Our Value Proposition

Iam a retirement income specialist in the financial-services department of a property & casualty agency. After doing considerable reading and research while pursuing my Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP) designation, I’ve come to the following conclusion: The more my clients manage risk, the more peace of mind and confidence they have, and the less they worry. Consequently, the less they worry, the more they enjoy their family, their work, and most important, their life. As a result of this approach, our value proposition is: “We help our clients recognize, understand and manage risk while they are making a living so that they can also make a life.”

At our agency, we pride ourselves on having risk-management ideas as well as risk-management tools—not just products. And often, the very first I.D.E.A. we share with our clients is our agency process, which we use to help them make a life while they’re making a living.

This process begins by IDENTIFYING risks, DEFINING strategies to manage those risks, EXECUTING solutions, and ADJUSTING after re-evaluating those solutions on a periodic basis (IDEA).

For over 20 years, our Mission Statement has been: “To protect our clients and professionally service their insurance (and retirement) needs beyond expectations.”

To help my clients better understand how this all fits together, I use our Risk Management and Total Needs Planning Pyramid (see diagram). This process begins with a solid foundation of 1) Health (and eventually) long-termcare planning and insurance, 2) auto, homeowner, renters, commercial insurance, work comp, product liability— all the coverages our clients might need in their personal or professional lives, 3) Disability income protection, and 4) life insurance.

These four components in the base of my pyramid ensure the continuation of my clients’ financial goals if something were to happen to them. Individuals and businesses need a savings account or working capital for short-term needs and emergencies. Economists recommend that people have between 3-6 months of wages to cover expenses in their savings accounts. And lastly, investment products help with long-term-planning needs like retirement, college funding for children, and general wealth accumulation.

Each of these components separately is very important, but if left separate, a total needs solution will not be reached. For example, income comes into our household usually in the form of a paycheck, and goes out in the form of expenses. But what happens when we are sick or injured? Medical attention is sought, bills mount up, and health insurance helps reduce those expenses.

I then walk them through several scenarios. For example, what happens when our property is damaged, we have a work-comp claim, or there is a liability issue? Repairs, replacements, or damages are assessed, bills mount up, and our property and casualty insurance, with the help of our in-house claims manager, helps make our clients whole again.

What happens when we become disabled? Income stops or is reduced, but our expenses don’t stop. Disability income insurance provides our family with an income when we’re unable to work.

What happens when we die? Income stops, but expenses don’t stop—not for people who depended on us. Life insurance comes to the rescue by providing dollars to help keep our families in the world they’ve grown accustomed to.

What happens if we become unemployed? Income stops, but expenses don’t stop. So our savings account gets us to our next job or next business opportunity.

And what happens when we retire?

Income stops, but expenses don’t stop. So our 401K, IRAs and other investments, along with professional retirementincome guidance, provide us with an income stream. When people do not talk to professionals like us, their financial plan lacks one or more of these necessary components. And gaps in their plan often result in unfulfilled goals.

Why do we take this approach? Because it’s a win-win for our clients and for us, and it does the following:

• Walking the client through the Risk Management & Planning Pyramid underscores our agency’s holistic risk-management approach and our commitment to helping people begin to understand that managing risk not only helps protect them, it also helps them make a better living and have a more enjoyable life.

• It plants seeds for future discussions. It explains succinctly that we can assist them with everything mentioned or alluded to in the Planning Pyramid.

• It gives clients a clear perspective of their financial situation and an overview of planning issues that can be drilled down as needed, or if they are interested.

• Walking clients through the Pyramid provides value in and of itself. It’s a simple financial plan that can be understood in about 5 minutes.

Joe Campanelli, RICP, CLTC, REBC, LUTCF, is a retirement income specialist with AW Welt Ambrisco Insurance in Iowa City, Iowa. Contact him at 319-887-3752.