When it comes to Indexed Universal Life insurance, it’s easy to be drawn in by a polished illustration and the promise of tax-advantaged growth. But not all agents have your best interests at heart. Some act like a “Hockey Puck” — bouncing you from product to product, chasing the commission rather than designing a policy that actually works for you.
Here’s what to watch for — and what good IUL design actually looks like.
Five Signs You’re Working With a Hockey Puck Agent
1. Unrealistic Return Projections
A less-than-honest agent shows only best-case scenarios. Maximum illustrated rates look great on paper — but they’re not guaranteed, and they’re not always realistic over a 20 or 30 year policy horizon. Ask to see the mid-point and guaranteed illustrations too. If an agent resists showing those, that tells you something.
2. Glossing Over Fees and Internal Costs
IULs carry real costs — mortality charges, administrative fees, rider charges. These aren’t hidden if you know to ask, but a product-pushing agent will minimize them or skip over them entirely. Over time, unexamined internal costs can significantly erode cash value growth. You deserve to understand exactly what you’re paying for.
3. Not Explaining What’s Guaranteed vs. What Isn’t
Caps, floors, and participation rates can change at the insurer’s discretion. A properly designed policy accounts for this. An agent who only shows you the current cap rate without explaining that it can be lowered is setting you up for a surprise.
4. Inadequate Funding Guidance
This is the most common — and most damaging — failure. An underfunded IUL can lapse. As costs of insurance increase with age, a policy that isn’t properly monitored and adjusted can collapse at exactly the wrong time. Premium flexibility is a feature of IUL — but it requires discipline. An agent who doesn’t discuss this clearly isn’t doing their job.
5. No Integration With Your Broader Financial Picture
A product-pushing agent sells you an IUL. A real advisor asks whether an IUL actually belongs in your plan at all — and if so, how it connects to your retirement income strategy, tax situation, and legacy goals. Those are different conversations.
A Note on the Debate
IUL isn’t the right tool for every situation or every person. Neither is whole life. The right answer starts with understanding your goals — not the agent’s preference or production requirement. Anyone who tells you one permanent life insurance product is always better than the other is selling something.
When IUL Is Done Right
Properly designed and funded, an Indexed Universal Life policy can offer real advantages: cash value that grows tax-deferred, downside protection through a guaranteed floor, premium flexibility that adapts to changing circumstances, and — if properly structured — the ability to take distributions in retirement in a tax-advantaged way.
The key phrase in every one of those sentences is properly structured. The design determines the outcome far more than the index, the cap, or the carrier. We’ve written about this specifically: What Makes an IUL Efficient Isn’t the Index — It’s the Structure.
One more thing worth saying plainly: at IUL.Solutions, we voluntarily reduce our commission to maximize early cash value efficiency in the policies we design. A commission-optimized policy and a client-optimized policy are not the same thing. The difference shows up early — and compounds over time.
The Bottom Line
Ask hard questions. Ask to see the mid-point illustration. Ask how the policy performs if the cap rate drops. Ask what happens if you miss a premium payment in year 12. Ask what the agent earns on the sale.
A good agent welcomes those questions. A Hockey Puck agent changes the subject.
Book a conversation — no illustration required to get started →
— Kurt
Kurt Lytle is the founder of IUL.Solutions, an independent insurance and retirement income planning practice based in Nashville, TN. All recommendations are made only after a full suitability review in accordance with each state’s insurance regulations. IUL.Solutions does not provide tax, legal, or investment advice. NPN #8993693.