Universal Life is defined as a form of permanent life insurance that allows one to have more flexibility to modify premium payments and death benefit over time. There are several types of universal life policies – from policies that focus more on a guaranteed death benefit, to policies that are more focused on a cash value.
Universal Life Insurance Example
The key characteristic of universal life insurance is flexibility. Within limits, a policyholder can choose the amount of insurance and the premium they want to pay. The policy will stay in force as long as the policy value is sufficient to pay the costs and expenses of the policy. The policy value is “interest-sensitive,” which means that it varies in accordance with the general financial climate. Lowering the death benefit and raising the premium will increase the growth rate of your policy. The opposite also is true. Raising the death benefit and lowering the premium will slow the growth of your policy. If insufficient premiums are paid, the policy could lapse without value before the maturity date is reached. (The maturity date is the time your policy ceases and cash surrender value would be payable if the policyholder is still living.) Therefore, it is the policyholder’s responsibility to consistently pay a premium that is high enough to ensure that the policy´s value will be adequate to pay the monthly cost of the policy. The company is required to send an annual report and also to notify the policyholder if they are in danger of losing their policy due to insufficient value.
