The picture of many farmers and small business owners Risk Management Farm or business insurance Limited personal Insurance Insufficient debt protection Not much else Business and Superannuation Structures Sole traders Partnerships Family trusts Companies SMSF Life office super plans Retail funds Nothing at all Estate Planning Wills (when was it last reviewed?) Powers of attorney? Testamentary trusts Family trusts Nothing at all Succession Planning Complicated structures or trusts Simple letters of agreement Nothing whatsoever No funding arrangements
Risk Management All debt protected All types of protection in place as required and affordable All parties covered Use of saleable assets to offset costs Business and Superannuation Structures More suitable structures specific to specific needs SMSF or more suitable alternative Modern and compliant super suitable for your needs Estate Planning Wills Powers of attorney Testamentary trusts Simpler, easier to understand arrangements Succession Planning Individual family needs addressed and the appropriate vehicle in place Succession funding where needed Use of other alternative strategies Intergenerational protection The Farm Protectors
POTENTIONALLY THE MOST VALUABLE INCOME PRODUCING ITEM IN YOUR OFFICE
That’s right the humble “I” return A goldmine of information can be gleaned from this and the information you are given in its preparation. Let us show you how!
Let us now look at a summary of what one referral source sent us requesting some quotes for one of their clients: 1.Our referral form with their comments gained in general conversation with their client 2.A copy of both the husband and wife’s superannuation statements We now want you to look over these forms and locate as many potential income producing opportunities as you can…. Time to go to work
This is what we found. How did you go? Fred had the need for the cover requested He only had $40K of cover in his super, the rest was his savings Fred had no income protection in place Important cover for a young family man with children Freds’ super fund is a little dated and there is an opportunity to talk to his employer and improve the plans Chance for new or servicing access of the existing plan opening up more potential clients for both of us Freds’ plan was very low performing Is he in the right portfolio?
Fred has his wife as a beneficiary but does he have a current will and PoA? Very common – non-binding nomination and no will could create issues Betty has a reasonable level of life cover, but no trauma! Introduce some trauma cover and upgrade her current cover to suffice Betty has IP within her super BUT Life experience shows these plans whilst better than none can be restrictive and difficult to access when most needed No beneficiary on Bettys’ super Could create major issues that can be sorted with a current will Are her investments in line with her investment profile? This may just be an opportunity to strengthen the relationship through service
What business was written for these clients? $200,000 Term & TPD with $100,000 Trauma for Fred $3,125 a month income protection for Fred $100,000 trauma for Betty We increased the life cover within her current super, revised Bettys’ investments to suit her profile - she is a ‘happy camper’ and referred us to her workmates We arranged for the clients to have a proper will and PoAs including guardianship provisions We are in negotiation with Freds’ employer doing an ‘audit’ of their company super options Fred & Betty have asked us to look at some education plans for their two children Current income to our referral partner $ in the first year $53.27 there after With more to come………..
We would like to share further example of what we have been able to achieve… A client was referred to us as his bank had just DECLINED his life cover which he needed to protect his debt. We met with him, got the facts, and then spoke to our insurance providers who agreed to cover him with a loading …. client’s problem solved ….. simply because we actually found out the reasons he was declined. We called it “doing our job”; the client told everyone in the district we produced miracles.
In addition to sorting out the client’s insurance needs we also were able to:- Provide insurance for his wife Provide insurance for his three children Restructure and improve his superannuation plan Combine and improve two super plans his wife had in place Set up superannuation programs for two of his children Restructure his estate planning to meet the family’s needs going forward These plans ensured the farm stays with the family for as long as they wish Currently now working on the final draft of his full succession plan
Just by “doing our job” we have been compensated initially with some $6, of which our referral source received $1, The ongoing is set at some $2, adding another $ to our referral sources income annually. There are more fees to come from both the estate planning work which will be shared as well as the final fee for the succession plan. Not bad for one referral which in fact took our referral source a 2 minute phone call to arrange.
Let’s now look at just how easy it can be to obtain some extra income in your practice If you have a practice with 1,100 ‘I’ return clients and only 5% of them are successfully referred yes that is simply 1 a week Assuming they have an average superannuation balance of $80,000 We just improve their super by rolling over to an alternative option Your share of the new business income in year one is ……… $11, But there is more……
Along with the $11, in the first year And if you then repeat the exercise each year ….. $11, new business plus on goings of another $5, in year 2 or $17, a year $11, new business plus on goings of another $11, in year 3 or $ 23, a year $11, new business plus on goings of another $17, in year 4 or $29, a year $11, new business plus on goings of another $23, in year 5 or $35, a year And growing for as long as you want………..
What is stopping you from Building an income stream to improve your overall practice income Improving and strengthening the relationship with your clients Providing them a “value add” to ensure they remain your clients Earning Enough to Sell your Farm