Like trusts and estate planning, life insurance can be complex. The insurance industry has its own array of strange sounding names like Whole Life, Term Life, Guaranteed Universal Life, Endowment, Modified Endowment, Fixed Annuity, Variable Annuity, etc. It also has its own set of confusing acronyms, but let’s not go into that. It’s already too complex.

Apart from the obvious complexity, the greatest challenge with life insurance is finding someone to buy it from whose interests are truly aligned with yours. Unfortunately, the industry does not work that way. Life insurance is typically sold, not bought, and the seller generally earns a significant up-front commission to make the sale. Human nature being what it is, there is an inherent conflict of interest in this arrangement, since the salesperson typically is motivated to sell the product that generates a sizable commission. Whether or not that product is actually the best fit for you is often a secondary consideration. That is also why so many policies lapse and the insurance companies benefit by collecting premiums for years without ever having to pay out the benefit. How else could life insurance companies own such huge buildings?

At Craven Capital, we recognize that life insurance is a product that can be extremely necessary and very valuable, but oftentimes may be inappropriate for your true needs. We do not sell insurance at Craven Capital, but we like to work with a small cadre of true insurance professionals who do. Although they each represent different insurance carriers, the common denominator in all of them is that they can be relied upon to provide truly objective and appropriate advice, regardless of whether or not it will generate a policy sale. They respect the true value of the client relationship as opposed to the transitory benefit of a single transaction. We like that, and you will, too.