Helping you with your insurance planning.
Jerry C. Thomas, CFP® is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ specializing in insurance planning specifically, life insurance, disability insurance, long-term care insurance, and annuities.
He helps individuals and businesses with life insurance, estate planning, business planning, life insurance policy reviews, and advanced planning strategies. Furthermore, Jerry partners with over 20 different insurance companies to help you find the best solution.
Jerry follows the CFP® Board's Practice Standards. This means following a fiduciary planning process by putting your best interests first.
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How we work together.
Life Insurance Planning
We help you determine how much life insurance you need, which company and plan best suits your goals, and which company will make the best offer based on your overall health profile. We help you compare additional features that can protect your family if you were to become disabled or needed to access the death benefit to pay for long-term care.
Disability Insurance Planning
We help you determine the amount of disability insurance you need, which carrier and plan is right for you, and how different provisions of the contract may affect your ability to receive benefits. We help review the various types of definitions (Own Occupation vs. Regular Occupation), which company will make the best offer based on your current and past medical history, and explain the different policy features and riders.
Long-Term Care Planning
We help you review what long-term care is, what the likelihood is that you and your family will need to provide care for a loved one, and how much long-term care can cost. We then review the different types of plans available and how they work (Traditional, Hybrid Life, Perm Life + LTC Rider, Annuity + LTC Rider). We help determine which solution works for you based on your overall health profile.
Annuity Planning
We help you review how different annuity options work (SPIA, Variable Annuity, Fixed Guaranteed, Index, Medicare) and whether they should be included in your overall financial plan. We review the different features of each annuity and how their features compare to other planning options. This helps you develop an implementation and management plan for your strategy.
Download our life insurance planning guide.
Our life insurance planning guide will help you review all the fundamental areas of planning so you can make the best decsion for your life insurance planning.Download the Guide
Policy Review Service
Many of our clients have existing policies that have not been reviewed in years. Policies should be reviewed at a minimum every 3-5 years to make sure their performance is keeping pace with your financial goals.
Our team of professionals can help you review an existing policy or strategy to determine if any changes need to be made.
What does it mean to be a
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™?
Carrier Partners
Below are our Primary Carrier Partners. We also have access to other carriers outside of this list. Our partnership allows us to find tailored solutions for your insurance needs.
Download our disability insurance planning guide.
Our disability insurance planning guide will help you review all the fundamental areas of planning so you can make the best decision to reach your financial planning goals.Download the Guide
The CFP® Financial Planning Process
Assure that the practice of financial planning by CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals is based on established norms of practice, advance professionalism in financial planning, and enhance the value of the financial planning process.
"Financial Planning Practice Standards are developed and promulgated by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. (CFP Board) for the ultimate benefit of consumers of financial planning services."
One
UNDERSTANDING THE CLIENT’S PERSONAL AND FINANCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
To begin we want to define our relationship. This helps us establish the roles each of us play in the planning process, and any additional partners who need to be brought in during any of the remaining steps.
Two
IDENTIFYING AND SELECTING GOALS
To help us formulate the best recommendations and their alternatives, we'll have to gather data to formulate a proper strategy. Information gathered may include but is not limited to health history, existing policies, financial information, legal documents, and tax information.
Three
ANALYZING THE CLIENT’S CURRENT COURSE OF ACTION AND POTENTIAL ALTERNATIVE COURSE(S) OF ACTION
Once we have gathered all pertinent information, we will conduct a formal review. This will allow us to strategize and develop our recommendations to prepare your risk management strategy.
Four
DEVELOPING THE FINANCIAL PLANNING RECOMMENDATION(S)
Here we will provide you with our recommendations as well as alternative options to complete your risk management plan. At this point we can tweak any of the details if planning goals have changed.
Five
PRESENTING THE FINANCIAL PLANNING RECOMMENDATION(S)
In step five we will implement the recommendations and/or alternative options. This may require the help of other professionals to create trusts or update any tax information regarding the new plan.
Six
IMPLEMENTING THE FINANCIAL PLANNING RECOMMENDATION(S)
We will create a management plan to review any outstanding policies to make sure they are performing efficiently and effectively. If adjustments need to be made, we can revisit the entire plan and determine if the original goal stands.
Seven
MONITORING PROGRESS AND UPDATING
We will create a management plan to review any outstanding policies to make sure they are performing efficiently and effectively. If adjustments need to be made, we can revisit the entire plan and determine if the original goal stands.
Our goal: Help you find the best plan.
On behalf of our entire team, I'd like to say thank you for choosing us as your insurance planning team. We pride ourselves on doing what's best for our clients and hold ourselves to a fiduciary standard, doing what's in your best interest at all times.
Our team follows the CFP® Board's Financial Planning Practice Standards of Professional Conduct. This means putting your best interests first at all times.
- Jerry C. Thomas, CFP®
About
EDUCATION
Jerry graduated from Ohio University College of Business with a bachelor’s degree in marketing. Jerry is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. Jerry is licensed to sell Life & Health Insurance, Property & Casualty Insurance, and Variable Products.
PROFESSIONAL
Jerry started his career in the insurance business in 2004. Jerry's skills include risk management planning, business risk planning, long-term care planning, and underwriting. Jerry has presented to various industry professional groups on advanced planning and underwriting topics. Some of these groups include; NAIFA, FPA, SFSP, and IBNO.
PERSONAL
Jerry loves playing and listening to music. His favorite artists include Bruce Springsteen, John Prine, New Orleans music, and various Honky Tonk style artists. When Jerry isn’t jamming you can find him playing Hockey (beginner) or out on the links playing golf.
FAMILY
Jerry grew up in Rocky River, Ohio, and recently moved back to Cleveland living in Gates Mills. Jerry is married and has a one-year-old daughter.