is variable universal life permanent?

Message Author
ampm-bookmark
delicious-small Add to del.icio.us
yahoomyweb-small Add to YahooMyWeb
simpy-small Add to Simpy
blinklist-small Add to BlinkList
PostPosted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 6:00 am   Post subject: is variable universal life permanent?  

Before opting I'd like to know....if variable universal life a form of permanent life policy!
_________________
Register Now to have your Insurance queries solved.
BourdeuxJ
Guest






PostPosted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 6:23 am   Post subject:   

Yes my friend, it is certainly a form of permanent life insurance wherein the death benefit would be reimbursed when the insured dies any point of time till the date of maturity. It has the word 'variable' in its description to signify its nature of investing the amount across multiple accounts. Generally it covers for some 100 years or so. Berrman_jones
_________________
Register Now to have your Insurance queries solved.
Berrman_jones
Guest






PostPosted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 6:50 am   Post subject: Why it ?  

Hi yeah,

You may certainly take it as permanent & also note that it is meant to get special tax benefits under the US IRC. Investment returns get added to the cash value benefit through the life of your policy. Such returns I guess are not meant to be taxed upon.

Another benefit of choosing such policies would be that the VUL have flexi-premium schemes to pick from. In order to ensure the dealth benefit you'd need to pay up the premium on a regular month basis.
Thanx,
PackardBell

_________________
Register Now to have your Insurance queries solved.
Packardbell
Guest






PostPosted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 7:09 am   Post subject:   

Quote:
Generally it covers for some 100 years or so.

But remember that you need to have sufficient cash through all those years to be able to feed the policy costs.

_________________
Register Now to have your Insurance queries solved.
bigmouse37
Guest






PostPosted: Thu May 01, 2008 9:36 pm   Post subject:   

It is definitely permanent as long as you have a positive cash value or have met the minimum premium requirements.
TheInsider
New member
Leave a quick message


Joined: 01 May 2008
Posts: 1

Location: League City, TX
1.25 Dollars($)

PostPosted: Sun May 04, 2008 11:36 pm   Post subject: insurance  

How is Universal Life insurance different than 'regular' Life Insurance?
sdchargersfan
Senior member
Leave a quick message

sdchargersfan
Joined: 21 Aug 2007
Posts: 2055


4.70 Dollars($)

PostPosted: Mon May 05, 2008 3:14 pm   Post subject:   

It covers you anywhere in the Universe!

No, really, Universal Life is one of two catagories of "permanent" life insurance the other being Whole Life.

Some old timers refer to Whole life as "regular" life insurance but I don't think that's what you mean.

I'm guessing you think of term as "regular". It's the kind you buy that has a set rate guarantee period of usually 10, 15, 20 or 30 years.

Then main difference is permanence. The other is that Universal and Whole life have a cash accumulation element built in.
Fishman
Preferred member
Leave a quick message


Joined: 04 Apr 2008
Posts: 143


45.32 Dollars($)

PostPosted: Tue May 06, 2008 2:15 am   Post subject: insurance  

SOO........Permanent you can have until your life ends ( lack of a better way to say it)? Isn't Whole the same thing? I know people who actually have Whole Life until the age of 99 years old. What's the diffrerence there? They BOTH build cash value?
sdchargersfan
Senior member
Leave a quick message

sdchargersfan
Joined: 21 Aug 2007
Posts: 2055


4.70 Dollars($)

PostPosted: Tue May 06, 2008 6:37 pm   Post subject:   

Quote:
SOO........Permanent you can have until your life ends ( lack of a better way to say it)? Isn't Whole the same thing?


Quote:
Universal Life is one of two catagories of "permanent" life insurance the other being Whole Life.


Universal and Whole life are similar products. The biggest and easiest to explain difference is that in most Whole Life policies the premium, interest rate, cash value and death benefit are all guaranteed and never change as long as the premium is paid. Whereas with UL, the interest rate fluctuates and the death benefit and premium can be adjusted by the policyowner subject to certain provisions.

As for the Whole life to age 99 thing, contracts that I've seen have the policy maturing on that date, meaning if the insured is still living and the policy is still in force they pay the death benefit to the policyowner at age 99.
Fishman
Preferred member
Leave a quick message


Joined: 04 Apr 2008
Posts: 143


45.32 Dollars($)

PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2008 3:09 am   Post subject: insurance  

OH!! OK...I catchca!! Good explaination. Would the premiums be the same? I mean..the monthly payments..would the be GREATER than a 'regualar' Whole Life policy?
sdchargersfan
Senior member
Leave a quick message

sdchargersfan
Joined: 21 Aug 2007
Posts: 2055


4.70 Dollars($)

PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2008 3:00 pm   Post subject:   

Well, generally Whole Life has a higher premium than the "target" premium on a Universal Life with the same amount of coverage.

But the flexible premium nature of the Universal Life policy allows the ability to pay more or less than the "target" premium which is the companies suggested premium for best policy performance.
Fishman
Preferred member
Leave a quick message


Joined: 04 Apr 2008
Posts: 143


45.32 Dollars($)

PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2008 8:24 pm   Post subject: insurance  

..and you can get Universal Life at ANY insurance agency? Is Universal Life a 'Whole Life' policy, as well? I mean, same benefits,etc?
sdchargersfan
Senior member
Leave a quick message

sdchargersfan
Joined: 21 Aug 2007
Posts: 2055


4.70 Dollars($)

PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2008 9:38 pm   Post subject:   

sdchargersfan,

You two are having a real interesting discussion on life insurance, but I just wanted to butt in for a minute.

It sounds like you are leaning toward buying a "Universal Life" insurance policy and I would just like to caution you for a minute.

Universal Life insurance has probably caused more confusion and lawsuits than any other type of permanent life insurance, here's why:

When it was first introduced, it was presented as an "investment", a way to establish a significant retirement income. Then it was paying 13% or 14% interest on the cash accumulation value and if those interest rates had remained stable, it would have accumulated a lot of money, in most cases.

The interest rate now is 3.5%, maybe as high as 5%. Life insurance should NEVER be purchased for "cash value" alone, under any circumstances.

Universal life can be designed to be an excelled life insurance program, but just make sure that you tell your agent that you want a premium that will carry the policy to age 99 or 100 or later. If you pay a "minimum" premim on a UL, it will more than likely not provide insurance protection for over 10-15-20 years, unless you increase your premiums, significantly.

If you are seeking life insurance in an amount below $100,000 and you want permanent insurance, I would strongly suggest the old traditional "Whole Life" insurance policy.

(I won't even get into the "variable" part right now.)

Ok, I'll butt out now.

Maze

_________________
"The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway."
— Mother Teresa
InsuranceMaze
Community Contributor
Leave a quick message

Community Contributor
Insurance Maze
Joined: 16 Oct 2007
Posts: 586


24.03 Dollars($)

PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2008 2:10 pm   Post subject:   

Maze, you make a great point. I was biting my tounge when I read a recent thread that asked if equity indexed UL was a good investment and tons of people responed to the original poster that it is a good "investment".

I really wanted to remind them that it's highly unethical if not illegal (if you're an agent) to represent any life product as an investment.

That said, I really think UL is a great product with a bad rep. If SDchargersfan were my client I don't think it's what I'd be recommending it based on age and amount of coverage desired. But for people ages 21-35 who don't smoke it's still a great deal despite lower interest rates. I don't stress the cash accumulation but rather the flexibility it gives you as a lifelong insurance product. It's also most effective as one part of your total life insurance program, not as your only coverage.

Chargersfan,
If you lived in Ohio I'd offer to take you to lunch and tell you all about it, since I'm not licensed in MO though, I encourage you to find a local agent you feel comfortable with who can help you decide if UL, WL, or some combination of either with Term is best. If I remember correctly and you're a smoker you may even be best off getting a term policy for life coverage and contributing to an annuity product for cash accumulation. But again, a good agent will go over all of this with you and help you make the best, most informed choice.
Fishman
Preferred member
Leave a quick message


Joined: 04 Apr 2008
Posts: 143


45.32 Dollars($)

PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2008 3:36 pm   Post subject:   

Oh, SDchargersfan, you should check out www.life-line.org

It's got a lot of good consumer information on life insurance, all explained in pretty straightforward way.
Fishman
Preferred member
Leave a quick message


Joined: 04 Apr 2008
Posts: 143


45.32 Dollars($)

Quick Reply
Your Name
Subject
Message body
All times are GMT
1, 2  Next  
Page 1 of 2


Get Free Insurance Quote
*State:
*Insurance type:

Ask Community Experts

flash plugin

Quick Links
Must See
Community
Insurance on Facebook
Hot topics in forums

Latest in blogs



Page loaded in 0.239 seconds.