A Seat at the Table: An Inclusive Approach to Corporate Insurance

Stronger Together

When you purchased your first home, you probably didn’t do it alone. Most likely you consulted your parents, spouse, realtor, mortgage broker, barista, hairstylist…you get the point. In short, you brought in a team to help you make a large and important financial decision.

When it comes to buying corporate insurance, I feel that it’s best to take the same approach, which is why, as an insurance advisor, I like to work with my client’s accountants and lawyers.

The Importance of the Team

The importance of bringing the team to the table was impressed upon me years ago when I was an accountant in public practice. When a client would have their annual tax return meeting with me, I’d ask them what’s new, and often be met with something along the lines of “my insurance advisor told me to buy this policy.” Often my client would have been sold the wrong policy for them, which was a cause of frustration for me. Either the policy didn’t make sense based on their needs, or was just wrong. In short, they got sold something they didn’t need. If they had sat down with me and their insurance advisor, we could have come up with a solution that worked for them.

To be clear, I was never an “anti-insurance” accountant. I understood that it’s great for dependants who need money now, buy/sell, and estate planning purposes, to name just a few reasons.

The Pitfalls of Exclusion

These experiences informed my practice when I moved into insurance advising. When I first became an insurance advisor, I found myself in rooms with other insurance agents and hear them say things like “my client’s darned accountant said no!” or “the accountant doesn’t understand the policy and won’t buy it until they do!” Later I would invariably find out that the insurance advisors weren’t even talking with the accountants–they weren’t even in the meetings. What I realized was that many insurance advisors excluded a client’s accountant and lawyer because they wouldn’t be able to answer their questions and may, in turn, lose credibility.

The Benefits of Inclusion

I take pride in the fact that I sit at the table with a client’s accountant and their lawyer. Having a CPA background, I’m able to answer tax-related questions, and I encourage and welcome my client’s accountant and/or lawyer to ask questions. I welcome and expect their input, so we can create a more holistic plan for my clients–one that makes sense from an accounting and legal perspective.

Working together enables us to come up with strong long-term solutions that maximizes benefits for our clients.

Because I encourage working with my client’s team and insist upon transparency, many of my clients have been referred to me by their accountants and lawyers. They like working with MGF because they know our process is open and in the best interest of their clients.

No “I” in Team

Working with the client’s team means we ensure that their insurance policy fits their needs and reality. Unlike some advisors, who commoditized policies and sell them as a “one size fits all” solution, MGF understands that such a policy does not exist, and shape our policies to our client’s needs–a customization that is built around the client, instead of a cookie-cutter scenario.

Like most aspect of life, we are strong and more successful when we work together!

Let MGF Advisory Help

If you would like to know more about corporate insurance and how it can work for you, we would be happy to help!

Marco Faccone, CPA, CA, CFP has long specialized in the area of corporately held insurance and estate planning, advising and assisting shareholders with succession and wealth accumulation strategies. Marco has worked alongside estate lawyers and tax accountants to offer his clients a professionally tailored and value-added plan. Contact MGF Advisory for more information regarding corporately held insurance and succession planning.

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This post was written by Marco Faccone