1 in 10 Agents Equipped to Deal with UHNW Clients?

[Brian Anderson]

New article in Forbes (link below) says only about 1 in 10 life insurance agents are qualified to deal with the ultra-wealthy, and consequently 10% of agents have a lock on this lucrative market. Excerpt from the article:

The challenge for the ultra-wealthy is that this is a highly competitive market flooded with practitioners that vary in experience and competency. Our benchmarking and best practices research has consistently shown that only about ten percent of life insurance professionals have the requisite expertise and networks of relationships to be truly effective. This extends to the ability to source the best coverage (including addressing the reinsurance issues) from the universe of potential carriers, deftly manage the underwriting process, and coordinate seamlessly with other professionals and advisors…
“… Many practitioners simply do not meet the standards of service for this community... One concern is that many life insurance producers haven’t had enough exposure at the high-end of the market.” - Evan Jehle, partner at FFO (Flynn Family Office), a New York City-based multi-family office for ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families.

What barriers tend to separate agents that can handle UHNW ($30+ million in investable assets) clients from those that “merely” deal with HNW ($1+ million) clients? Is the typical way to break into UHNW market by keeping HNW clients who become UHNW over time?

Why 10% Of Life Insurance Agents Have A Lock On The Ultra-High-Net-Worth Market - Forbes

 

[AlTheGud1sRtakn]

Based on my experience I'd say 10% is high. Really high.

Probably closer to 1%-5%, agents seem to learn their products then stick to them and swear by them without looking at the leagal/tax implications of different solutions and knowing what else is out there.

 

[LifeWorth]

I'd say 1% of all agents work with the ultra high net worth clients. These would be the agents who own firms that belong to M Financial Group, or the absolute Top of The Table agents that are still in captive companies.

 

[xrac]

Based on my experience I'd say 10% is high. Really high.

Probably closer to 1%-5%, agents seem to learn their products then stick to them and swear by them without looking at the leagal/tax implications of different solutions and knowing what else is out there.

I totally agree. 10% is too high.

 

[Bob Klee]

I'd say 1% of all agents work with the ultra high net worth clients. These would be the agents who own firms that belong to M Financial Group, or the absolute Top of The Table agents that are still in captive companies.

Agree! It also takes a special agent/knowledge to write the P&C premium for these folks too! Plus, knowing how to work with a Family Office is beyond many agents skill set/knowledge. I have a good friend who works for the Lockton Insurance brokerage. [largest privately held insurance company in the world. They have special agents that work the HNW space & really know what they are doing.] He loves working with Family Offices & writes only P&C. Average P&C premium he writes per family exceeds $20,000 per year! Just a bit above your State Farm/Allstate agencies average premium by over 10 X I'd bet!

 

[Tahoe Ray]

As of last year, there were less than 200k of these people in the world:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-...net-worth-people-world-over-30-million-assets

I doubt that any profession related to money (advisors, agents, accountants, attorneys, etc.) has a 10% proficiency in dealing with this market....under 1% would be my guess.