What Kind Of Special Need Would A Policyowner Require With An Adjustable Life Insurance Policy?
An adjustable life insurance policy is also known as universal life insurance policy. Find out how it works.
Not all life policies are suitable for all types of people, some are too expensive, some have low coverage and some features in a policy are simply not needed by someone. So why pay for the extra features?
But that’s not all to the world of life insurance, there are a few policies that are known ‘adjustable’ by nature, designed specifically to suit consumer needs. This is what added benefit a universal life insurance policy or an adjustable insurance policy gives.
Adjustable Life Insurance Policy
The meaning of adjustable life insurance policy is providing an adjustable death benefit and FLEXIBLE PREMIUMS to policyholders. So, the original question is answered.
What kind of special need would a policyowner require with an adjustable life insurance policy?
FLEXIBLE PREMIUMS!
Let’s get into more details.
A universal life insurance policy is also known adjustable, because it also provides the same benefits as the adjustable life insurance policy. Adjustable life insurance is the mix of term life insurance and whole life insurance, and along with that, it also offers policyholders to tweak some of the policy features. These may include the time period of the policy, face amount, premiums etc.
Along with the adjustable benefit, a universal life insurance policy has a guaranteed death benefit which is paid out to the beneficiaries tax-free, and the cash value component which accumulates with interest over time. This cash value component can be withdrawn or borrowed for other expenses during the life of the policyholder, and this amount can be used to pay off a portion of your premiums too.
The adjustable life insurance policy allows policyholders to increase or decrease their death benefit as their financial requirements change. The death benefit you agreed to during the start of the policy may not be required anymore because you have less dependents now, or maybe you want more coverage with time for loan repayments or sending a kid off to college. Only an adjustable life insurance policy allows you to change your needs as time passes, however, it will still be dependent on the insurer how many times he allows you to make said changes.
Adjustable Life Insurance Policy Pros and Cons
There are several pros and cons that you need to weigh before really deciding on which policy works best for you.
Pros
- Adjustable premiums and death benefit
- Changes can be made without having to renew the policy
- Cash value earns interest and grows overtime
- Monthly premiums decrease as cash value account increases
- No need to prove insurability when adding new coverage
Cons
- More expensive than term life insurance
- If investment doesn’t perform well, it could affect the interest rate which would affect the cash value component of the policy
- Substantial increases in the policy may call for full medical underwriting
It is true that there aren’t many risks to having an adjustable life insurance policy, there is nothing too complicated about it which is why it is one of the most popular policies acquired by customers around the US.
Adjustable Life Insurance Rates
According to age, these are the rates of adjustable life insurance for healthy non-smoking people, with a coverage of $100,000.
AGES | MONTHLY | YEARLY |
20 | $36.19 | $434.38 |
30 | $42.00 | $504.00 |
40 | $62.74 | $752.93 |
50 | $89.50 | $1,074.09 |
Note: Sample rates have been extracted online, courtesy of PolicyGenius.
Adjustable Life Insurance Companies
Shopping for the best life insurance policy may seem hard, but if you have a list of companies right at your disposal, the process seems a little less challenging. Here is a list compiled by ValuePenguin that filters the best companies of 2020 with BBB ratings, A.M best ratings and J.D Powell score which is an analytics marketing company in the US.
Company | BBB | A.M. Best | J.D. Power |
State Farm | A- | A++ | 825 |
Northwestern Mutual | A+ | A++ | 812 |
Nationwide | A+ | A+ | 810 |
MetLife | B- | A+ | 793 |
Mutual of Omaha | A+ | A+ | 792 |
New York Life | A+ | A++ | 791 |
Prudential | A | A+ | 784 |
Pacific Life | A+ | A+ | 783 |
MassMutual | A | A++ | 781 |
Lincoln Financial | A+ | A+ | 778 |
Guardian Life | A+ | A++ | 776 |
Principal Financial | A+ | A+ | 773 |
John Hancock | A+ | A+ | 759 |
Midland National Life | A+ | A+ | 758 |
AXA Financial | A+ | A | 755 |
Transamerica | B | A+ | 751 |
Primerica | A+ | A+ | 743 |
AIG | A- | A | 741 |
Is Adjustable Life Insurance a good idea?
Increase in popularity among consumers has proved that there is not much to lose in an adjustable policy in comparison with term life or whole life. Like mentioned above, it is a hybrid of both policies with an added benefit of flexible premiums that most people find very suitable.
Whether or not an adjustable life insurance is a good idea depends on your policy needs and proper evaluation of the pros and cons. The biggest advantage is that the coverage can be adjusted without having to renew the policy and going through the whole process again.
Shopping around for insurance policies is very important; just don’t go with the first company or the first policy that comes your way. Ask around, hire agents, talk to friends who’ve had similar life insurance policies to see which ones worked for them, and why. Go with the policy that gives you the most benefit and resonates with your needs the most.