Integrated Partners, a hybrid registered investment advisory and corporate group of LPL Financial, which manages more than $15 billion in client assets, has established an in-house insurance business led by Peter Kaplan, former vice president of First American Insurance Underwriters.
Integrated Insurance Solutions, a separate legal entity offering bespoke life insurance policies to affluent and family office clients, was formed in large part due to the pending expiry of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which essentially indexes lifetime inheritance and gift tax exemptions to inflation, doubled . The estate tax exemption, which expires at the end of 2025, is $12.9 million per person and $25.8 million for a married couple in 2023.
According to Integrated CEO Paul Saganey, the exemption for couples will drop to around $12 million on January 1, 2026.
Saganey, who has experience in estate planning, said insurance products can play an important role in covering anticipated estate taxes.
“Because you can’t budget for every single tax dollar, Peter’s insurance expertise now allows us to provide liquidity when it’s needed,” Saganey said.
Previously, Integrated outsourced its insurance business to companies like Kaplan’s.
“So we dusted off a little, rebuilt the insurance division, and brought in Peter Kaplan,” Saganey said, noting that he and Kaplan have had a professional relationship for 20 years.
According to the company, the resulting division has already saved one family nearly $1 million in premiums by creating a policy within a trust and successfully mitigating an additional $4 million in federal estate taxes for the same family.
“In the cases that I have worked with Peter, he has saved many millions of dollars in taxes and provided many millions of dollars in liquidity that families will need when their tax bills come due,” Saganey said. “In a very short time, he has made a tremendous impact.”
Prior to First American, Kaplan served as director of business development at The Coyle Company and director at life insurance provider 21St Services and CEO of financial services business consulting firm Financial Productivity Group.
In the new role, Kaplan will work with integrated advisors, the firm’s extensive network of CPA partners and clients to develop personalized insurance plans.
“He now has an audience of probably 400 CPA/financial advisors who all have clients who are facing these challenges,” Saganey said.
Separately, Integrated also announced that Josh Benson, former vice president of business development at Orion Advisor Tech, will serve as vice president of strategic relationships. In the newly created role, he will act as the liaison between the firm’s service divisions – including investment management, financial planning, business owner solutions, family office services, retirement planning, and corporate and group benefits – and its network of advisors. Benson will also work to streamline services, identify potential gaps in advisors’ business models and help execute growth plans.
“[Benson] is really good at eliminating problems, helping consultants focus on their most important goals going forward, and then understanding how to further those goals,” Saganey said.
Founded in 1996 and based in the greater Boston area, Integrated has experienced accelerated growth in recent years, fueled by the CPA Alliance. new connection modelsa new entrance in the M&A area and organic growth. The company has doubled its assets since 2019 from $8 billion to around $16 billion today. Integrated includes approximately 60 affiliated partner firms, 210 consultants and more than 170 accountants serving clients in 116 regional offices.
“The most exciting thing about our company is that we help consultants work with CPAs,” Saganey said. “Then these CPA partners give our advisors access to their wealthier clients.
“Our growth is a direct result of expanding our CPA program nationwide and bringing quality, highly successful advisors to these accounting firms,” he said. “There are CPAs whose clients need financial advice. We have financial advisors who want to work with wealthier clients. All in all, not only has it been a great four or five years, but we look to the future and see significant growth ahead of us.”
