talking about banner ads or pop-ups ads or email spam, which are so broad that they are rarely effective. I?m talking about keyword advertising. While there are many places to purchase keyword advertising Google?s Adwords system is by far the best. So what is keyword advertising? When you type in a search phrase, annuity leads for example, on Google you will be presented with one page displaying two types of similar results.

Organic:

In the center you?ll find organic results, organic being that the sites did not have to pay to be listed. They?re simply relevant to the search phrase.

Paid:

On the right hand column and directly above the middle results you will see other relevant results in boxes. Those are paid results. Companies pay by the click and bid against one another to be listed there.

The magic of keyword advertising is that you can target your ads directly to what people are searching for. If somebody types in annuities they are looking for annuity information. If they type in annuity agent Spokane, Washington for example, it?s obvious they are looking for a representative in the Spokane area to discuss annuities with. If somebody types in targeted phrases such as these the chances of converting the search to a lead are far, far greater than if somebody is perusing a general website and happens to see a banner ad for annuities. Make sense? In other words, people are looking for you.

Google charges by the click. Depending on your website, landing page and offer you can acquire reasonably priced leads. One offer I ran on Google averaged out to about $7.50 per lead. I converted roughly one in twenty-five to a sale. I made huge returns on my investment and the people wanted to see me. I did not have to sell anything? they were already in the market to purchase an annuity and I simply walked into their line of vision. Easy.

Now here is where the fear part comes in. How do you use Google Adwords? I?m not going to lie; it can be complex, especially if you?re inexperienced with internet advertising. I do not have enough space here to explain all the ins and outs. There can be a lot to it and the last thing I recommend is learning the hard way. You can lose a lot of money fast. To make it easier for you I read several e-books on the subject of setting up, running and maximizing adwords campaigns and the very best, most comprehensive book is Adwords Miracle. This book is not targeted to the insurance industry? it?s actually targeted toward affiliate marketers, but it is entirely useful and the same tips and tactics apply to our industry. In your mind simply substitute affiliate marketing with annuity marketing and presto, it?s 100% relevant.

The book is on the spendier side but with this you truly get what you pay more. You will save the money you spend on Adwords Miracle in the first week of running adwords. The book even covers landing pages and how to build in triggers to get higher conversion rates, which makes it truly invaluable. I heartily recommend Google?s Adword?s system for laser-targeted lead generation and Adwords Miracle as a map to get you there.

Bill Broich is a 30 year annuity salesman who helps agents generate annuity leads. Visit his website to learn more - Annuity.com.

J.G. Wentworth to Market Annuity Purchase Program With Underwriters Marketing Service, Inc.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

J.G. Wentworth to Market Annuity Purchase Program With Underwriters Marketing Service, Inc.

Bryn Mawr, PA, January 24 -- The J.G. Wentworth Annuity Purchase Program? has added Underwriters Marketing Service, Inc. (UMS) to its growing roster of Insurance Marketing Organizations (IMOs). The firm is led by noted insurance marketing executive Mary Ann Lacey-Gray, CLTC. "We're delighted that a firm of UMS's stature has elected to join forces with us in marketing the Annuity Purchase Program," said J.G. Wentworth Regional Director Ryan Clemency. "Mary Ann's experience and participation on various boards, committees and councils offers an invaluable sounding board for new ideas, and reflects positively on the Annuity Purchase Program."

Ms. Lacey-Gray said that, "We believe the Annuity Purchase Program is an important new addition to the insurance agent's portfolio. Insurance agents, as well as financial planners and advisors all know the real need that many clients have in gaining access to extra funds from time to time due to life changes, and the Annuity Purchase Program will enable them to fill this need, and as a result, form a stronger bond with their clients."

The J.G. Wentworth Annuity Purchase Program? enables individuals to sell their investment annuities for cash. The program is marketed directly to individuals and through IMOs which provide agents and brokers with specialty insurance and financial services products.

About J.G. Wentworth For more than 15 years, J.G. Wentworth has been purchasing annuities as well as other deferred payment streams. During this time, the company has purchased over $2 billion of future payment obligations. The company's annuity-backed notes are rated AAA by Standard & Poor's and Aaa by Moody's and sold to institutional investors. J.G. Wentworth is based in Bryn Mawr, PA. For more information about J.G. Wentworth, go to www.jgwentworth.com.

About UMS Underwriters Marketing Service, Inc., entering its 23rd year in business, is a national marketing organization offering sales and marketing support to insurance professionals in the areas of life, annuities, reverse mortgages and long term care. UMS is headquartered in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, with sales offices in Maryland and Florida and provides sales support to over 3,600 agents.

For More Information: Rosalia Scampoli, Marketcom PR rscampoli@marketcompr 203-622-1353

Erin Ritter is the Director of Public Relations for DMi Partners, Inc. in Philadelphia, PA.

Annuity Marketing By Radio

I know what you are thinking? I must be kidding - right?

Think about our target market. Who are they and how do they access their information? It is a statistic that only 7% of people over age 65 are online. That means that 93% of our target market is accessing information by other sources such as the newspaper, television and the RADIO!

How do you do it? There are many options available to you. Offer your services to the Saturday Morning local interest station. There are many of these and your cost will be zilch. They are always looking for guests and if you offer a newsworthy topic it is very easy to get yourself on the air and it will be a clever annuity marketing tactic.

A possible target may be, ?Uncover the facts about Long Term Care Insurance? or ?How to manage your IRA for maximum income.? There are so many topics available to you that a little imagination will leave you with endless possibilities.

How about pay to play? Easy to do and lots of sources. I like the idea of a Saturday Morning slot and if you can get it close to 10:00 it is perfect. Buy the air time for 30 minutes and talk about your list of topics. Have you ever thought about doing an annuity seminar on the radio? Just repeat the strong points of your seminar over the air and invite people to call in for questions.

Have the station capture the caller?s information like address and number.

Offer a booklet to mail out after the show. The callers are all solid prospects and because you are on the ?RADIO? you are a perceived expert!

Trade air time for commercials. This idea really works, offer the station an advertising commitment for air time. Trade $1,000 of commercials for the ? hour of air time.

What do you advertise?

Your radio program! How about peripheral annuity marketing? Ask the station for permission to use their name on your web site or your printed materials. Have fun with this and be informal while at the same time being the local ?EXPERT.?

Your radio show can be cross marketed to your existing client base and to all new prospects you meet. ?Oh, you are the radio guy.? Instant credibility!

There are numerous ways to find annuity leads, be different and be creative and your annuity marketing results will explode.

Bill Broich is a 30 year annuity salesman who helps agents ramp up their annuity marketing efforts. Visit his website to learn more. Annuity.com

How To Purchase An Annuity

An annuity is a contract with an insurance company to make periodic payments for retirement income and sometimes other purposes.

There are basically two types of annuities.

Fixed Annuities

A fixed annuity earns a guaranteed interest rate over a specific period of time. When this period of time expires a new interest rate is set for the next period of time. Is important to note that a fixed annuity is not backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Variable Annuities

Variable annuities offer a much greater range of investment funding options than fixed annuities. Because their performance depends on the investment options your principal and return are not guaranteed. Some variable annuities offer a fixed accounts alternative that guarantees principal and interest a lot like fixed annuities. You can then divide your funds between the low-risk option as well as high-risk options such as stocks.

Purchasing Annuities

There are two ways to purchase annuities. You can either pay the premium using one lump sum or you can make ongoing contributions to what is called a flexible payment annuity. With a flexible payment annuity you can contribute money pretty much any time you want. Another benefit of variable annuities is that they allow you to transfer money from one account to the other without having to pay taxes on any earnings you make as a result of the transfer. The disadvantage of variable annuities is that you will most likely pay higher fees than you would with a fixed annuity.

If you are wanting to save money for retirement a fixed tax deferred annuity may be the best option for you. With a tax-deferred annuity you don't pay taxes until you make a withdrawal or begin receiving annuity income. This can allow you to accumulate a greater amount of money over an extended period of time. You should think carefully though before putting money into a tax-deferred annuity. If the money is needed before age 59 and you withdrawal the money the IRS may apply heavy penalties. In addition the insurer may also impose its own withdrawal penalties which are often cause surrender fees.

You can also purchase what is called an immediate annuity. When you purchase an immediate annuity you make a one-time payment and distributions usually begin within 30 days. Immediate annuities can be fixed or variable. Because an immediate annuity can provide stable income payments guaranteed for a selected period of time, this is a good option if you need a financial vehicle that can provide guaranteed income for life.

Before purchasing an annuity is important to speak with a professional financial adviser so you have an understanding of the various tax consequences of an annuity as well as the expenses which may be associated with the contract.

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.cashbazar.com. Visit his website for the latest on personal finance, debt elimination, budgeting, credit cards and real estate.