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LIFE iNSURANCE MADE SIMPLE

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a clear, no-jargonmultimedia guide forsmart consumersLIFE INSURANCEMADE SIMPLELEARNMORE Message This is an AI generated video. 


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C O N T E N T SC O N T E N T SC O N T E N T ST A B L E O F3T H E B A S I C SW H A T Y O U R E A L L Y N E E D T O K N O W5C A L C U L A T E Y O U R N E E D SH O W M U C H I S E N O U G H ? 6T E R M I N S U R A N C ES T R A I G H T F O R W A R D P R O T E C T I O N7P E R M A N E N T I N S U R A N C EL I F E T I M E P I E C E O F M I N D : U L & G U L8U N I V E R S A L L I F EF L E X I B I L I T Y W I T H A F U T U R E9C O M P A R I S O N C H A R TU L G U L I U L10W H O L E L I F EG U A R A N T E E D S T A B I L I T Y & D I V I D E N T S1 1E M P L O Y E R S P O N S O R E D P L A N SP R O S A N D C O N S13C O S T V S V A L U EW H A T A R E Y O U R E A L L Y B U Y I N G ? 15F I N A L T H O U G H T S & C O N T A C T I N F OL E T S T A L K14A C R I T I C A L D E C I S I O NW H E R E T O P U R C H A S E

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THE BASICSTHE BASICSTHE BASICS8 0 % O F O U R C L I E N T S H A V E U N D E R E S T I M A T E D T H E L E N G T H O F T I M ET H E Y E X P E C T E D T O N E E D I N S U R A N C E . Life insurance can be confusing — even forfinancially savvy people. We created this guide toexplain your options clearly so you can makeconfident, informed decisions.MAKING LIFE INSURANCE UNDERSTANDABLEAlways make sure you have enough coverage to meet your needs. These needsevolve with life’s milestones — having children, buying a home, change inincome or nearing retirement.THE MOST IMPORTA N T R U L EKnowing your loved ones are protected gives you real comfort. Choosing theright company and product matters, but having enough coverage is what trulycounts.IT ’S ABOUT PE ACE OF MINDTHRIVE , NOT J U ST SURVIVE- YOUR LOVE D O N E S D E S E R VE THE ADVICE OF A PROFESSIONALPolicies vary widely in features and pricing. A licensed insurance advisor can helpyou compare options. Good news: you don’t pay for their help — the insurancecompany does.

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No matter the product, variations exist from company to company. Todifferentiate their products, companies offer many different riders or featuresthat are often optional and usually available at additional cost. Some policies maybe converted to permanent insurance. Some may have living benefits for theinsured to use before death. Some may waive premiums if the insured is disabledand unable to work and so on. These factors are part of the reason pricesbetween companies differ. Additionally, each company handles its expenses andunderwriting policies differently which also impacts pricing.All insurers want to know about your health. How they evaluate your health - theprocess of evaluation is called "underwriting" - also varies. This is whereconsumers can benefit from working with a knowledgeable professional whoknows the company differences and can guide you to your best option. There isno cost for you to work with an insurance professional because he/she is paid bythe insurance company. TIP: MANY TERM POLICIES ALLOW YOU TO CONVERT A TERM POLICY TO PERMANENTCOVERAGE EVEN IF YOUR HEALTH CHANGES IN A WAY THAT WOULD OTHERWISEMAKE YOU INELIGIBLE FOR PERMANENT COVERAGE. THIS CAN BE A VERYIMPORTANT FEATURE ESPECIALLY SINCE WE CANNOT FORESEE WHAT LIFEHOLDS 10 OR 20 YEARS IN THE FUTURE. COMPANIES THAT OFFER ONLY TERMINSURANCE MAY SEEMINGLY BE THE LEAST EXPENSIVE SO BE SURE TO DISCUSSCONVERSION PRIVILEGES WITH YOUR INSURANCE ADVISOR.M A K E S U R E YO U A R E N ’ T CO M PA R I N G A P P L E S A N D O R A N G E S

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How much do I need?The calculator below will give you an estimate of how muchinsurance your loved ones may need, should you die duringyour working years. For guidance regarding the best type of insurance and amore thorough needs analysis, speak with a qualifiedinsurance professionalDOWNLOAD OURFINANCIAL PLANNINGWORKBOOK

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TERM ISTEMPORARYA RECENT STUDY ESTIMATES THAT STAY-AT-HOME MOMS WORK ON ANAVERAGE OF 94 HOURS A WEEK WITH AN EQUIVALENT SALARY OF $113,000. TAX ACTTerm is designed to last for a finitenumber of years. 10-year terminsurance is designed to last for aterm of 10 years. 20-year term lasts for20 years and so on, even up to 30 and40 years. Most term policies have alevel premium - the premium doesn'tchange for the specified term. Some policies have a rising premium,starting lower than level term andovertime exceeding the levelpremium. There is no cash value interm insurance. You are paying onlyfor insurance. If you only needcoverage for a limited time, thenterm insurance may be a fine optionfor youPermanent insurance is designed tolast for your whole life. Whole Life isonly one type of permanentinsurance. There are other types aswell. When differentiating betweenperm and term, you may have heard the analogy made to homeownership vs home rental. Term insurance is likerenting your coverage because at the end of the term you have not accrued anyequity, while permanent insurance will ensure that no matter when you die, abenefit will be paid.

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PERMANENT COVERAGETIP: ALWAYS KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROJECTIONS BASED ONASSUMPTIONS AND GUARANTEES. GUARANTEED VALUES ARE BASED UPONINTEREST AT 0% AND THE HIGHEST ALLOWABLE CHARGES FOR MORTALITY COSTSUNDER THAT SPECIFIC POLICY. ALSO, KNOW WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES COULD VOIDANY GUARANTEES.Properly configured, the policy owner can be assured there will be a death benefitno matter when death occurs. Universal policies are flexible in that they can bedesigned to provide coverage to age 90, 100, or even 120. By paying morepremium early on, a policy can be configured for payments to end years beforecoverage ends.Universal policies are interest-sensitive. The cash accumulation supporting thepremium will grow depending on the interest earned. Insurance professionalshave latitude when providing an illustration, ........"insurance-speak" for a quote.UNIVERSAL - ULGUARANTEED UNIVERSAL - GULThese policies have some cash accumulation but the cash component isprimarily a way to defray the cost of insurance within the policy at older ages. ULand GUL are often described as permanent term, a seeming contradiction interms. They are priced like term but are designed to last a lifetime.

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PERMANENT COVERAGEVUL was first conceived as theanswer to the advice: "Buy Term andInvest the Difference". VUL differsfrom UL or GUL in that premium overthe cost of insurance and expensesgoes into client-directed “separateaccounts”. The Separate Accounts areanalogous to mutual funds. Sincethese accounts are within the policythey grow tax-deferred, unlikemutual funds. Every company has arange of available accounts likemoney market, small-cap, large-cap,growth, value etc. The values in the separate accountsare not capped nor are theyguaranteed. As the insured ages, thecost of insurance keeps increasingand if the separate accounts are notgrowing sufficiently, the policy couldlapse. It is the responsibility of thepolicy owner to ensure the policy isnot underfunded and the allocationis in keeping with the client’s risktolerance.VARIABLE UNIVERSAL LIFE - VUL INDEXED UNIVERSAL LIFE - IUL Indexed Universal Life is anotherproduct that accumulates cash andmay appeal to a sophisticated buyerwho understands how index fundswork. They are relatively new, onlyfirst being offered in 1997. The cash accumulation account inthese policies mimics theperformance of a selected index butis not in actuality invested in theindex fund. While the associatedindex may go through the roof, thegrowth in the policy will be cappedby a predetermined percent. In addition, the premium paymentsare flexible which also means theymay not be guaranteed. Typically thepolicy owner can choose betweenseveral index funds to tieperformance. However, theperformance will never equal that ofthe actual index as there are caps onthe returns.TIP: IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR GUARANTEES, VUL IS NOT A PRODUCT FOR YOU. IT ISIMPERATIVE THAT POLICY OWNERS MEET REGULARLY WITH THEIR INSURANCEPROFESSIONAL TO MONITOR AND ENSURE VIABILITY.

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The chart below compares the generic features of three different types ofUniversal Life Insurance. Each insurance company may offer additional features:such as joint coverage, chronic health care or long term care benefits, paid upfeatures and more. When looking at quotes (illustrations), be sure you understand the differencebetween what is guaranteed and what are current assumptions. VARIABLE UNIVERSAL LIFE (VUL) IS AN INSURANCE AND INVESTMENT PRODUCTAND CAN ONLY BE OFFERED BY A LICENSED INSURANCE PROFESSIONAL WHO ISALSO A REGISTERED REPRESENTATIVE

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PERMANENT COVERAGE"Whole Life" is another form ofpermanent insurance. By definition, itis designed to last for your whole life.What makes it different from theother types of permanent insurance isthat its components are fixed at issueto guarantee the death benefit foryour entire life. The tradeoff is greater guarantees formore upfront premiums. But whilewhole life looks like it costs moregoing in, over time these policiesproduce dividends that grow. Thedividends reduce the net cost ofwhole life over the long run. And thedividends accumulate income-tax-free in a cash account that you canaccess during your life. They arevaluable and flexible. You can think ofthem as performing conservatively,similar to a bond fund. WHOLE LIFE: stable, predictable and long-termDividends are the hallmark of thistype of policy. They fluctuate and theyare not guaranteed. However, most ofthe highly rated companies have paiddividends consistently over manydecades, even during seriousrecessions. You can allocate dividends to suityour own needs: Keeping them in the policy togrow the death benefit AND thecash valueReducing out-of-pocket premiumpaymentsCash paymentsThis is an asset with strongguarantees. Look for a company witha history of producing unfailingdividends.

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N O T K N O W I N G W H A T Y O U D O N ’ T K N O W C A N R E S U L T I N C O S T L YM I S T A K E S . W O R K W I T H A P R O F E S S I O N A L Y O U T R U S TEmployer-sponsored insurance is aconvenience for many. However, thecost is not necessarily less thanprivate insurance especially if you areeligible for preferred rates. This isbecause during periods of openenrollment everyone is eligible to getcoverage regardless of their health.Since some employees may not be ashealthy as others the rates areadjusted or “blended” toaccommodate the range. There alsomay be a limit as to how muchcoverage you can purchase.If you are in excellent health, you mayqualify for individual coverage at alower rate.Human Resource professionals maybe able to explain the coverage, butthey are not licensed insuranceprofessionals and cannot adviseemployees or make individualrecommendations.EMPLOYER SPONSOREDGROUP INSURANCE

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If you are considering group coverage,be sure to know if you can keep thecoverage if you leave the company orretire. You will also need to know howyour premium will be affected when youno longer work for the company.A change in health or age couldpreclude you from getting privatecoverage at an affordable price or mightprevent you from getting it at all.EMPLOYER SPONSOREDGROUP COVERAGE (con't)

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While life insurance was initiallyconceived as a way to protect the"widows and orphans" in case thebreadwinner died, over the years ithas developed into a multifunctionalfinancial tool because of its uniqueattributes: Life insurance proceeds are notsubject to income taxCash accumulation within a policygrows tax-deferred. Life insurance can be the solutionimplemented for each need on thelist to the right. The appropriate typeis totally dependent upon individualcircumstances. COSTCOSTCOSTorororVALUE?VALUE?VALUE?MORTGAGE INSURANCETAX EFFICIENT TRANSFER OF WEALTHFINAL EXPENSESESTATE EQUALIZATIONSUPPLEMENTAL RETIREMENT INCOMEPAY ESTATE TAXESFUND BUY-SELL AGREEMENTSEXECUTIVE DEFERRED COMP. "GOLDEN HANDCUFFSLIFE INSURANCE:NOT JUST FOR SURVIVORS"A MAN WHO DIES WITHOUT ADEQUATE LIFE INSURANCESHOULD HAVE TO COME BACK AND SEE THE MESS HE CREATED." -WILL ROGERS

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