Beginner's Guide to Insurance MLM

[wfs]

Last Updated 11/3/2016

This serves to be as an informational thread on the current Network Marketing/Multilevel Marketing (MLM) companies that sell life insurance. I put this together for new agents who may not be aware that these companies are MLM and to provide some basic info.

I am not intending this to be a thread to debate MLM, just to help whoever it may help. Some of this may be incorrect or dated, so if I am asked, I will correct.


Hegemon Group International www.hgimax.com
Description: Ex-AL Williams builder and, World Marketing Alliance/World Leadership Group founder Hubert Humphrey is back in the insurance business. After selling WMA/WFG to Aegon/Transamerica in 2001, he was unable to compete for a number of years due to the non-compete agreement with AEGON. Now, he is back and looking to build another industry giant.
Primary Marketing Angle: Indexed Universal Life, Active Money Management, Living Benefits, Term Life w/Living Benefits, Guaranteed Lifetime Income Streams, Non-Licensed Products (Land Banking, Credit Restoration, Robo-Investing, Estate Planning Services).
Companies: AIG, Sagicor, North American, Americo, United Home Life, many others
Captive: No
Fee to join: Yes, $125

Primerica www.primerica.com
Description: Almost everyone knows this one. Started as A.L. Williams (ALW), later bought by Primerica Corp (now Citigroup) and renamed Primerica Financial Services. Now it has been spun off into its own entity "Primerica" and is traded on the stock market as PRI. Approximate market cap of PRI is $2.5 Billion. Recently, they have added indexed annuities into their product offering.
Primary Marketing Angle: Replace all permanent life policies with the "Buy Term and Invest the Difference" philosophy. All cash value insurance is bad.
Companies: Primerica Life
Captive: Yes
Fee to join: Yes

World Financial Group www.worldfinancialgroup.com
Description: Started by A.L. Williams / Primerica top producer and recruiter S. Hubert Humphrey. He left ALW after it was sold to Primerica Corp, and started Alexander Inc, later known as World Marketing Alliance. Sold assets (not the WMA name/logo) to Aegon/Transamerica (except for WMA Mortgage Services which was retained by Mr. Humphrey) and was renamed World Financial Group. The broker/dealer now goes by Transamerica Financial Advisors. Approximate market cap of WFG is $1.5 Billion.
All of these are marketing groups within WFG: WealthWave (Tom Matthews), Virtual Financial Group (Rich Thawley), World System Builder/WSB (Xuan Nguyen), Revolution Financial Management.
Primary Marketing Angle: Indexed UL w/LTC rider.
Companies: Transamerica, Nationwide, Pacific Life, others
Captive: Somewhat
Fee to join: Yes

International Marketing Group www.img-corp.com
Description: Marketing group owned by World Financial Group's Xuan Nguyen, although you will find no mention of Xuan or WFG on the website. This is Xuan's marketing company for the Philippines, still under the WFG umbrella. Also known as "World System Builder" or WSB.
Primary Marketing Angle: Same as WFG
Companies: Same as WFG
Captive: Same as WFG
Fee to join: Same as WFG

Capital Choice www.capitalchoice.com
Description: Started by Art Williams' brother-in-law DIck Kinnard. Basically the same thing as Primerica without the corporate owner, and on a much smaller scale.
Primary Marketing Angle: Replace all permanent life policies with the "Buy Term and Invest the Difference" philosophy.
Companies: ING, Fidelity, others
Captive: Yes
Fee to join: Yes

HBW Insurance www.hbwinc.com
Description: More of a General Agency type of MLM. Allows agents to sell a variety of products and build a network of subagents. While MLM, seems to be a bit more toned down.
Primary Marketing Angle: Sell a variety of products part time, build a team
Companies: ING, Old Mutual, others
Captive: I don't think so
Fee to join: Not sure

The Alliance Group www.anallianceforlife.com
Description: Started by a former Amerishare agent, their main focus is mortgage term and a term insurance product with "Living Benefits".
Primary Marketing Angle: Mortgage Life and Proprietary Term Life w/Living Benefits
Companies: Western Reserve Life, Transamerica, others
Captive: No
Fee to join: No

The Alliance (formerly National Agents Alliance) www.naaleads.com
Description: Yet another "alliance" pushing non-medical term to everyone. Their system is mortgage leads from their direct mail program. Agents actually buy these leads from the company.
Primary Marketing Angle: Non-medical mortgage life insurance
Companies: Presidential, American General, others
Captive: Unsure
Fee to join: ?

U and I Win (United Independent) www.uandiwin.com
Description: ?
Primary Marketing Angle: ?
Companies: Many - http://www.uandiwin.com/Carriers/All_Carriers/?page=40
Captive: ?
Fee to join: ?

Freedom Equity Group www.freedomequitygroup.com
Description: Founded by ex-A.L. Williams agent Ron Bloomingkemper, along with Ronald Petrinovich and Bill St. Clair. Mr. Bloomingkemper was also the founder of National Marketing Alliance (RIP). This company is very similar to WFG in structure and products.
Primary Marketing Angle: Indexed Universal Life is the primary product.
Companies: AIG, Phoenix, Life of the Southwest, American National and others
Captive: No
Fee to join: Yes.

People Helping People www.thephpagency.com
Description: Founded by ex-WFG CEO MD Patrick Bet-David. They seem to focus on recruiting a younger crowd and focus on being a life insurance agent entrepreneur.
Primary Marketing Angle: Indexed Universal Life, Return of Premium, Term Life.
Companies: AIG, Nationwide, Foresters, F&G Life and others
Captive: No
Fee to join: Yes, $150

DEFUNCT COMPANIES:

Life Agent Alliance www.lifeagentalliance.com
Description: New company started in 2007. From the website, it seems to be fly-by night. No corporate address. I can't even be 100% sure if it is MLM, but the word "Alliance" in the title indicates that it is.
Primary Marketing Angle: Non-medical life insurance, voicemail leads
Companies: United Home Life, American Amicable, etc..
Captive: Unsure
Fee to join: ?

And for history's sake, we can't forget National Marketing Alliance (RIP) and Amerishare (RIP). And not life insurance related, but Hubert Humphrey's World Leadership Group WLGI has Ceased Business Operations (formerly WMA Mortgage Services) which was MLM mortgage and real estate, closed it's doors in December 2008 due to the banking and real estate collapse (RIP).

I hope this is helpful.

 

[Norwayguy]

Very Concise and more complete than I would have thought of....

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

Bravo! 5 stars!

 

[FL P&C Broker]

Great info for newbies.

 

[wfs]

Thanks. Glad you all like it.

 

[xrac]

Thanks. Glad you all like it.

Good post!

 

[Marker77]

Good Post Len!

I have always believed that insurance & MLM really don't mix because the focus, normally, is on recruiting and not on doing what is in the client's best interest.

I have built a sucessful insurance business and a successful MLM business but never put both of them together.

I can remember 27 years ago coming across some very aggressive AL Williams agents who beleived that one product fit every situation. "Buy Term and Invest the Difference." Their term went to age 65 and expired. When I asked them what happens past age 65, they were would spout off something that their trainer said. The funny thing was their term wasn't even that competitive. Most of the people were part timers and had no knowledge how insurance actually worked.

When you mix MLM with that business model, it may work for awhile but will fall apart quickly. Al Williams would bring in part-time family members, replace whole life policies with term insurance and then they would be out of the business. They wrote a large amount of insurance but the promises of the MLM model really never worked.

The best thing my state did was implement 52 hours of pre-licensing before they could take the test.

 

[FL P&C Broker]

Are the Independent Producers of America on this list?

 

[Corporate Death]

Are the Independent Producers of America on this list?

Oh man, cant forget THEM. Put your "Sales" resume' on Careerbuilder and they'll hound you day and night. Just wow.

 

[Norwayguy]

The funny thing was their term wasn't even that competitive. Most of the people were part timers and had no knowledge how insurance actually worked.

This is still the case....They only know what there RVP tells them and the RVP's only have experience with Primerica...I stopped in one day to talk to them because I liked the idea of creating a financial plan for the clients and taking care of the mortgage, insurance and investments under one roof...I didn't care that most Primerica reps I ever met didn't know what they were talking about because I thought it would be different with me since I had experience outside Primerica....but as I was talking to the RVP I caught him in many inconsistancies and errors...He stated that you could sell say 10K in mutual fund family A and say 20K in family B and because of primerica you would qualify for breakpoints with both companies (Totally wrong I was so insistent that if true would be a great selling feature I had him call the trade desk at the B/D not only was it wrong but here is a RVP just finding this out) wonder how many clients thought they were getting break points that they weren't.