Common Questions

DPL works to make Commission-Free insurance a positive and productive asset in an RIA's practice.

With Carriers: We provide market knowledge and product expertise to help leading carriers bring low-cost, Commission-Free insurance and annuity products, technology and support specifically to the RIA market.

With RIAs: We are the RIA's strategic partner, providing a turnkey insurance management platform to help advisors implement Commission-Free insurance in their practices to better serve clients, differentiate their offering and potentially grow AUM. We work with advisors to evaluate clients' existing policies to see if meaningful improvements can be made to pricing or benefits, as well as provide education and access to new, Commission-Free solutions that can be used to solve for needs in the financial plan.

Because of the RIAs’ fiduciary model, RIAs cannot sell commissioned insurance. Until now, this has meant that advisors either do not include insurance products in their clients’ financial plans, or have to refer their clients to outside commission-based insurance salespeople, thereby losing control of a key part of the portfolio and the client’s experience. Working with DPL, RIAs are able to:

• Stop referring clients to outside insurance salespeople
• Retain control of their client experience
• Ensure clients are only presented insurance solutions they recommend
• Meet client demand for broader services
• Increase AUM by retaining or bringing in insurance business

RIAs who become members of DPL get:

• Access to our team of unbiased, product agnostic insurance consultants who provide product education, insights into products clients already own to find lower-cost solutions or improved benefits, and recommendations for ways Commission-Free insurance and annuities can be used to solve for client needs in the financial plan.
• Thought leadership for various uses of insurance within a practice – including our own content and insight from peers and experts across the industry.
• A level of product knowledge and insight that RIAs don’t often have (many RIAs lack experience evaluating insurance because it's been commission-based and off limits to their practice).
• Tools and support to evaluate and illustrate complex information in a direct, highly-customized manner.

DPL works for the RIA.  We only interact with an RIA's client as required to execute a new insurance contract.  Beyond that, we interact with a client at the RIA’s request.

1. We are a membership organization, meaning we charge a small fee to RIAs to join our community and enjoy unlimited access to DPL’s resources and product expertise. This membership model allows us to leverage the collective buying power of our members to create low-cost insurance products that eliminate expensive commissions and distribution costs. As of March 1, 2019:

• Companies with up to $100M in AUM pay $1,000/yr.
• Companies with $100 - $250M in AUM pay $1,500/yr.
• Companies with $250M - $1B in AUM pay $3,000/yr.
• Companies with $1B+ pay $5,000

2. The second way we generate revenue is from the multiple carriers with whom we work. DPL creates the infrastructure through which we can issue policies on behalf of these carriers for our RIA members. We provide the product education, the licensing capabilities and the broker/dealer (for variable products). For this infrastructure, we get an administrative fee. The fee, which is 80%-90% lower than carriers’ traditional distribution costs, enables the repricing of products to create greater benefit for the RIA’s client.

Member firms pay an annual membership fee based on their AUM. For this fee, all of the advisors in the member firm get access to DPL's team of consultants, products and educational resources for members. As of March 1, 2019:

• Companies with up to $100M in AUM pay $1,000/yr.
• Companies with $100 - $250M in AUM pay $1,500/yr.
• Companies with $250M - $1B in AUM pay $3,000/yr.
• Companies with $1B+ pay $5,000/yr.

Many RIAs see insurance as a great opportunity to expand and differentiate their services, increase share of wallet, and attract new clients. We see our members charging either a one-time planning fee and/or a percent of AUM.  Our consultants would be happy to speak with you about what may work best for your practice.

With our member firms, we work in three ways:

• We evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of existing client holdings to determine if improvements can be made through pricing or benefits that solve for needs in the financial plan
• We help you identify and fulfill clients' insurance needs (life, disability, long-term care)
• We provide a turnkey solution to help you leverage the benefits of Commission-Free insurance and annuities as part of a holistic financial planning process

It’s easy to get started with DPL. RIAs who want to work with DPL join our community as “members” and enjoy unlimited access to our educational resources, wide range of Commission-Free products and product expertise. We begin with an introductory call to understand how you currently plan for your clients' insurance needs. We'll introduce our team and answer your questions. After that, we'll discuss a personalized plan for your clients and their needs, whether it's to evaluate existing policies to see if improvements can be achieved, or implement a turnkey Commission-Free insurance and annuity program as part of your firm's holistic financial planning process.