Solutions
The right amount, the right type, and a reason for every policy — reviewed independently.
The default
Life insurance tends to arrive one policy at a time: a group policy from work, a whole life policy someone sold you in your thirties, a rider added with the mortgage. Nobody sat down and asked what loss the family actually needs protected against, for how many years, and at what cost — so the total is a number nobody chose, protecting a need nobody measured.
Most households are either uninsured against the one loss that would end the plan — or paying every year for coverage nobody can explain.
The strategy
The analysis starts with what actually needs replacing if you die: income through the years the family depends on it, the mortgage, education still unfunded. That produces a number and — just as important — a shape: the need is largest now and shrinks as children launch and savings grow. For most households the answer is laddered term coverage sized to that curve, with permanent insurance reserved for needs that are genuinely permanent — estate liquidity, a special-needs dependent, a business buy-sell. We don't sell policies, so the recommendation has no commission behind it.
The need isn't one number forever — it shrinks as children launch, the mortgage falls, and savings grow. A ladder matches coverage to that curve.
Each rung is priced only for the years it runs, which is why a designed ladder usually costs less than the single big number it replaces.
What changes
Existing policies get a keep-or-replace verdict, one page each: what it pays, what it costs, whether the reason it was bought still exists. Nothing gets cancelled until any replacement is actually in force — the gap between policies is where the horror stories live.
A couple in their mid-forties with two kids: a $1M whole life policy costing $9,600 a year, plus group coverage at twice salary. The needs analysis said $2.5M of protection through age 60 — more coverage than they had, needed for a limited time. Laddered term ($1.5M for twenty years, $1M for ten) delivered it for about $2,900 a year; the freed-up premium went to the 529s and a backdoor Roth. More protection, less cost, and every policy with a stated job.
Hypothetical scenario for illustration. Not an actual client. Individual circumstances and results differ.
Does your coverage match the loss it's actually protecting?
No. We review what you own, model what you need, and write the specification — amount, type, term. You can implement it through any agent or direct carrier, which is exactly what keeps the recommendation clean.
Term, for most needs, because most needs end — that's what the ladder is. Permanent insurance earns its much higher premium only when the need is genuinely permanent: estate liquidity, a special-needs dependent, a buy-sell agreement. "It builds cash value" is a feature, not a reason.
It gets a fair hearing — some older policies carry guarantees you couldn't buy today and should be kept. The verdict is keep, repurpose, or replace, and nothing is cancelled until replacement coverage is in force.
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Alan Trotsky
Alan Trotsky has been a financial professional for over 40 years. Prior to entering the insurance industry, Alan worked as a CPA serving clients with tax and financial planning. He also has experience providing consulting services to numerous businesses in various industries.
What to expect
Start with a conversation. No cost, no pressure, no obligation to continue.
