Not a Loan, Not a Gimmick: How CHEIFS Is Quietly Redefining Insurance & LTC Funding (and Why Smart Advisors Should Pay Attention)
What if your clients could fund a six- or seven-figure insurance strategy—without liquidating assets, taking on debt, or sacrificing AUM?
Welcome to the future. It's called CHEIFS—Cornerstone Home Equity Insurance/Investment Funding Solutions—and it's about to upend how we think about home equity, premium financing, and ethical financial planning.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t a reverse mortgage in new clothes. Think of it as selling a seat at the table—not the whole table. Your client stays in control and no repayment is required until the asset is sold, but now the client has a partner providing the liquidity needed to foot the bill. CHEIFS is a fractional equity solution, not a loan. It doesn’t accrue interest, require monthly payments, or trigger the kinds of estate planning headaches we've all seen in the past. Instead, it unlocks dormant wealth in a client’s home and channels it—tax-free—into highly customizable financial strategies.
For life insurance, LTC, and annuity professionals? This is an invitation to lead with strategy, not just sell a product.
A Real-World CHEIFS Example
Meet Susan. She’s 60, single, and owns a $600,000 home free and clear. She has a small 401(k), a few investments, and a heart set on two things: never being a financial burden on her kids, and leaving something meaningful behind.
Using CHEIFS, she sells a fractional interest in her home and receives $113,735—tax-free. She uses those funds to purchase a $500,000 Nationwide Protector II IUL policy with LTC benefits. If she needs care, it’s covered. If she doesn’t, her grandchildren inherit the death benefit. And if she needs income later, she can take tax-free distributions from the policy.
She doesn’t have to touch her portfolio. She stays liquid. She stays in her home. And because the policy’s death benefit exceeds the CHEIFS payoff, her estate grows—without disrupting her investments or reducing her retirement flexibility.
That’s the power of planning with CHEIFS.
The Industry Challenge: Liquidity Gaps Are Killing Great Planning
You’ve seen it before.
A client in their 60s or 70s wants:
Protection for long-term care risk
Legacy planning that includes heirs and charitable intent
Retirement income that won’t collapse under market pressure
They’ve got the net worth. They’ve got the desire. But they’re asset-rich and liquidity-poor—mostly tied up in their home.
Traditional answers? Refinance, reverse mortgage, HELOC, or premium finance.
Let’s be honest: none are perfect. Interest rates are volatile, underwriting is strict, and reverse mortgages often carry negative perceptions—deserved or not.
CHEIFS is different. It’s a non-debt-based funding model that lets you get proactive with planning. It’s what premium finance wishes it could be in a post-ZIRP world.
What Is CHEIFS (Really)?
CHEIFS allows a homeowner to sell a minority fractional interest in their primary residence to Cornerstone Financing in exchange for tax-free cash. No loan. No lien-based debt. Just a shared appreciation agreement and a future payoff based on the home’s value.
Why this matters for advisors:
No debt-service obligation or interest compounding
No impact on the client’s credit or cash flow
Proceeds can be used immediately to fund insurance, LTC, SPIAs, or annuity strategies
The homeowner retains full use and title of the property
It’s not a reverse mortgage. It’s not a HELOC. It’s a smart capital partner buying a stake in the future upside of the home—letting your clients access planning capital without disrupting their portfolio, credit, or cash flow.
Portfolio Protection & Advisor Alignment
CHEIFS protects more than home equity—it safeguards the broader financial plan.
RIAs can maintain AUM, avoiding the “insurance or assets under management” trade-off. Insurance advisors gain a tool to fund meaningful coverage without forcing asset sales. Finally, these two sides of the table—AUM and insurance—can align around a strategy that enhances both sides of the balance sheet.
The result? Integrated planning. Stronger client outcomes. And no one has to “give up the account”—advisors retain client relationships without sacrificing planning integrity.
It also allows fee-based advisors to remain the financial quarterback while leveraging insurance-based planning that doesn’t conflict with AUM goals. CHEIFS removes the friction between asset preservation and protection planning.
Data Snapshot: Why This Matters Now
$35 trillion+ in U.S. home equity is sitting unused (Federal Reserve, 2024)
S&P 500: Historical annualized return ~11%
U.S. residential real estate: Historical annualized return ~4.8%
CHEIFS cost of capital over 30 years: as low as 2.74% effective annually
$285 million in institutional funding committed by Aquiline Capital & Nomura to scale CHEIFS nationwide
That’s institutional-grade backing, favorable cost of capital, and better tax treatment than nearly any other form of insurance funding.
7 High-Impact Use Cases for Advisors
Premium Financing Alternative – Fund IULs or whole life without loans or collateral.
Wealth Replacement Trusts (WRTs) – Replace charitable gifts or GRATs using ILIT-funded policies.
Survivorship Life for Estate Taxes – Add liquidity without touching investment portfolios.
Overfunded IULs for Retirement Income – Create tax-free retirement income streams.
Hybrid LTC Solutions – Access LTC benefits without touching IRAs or 401(k)s.
Legacy Leveraging & GST Planning – Enable dynasty trusts or special needs planning without liquidating growth assets.
SPIA Funding for Guaranteed Lifetime Income – Use CHEIFS proceeds to purchase Single Premium Immediate Annuities, generating lifetime income without disrupting AUM or selling appreciated assets.
In actuality, though there are no requirements for the use of the funds, the above are effective ways to fill financial planning gaps—but there are those using this to transfer money out of their estate by buying their children annuities or setting up life insurance inside a trust funded by home equity to avoid gift tax restrictions, and even those using this to aid their children in down payments for their homes.
Who Is CHEIFS Ideal For?
Homeowners aged 60–85 with significant home equity (and no plans to move)
Clients facing a liquidity trap between home value and retirement goals
Families who want to fund protection or legacy strategies without reducing investable assets
Advisors who want to bring insurance into the plan without disrupting AUM
Ethical Considerations & Fiduciary Duty
Let’s get real: financial innovation means nothing if it erodes client trust. So here’s where we draw the line:
CHEIFS isn’t for everyone. It’s best for homeowners 60–85 with significant equity and no plans to move.
Transparency is non-negotiable. Discuss future payoff scenarios, estate implications, and Medicaid eligibility.
Avoid using CHEIFS to force affordability. This isn’t about selling oversized policies. It’s about enabling access.
Involve the full planning team. Tax, legal, and estate pros should be at the table.
Call to Action: Let’s Build the Bridge
You don’t need to sell harder. You need to fund smarter.
Curious what CHEIFS looks like in your practice? Let’s run the numbers on a case together. Download the Advisor Guide, schedule a walkthrough, or invite Cornerstone to co-present a scenario to your team or client.
