Unlocking Business Succession Opportunities

How Allianz’s Life Advanced Markets Turnkey Program Equips Financial Professionals to Lead with IUL

For financial professionals working with business owners, navigating the intricacies of succession planning can be daunting. That’s why Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz) has launched the Life Advanced Markets turnkey program—a powerful and creative solution that helps financial professionals initiate and elevate business succession planning conversations with small business clients. 

With a robust library of tools, sample legal documents, and integrated life insurance funding strategies like indexed universal life (IUL) insurance, this program helps position Allianz-appointed financial professionals as valuable partners in clients’ long-term business succession planning.

A Hands-On Resource for Financial Professionals and Business Owners

“The turnkey program is a set of tools and resources designed to equip financial professionals, their clients, and even clients’ professional advisors, like attorneys and CPAs, to create and maintain a plan for successful business succession, exit, and transition,” says Robert Richert, Advanced Markets Senior Director at Allianz.

While the program does not offer legal or tax advice, it offers an extensive framework to help business owners and their team of professionals build momentum in succession planning. Financial professionals can lean on this support to confidently guide clients through initial planning conversations—while highlighting the strategic benefits of leveraging IUL insurance policies for funding buy-sell agreements or key person coverage.

Rooted in Real-World Experience

Richert’s inspiration for the program stems from his years of experience as a practicing attorney, formerly in private law practice, and later as a life insurance agent and wealth strategist in the upper Midwest. Working with small business owners, farmers, and ranchers in rural communities, he noticed that while business owners wanted to plan for succession, their local legal counsel often lacked deep expertise in the field and in some cases the resources necessary to get started creating an effective succession plan.

“These attorneys were jacks-of-all-trades,” says Richert. “They might be handling a divorce case one day, a DUI defense the next, and didn’t always have the technical knowledge to create or finalize a plan or keep a business succession plan moving forward.”

The Allianz turnkey program was built to fill that gap—providing high-quality, attorney-authored documents that attorneys can easily tailor to fit their client’s specific needs and pairing those tools with proven life insurance solutions like IUL.

Targeted, Scalable Support for Small Businesses

The program is geared toward Allianz-appointed life insurance agents and their small business clients. Richert defines a small business as typically having less than 100 employees and being closely held, commonly structured as either a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, or S Corp.

Whether the business has never created a succession plan (but recognizes the need to do so) or needs to revisit an outdated plan, the program offers a clear on-ramp to meaningful succession planning—backed by a flexible funding strategy using life insurance. IUL is often an effective option due to its flexibility and its ability to provide death benefit protection along with potential for cash value accumulation that can be accessed for retirement or business needs.¹

What’s Included: Tools That Drive Action

At the core of the program are practical, ready-to-use tools:

• Specimen documents: Including hybrid (“wait and see”) buy-sell agreements, promissory notes, spousal consents, corporate resolutions, and split-dollar agreements.

• Funding comparison grids: To evaluate cash, installment sales, life insurance, and disability insurance as funding options—highlighting the strengths of IUL for long-term business continuity planning.

• Valuation method charts: Comparing common valuation methods such as stated value, book value, appraised value, and more.

• Fact finder and discussion starters: Used to prompt initial conversations with clients. “Just asking, ‘What would happen to your business if you weren’t around tomorrow?’ can be a way to quickly capture a client’s attention,” Richert notes.

Built to Differentiate

While similar programs exist in the market, Richert believes Allianz’s offering stands apart due to the quality and depth of its documentation and the integration of customizable IUL funding strategies. “Our objective is to go above and beyond and truly be turnkey,” he says. “These documents are detailed, easy to understand, and address 80-85% of what a business will need.” They’re robust enough for
attorneys to work with them easily, without requiring tons of customization.

Starting Conversations, Deepening Relationships

For financial professionals, the turnkey program serves as both a door-opener and a business deepener. Richert suggests starting with one powerful question: “Have you completed a business succession plan?”

No matter the answer, the financial professional has a path forward. If the client says yes, the financial professional can offer a complimentary review of the insurance coverage built into the plan. If the client says no, the turnkey program provides materials to demonstrate why a plan is important and how Allianz—and IUL solutions—can help get started.

Some of Richert’s largest insurance sales came from reviewing outdated buy-sell agreements where the value of the business had outgrown the existing coverage. IUL policies, with their long-term death benefit and flexible funding features, often proved to be the most compelling solution.

Expanding Influence Through Education

Beyond one-on-one client conversations, financial professionals can use the program to deliver workshops at trade conferences or continuing education events for CPAs and attorneys. “This is a great foundation for a breakout session,” says Richert. “The documents and discussion points resonate especially well with legal and tax professionals.”

Knowledgeable Support and Ongoing Evolution

The Life Advanced Markets team includes seasoned attorneys like Richert and his colleagues. Together, they support financial professionals with document reviews, customized talking points, and case design support. With more than 30 years of legal and financial experience, Richert brings credibility and insight to every interaction—including how to effectively structure IUL policies to meet a client’s unique business needs.

The program is also designed to evolve. For instance, the recent US Supreme Court decision in Connelly v. United States (June 2024) significantly impacted how life insurance is treated when valuing a deceased shareholder’s interest in a corporation for estate tax purposes. Richert and his team are already working to integrate guidance and updates to reflect the new legal landscape and its implications for IUL-funded arrangements.

Looking Ahead: A Growing Suite of Solutions

The turnkey business succession package is just the beginning. Allianz is already developing additional turnkey programs for advanced estate planning and executive benefits strategies, leveraging the flexibility and tax-advantaged nature of indexed IUL insurance. Richert describes it as a “program for the everyday professional”—intentionally crafted to be straightforward and accessible, aiming to empower financial professionals and their clients to take meaningful action. 

“We wanted to build something real, something helpful, something that could help move the conversation forward quickly,” he says. “And that’s exactly what this program does.”

For financial professionals ready to strengthen their value proposition and help guide business owners with valuable resources, Allianz’s turnkey program delivers the clarity, tools, and knowledgeable support—powered by IUL—to lead with impact.

1 Policy loans and withdrawals will reduce the available cash value and death benefit and may cause the policy to lapse, or affect guarantees against lapse. Withdrawals in excess of premiums paid will be subject to ordinary income tax. Additional premium payments may be required to keep the policy in force. In the event of a lapse, outstanding policy loans in excess of unrecovered cost basis will be subject to ordinary income tax. If a policy is a modified endowment contract (MEC), policy loans and withdrawals will be taxable as ordinary income to the extent there are earnings in the policy. If any of these features are exercised prior to age 59½ on a MEC, a 10% federal additional tax may be imposed. Tax laws are subject to change and you should consult a tax professional.

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America and the Life Advanced Markets team do not provide advice or financial planning services.

For financial professional use only – not for use with the public.  

Indexed universal life insurance (IUL) provides a death benefit that is generally paid income tax-free to beneficiaries and requires qualification through health and financial underwriting.

This content is for general educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide fiduciary, tax, or legal advice and cannot be used to avoid tax penalties; nor is it intended to market, promote, or recommend any tax plan or arrangement. Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, its affiliates, and their employees and representatives do not give legal or tax advice. Customers are encouraged to consult with their own legal, tax, and financial professionals for specific advice or product recommendations.

Product and feature availability may vary by state and broker/dealer. 

Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.  

Products are issued solely by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, 5701 Golden Hills Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55416-1297. 800.950.1962. www.allianzlife.com

This content does not apply in the state of New York.