Financial Pros Eying Insurance in Wake of Sept. 11
It’s not the way one would like to see business surge. But Keith Wagner, a star life-insurance salesman who plies Wall Street’s West Coast on behalf of Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance, said he’s getting unsolicited calls from customers.
“I didn’t call them,” he said.
Usually, life insurance salesmen are the ones doing the calling.
The events of Sept. 11 amplified feelings of mortality among many in America. Wall Streeters, especially, were left with a sense of vulnerability, reports Wagner, who has 1,000 clients in Southern California.
Many Los Angeles investment bankers, private equity investors and venture capitalists visit clients or investment portfolio companies all over the world.
“They are always on planes heading east,” says Wagner.
Suddenly, they want to be assured that their families are taken care of if they don’t come home one day.
“Now, when I meet with investment bankers, I don’t have to talk them into buying the right amount of coverage. They want it,” says Wagner, who consistently ranks among Northwestern Mutual’s top 10 salesmen nationwide.
For a financier making $500,000 a year, a lump-sum settlement between eight and 12 times income is usually sufficient, says Wagner. Such settlements are paid out tax-free, and cost about $25,000 annually, give or take a few thousand depending on individual circumstances.
In an added benefit, monies and capital gains made within a life insurance policy are tax-free, and can be borrowed against for any purpose, notes Wagner. Life insurance can actually become a tax-sheltered investment vehicle.
While Wagner is experiencing brisk business, even he has felt the World Trade Center’s destruction.
“I didn’t lose anyone, but a close colleague of mine in New York had five clients, all under 40, who died,” Wagner said. “They had a total of 15 kids. They were covered … but you can’t feel good about it.” n
Cole is a contributor to the Los Angeles Business Journal.
