For the First Time in My Career, I’m Recommending a Product—Here’s Why
Over the course of my career coaching and mentoring Financial Advisors, I’ve prided myself on staying product neutral. I’ve always believed that my value lies in helping Advisors build trust, sharpen their communication skills, and become more persuasive and empathetic—not in recommending specific financial products. I’ve never picked sides. Never told you what to sell. That changes today.
For the first time ever, I am recommending a product: the Bridge® annuity by EquiTrust. And I want to explain why I’m doing this—and why it matters so deeply to me.
This isn’t about commissions. It’s not about product placement. It’s not about jumping on a bandwagon.
It’s about preparation—specifically, preparation for one of the biggest risks to retirement that no one wants to talk about: the need for long-term care.
The Risk That’s Always Lurking
We all know the statistics. We’ve seen the numbers. Most people will need some form of long-term care in their lifetime. Whether that means help at home, an assisted living facility, or a nursing home, care is expensive. Often, overwhelmingly so. The cost can silently drain a family’s retirement savings and jeopardize everything they worked so hard to build.
But numbers only go so far. This issue became personal to me.
I’ve seen too many families caught off guard. As my friends get older, I’ve seen too many retirements destroyed—not because of bad planning, but because of no planning. Or because they “hoped it wouldn’t happen to them.”
I’ve watched loved ones become caregivers overnight. I’ve seen the stress, the financial strain, the emotional toll. I’ve seen adult children struggle to keep their careers afloat while tending to aging parents. I’ve seen retirees become dependent on their own children—and I know that’s not how they wanted things to go.
This is not just a financial planning issue. This is a life planning issue. A legacy issue. A dignity issue.
And I’ve come to believe—fervently—that clients need a strategy for long-term care. Not just some clients. Most clients. LTC expenses eat into retirement nest eggs and reduce what clients are able to leave to heirs. Insurance can protect their income and preserve their legacy.
Those clients with $3 million or more in investable assets, excluding their home, may have enough liquidity to pay for care without significantly disrupting their lifestyle or legacy plans. That’s not most clients.
That leaves a huge market for you, those clients with $100,000 to $3 million in investable assets. That’s 30 million people in America who need your advice about long-term care coverage.
The Problem with Traditional LTC Insurance
Many of us have tried to have these conversations before. But let’s face it—long-term care insurance has historically been a hard sell. Clients resist the topic. The coverage can be expensive. Premiums can rise. Policies can be confusing. And the big risk? They might pay into something for decades and never use it.
That resistance leads to avoidance. And avoidance leads to risk.
So we do what we can. We talk about self-insuring. We hope their assets are sufficient. We talk about Medicaid as a last resort.
That’s not a plan. That’s crossing your fingers.
That’s why, for the first time, I’m pointing to a specific solution. Not because it’s perfect for everyone—but because it’s the best I’ve seen. And because doing nothing is no longer an option I can comfortably watch clients take.
Why Bridge® by EquiTrust?
The Bridge® annuity is a hybrid solution—a fixed annuity with long-term care benefits. And it solves many of the problems that made traditional LTC insurance hard to sell.
Here’s what makes it different:
- Guaranteed issue. Everyone will be offered coverage from Day 1.
- No ongoing premiums. Clients fund it once—like a single-premium annuity—and they’re done.
- Dollars are leveraged. The amount of long-term care coverage they receive is a multiple of their initial investment. For example, $100,000 can become $300,000 in tax-free LTC benefits.
- If care is never needed, the money isn’t lost. It remains an annuity. There’s still a death benefit. The money stays in the family.
- Simplified underwriting. This makes it more accessible than traditional LTC policies for many clients who might not otherwise qualify.
This is the kind of product that makes it easier to have the conversation—and easier for clients to say yes. Because it doesn’t feel like a gamble. It feels like preparation.
This is Bigger Than a Product
Let me be clear: I’m not pushing a product and I’m not selling annuities.
But I am sounding an alarm. The need for long-term care is real and growing. And the emotional and financial damage of going unprepared is devastating.
As Financial Advisors, we have a responsibility to lead clients toward the hard conversations—the ones they’d rather avoid. We have a duty to protect not just their money, but their quality of life and their independence. That means having a long-term care strategy in place for every client, no matter what their wealth.
For years, I didn’t have a go-to recommendation. Now I do.
That’s why I’m breaking from tradition and putting my name behind Bridge®.
Because in this case, doing nothing isn’t neutral. It’s a risk. And in my judgment, this product fills a critical gap that most families have ignored for far too long.
Final Thought
We talk a lot about legacy in this profession. About how clients want to be remembered. About what kind of life they want to lead in retirement.
I believe having a long-term care strategy is one of the most loving, responsible, and forward-thinking decisions a person can make for themselves and their family. And as their Advisor, helping them take that step might be one of the most impactful things you ever do.
That’s why—for the first time in my career—I’m recommending a product.
Because I believe in the mission. I believe in the need. And I believe Bridge® is the best solution we’ve got.
Let’s help our clients prepare. While there’s still time.
Related: How to Translate Global Economic Shifts Into Stories That Move Investors