Pasadena, California
Claudia Lin, independent advisor
CA license 0B79411
The business you built
should outlast you.
Life insurance and succession plans for founders and family offices, designed before anything is sold.
Start here
What the work has returned to clients
| Figure | What it measures | Engagement |
|---|---|---|
| $4M+ | saved a year on health benefits by year two | Financial services employer, 3,000+ employees, moved from fully insured to self-funded |
| 40% | lower pharmacy cost per member | Healthcare-adjacent employer, 1,200+ employees, moved to a pass-through PBM |
| $500K+ | premium increase avoided at renewal | Financial services employer, 500+ employees, aging workers’ comp claims closed |
| 100% | of drug manufacturer rebates returned to the plan | The same pharmacy engagement, for the first time in seven years |
| Three engagements. Client names withheld by agreement; figures as reported by the clients. Read how each one was done. | ||
For owners and family offices
Complex life insurance, designed with your attorney and CPA and treated as the last step, not the first.
- The business is most of the estate
- Fund the cash the family or successors will need at transition, so the company is never a forced sale.
- Partners need a buy-sell that holds
- Structure and fund the buy-out before the day anyone needs it.
- Executives have outgrown the 401(k)
- Deferred compensation and executive benefits for the people the business cannot lose.
- The family plans across generations
- Insurance structures drawn up with your attorney and CPA to pass wealth on with less lost to tax.
For California employers
Self-funded health plans for companies whose renewals no longer make sense.
Claudia audits three years of claims, sets the stop-loss so a catastrophic claim is capped, and runs the administrator and pharmacy selection on the plan’s behalf. In one plan, 80% of cost came from 12% of claimants; that concentration is what made self-funding work.
Usually a fit for 200 to 5,000 employees with steady cash flow and a history of increases at renewal. How the health plan work runs
Lín means forest.
林 is Claudia’s family name: two trees, each rooted on its own. After two decades inside national brokerages she started Legacy Maker to advise independently, so the plan is designed for the family and not for the commission. Her story
Every engagement runs the same four steps
- 1RootMap what you own, who depends on it, and what has to survive a transition.
- 2StructureDesign the plan with your attorney and CPA in the room, with tax and cash flow written down.
- 3PlaceTake it to market on your behalf. Carriers compete; the answer can be do not buy.
- 4TendReview it every year, not only when the renewal arrives.
Questions people ask before booking
What is the difference between an advisor and a broker?
A broker is paid when a policy is placed. An advisor is paid to be right. Claudia works as an independent advisor: she designs the structure first, compares the market second, and tells you plainly when a product is not worth buying. Her years inside national brokerages mean she knows where fees and incentives hide.
Who is complex life insurance for?
Founders and owners whose business is most of their estate, family offices funding multi-generational plans, and executive teams whose compensation has outgrown qualified plans. If the question is liquidity at transition, buy-sell funding or tax-efficient transfer, it usually belongs here.
Do you work with my attorney and CPA?
Yes, and we insist on it. Trust design, ownership and tax treatment sit with your legal and tax team. Claudia models the insurance side, brings the numbers to them, and keeps everyone working from the same page.
When does self-funding a health plan make sense?
Often when an employer has roughly 200 or more employees, stable cash flow and a renewal pattern of steady increases. A three-year claims review shows whether it holds up. One client with 3,000+ employees moved from fully insured to self-funded and saved over $4 million a year by year two.
How do I get started, and what does it cost to talk?
Book a call. The 15-minute intro is free and is a plain fit check. The 30-minute brainstorm and the 60-minute consultation go deeper once there is something to work on.
What is Legacy-Maker.insure?
A planned site for individual and small-business health coverage through the ACA and Covered California. It is scheduled for mid-2027. Leave your email and you will hear first.
Claudia Lin
Founding principal, Legacy Maker LLC
The first call is fifteen minutes and free.
Describe the situation. If Claudia is not the right person, she will say so.
| Length | Call | What happens | Book |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 min | Intro call, free | A fit check. Describe the situation and hear whether Claudia can help. | Book |
| 30 min | Brainstorm | Bring one problem. Leave with a point of view and the next two steps. | Book |
| 60 min | Consultation | A working session with your documents, ideally with your CFO, attorney or CPA. | Book |