Full Disclosures Survivorship Life Report
Full Disclosure is a policy benchmarking tool used in life insurance "competitive intelligence." The term CI is used across many industries, but what is it in the life insurance industry?
Good CI is everything you can get your hands on. Illustrations, either through software from the companies or online, are easy enough to get, but comparative materials that break down a products makeup are necessary to get an idea of the policys positioning in the market.
A key to a competent product analysis is knowledge of what each product is designed to do. This may seem like a simple fact but one routinely overlooked. For example, an advisor brought into a large case may have to choose among many proposals with illustrations galore. To someone looking at illustrated values alone, price may win the day without consideration of the other policy dynamics in play. This particularly is true in big-ticket survivorship life sales where annual premiums may vary by tens of thousands of dollars.
Chances are you get certain product information from the issuing company directly or a brokerage or producer group operation. The competition or product support desk at carriers you use is an invaluable resource, though they are understandably eager to show their policy in the "best light" and will typically provide materials that do that.
But if, for example, the policy they are supporting performs well when highly funded, they may not provide you with a spreadsheet of illustrated values based on a minimum premium to carry scenario. Its up to you to find out where the product (by design) is or is not appropriate.
Look for materials that do not rely solely on illustrated values. Product strengths can be as far away from an illustration as you can imagine, and there is so much more to products than the numbers alone!
Look for features, flexibility and riders. For example, some policies loaded for business applications with things like accounting benefit riders or high early cash values. Some survivorship policies treat "uninsurables" as standard risks. Some companies specialize in older ages, and others may have interesting term blending or unique death benefit options. Policies are even beginning to offer "living benefits" that pay before death with nursing or long term care benefits.
