Two Whole Life Policies and Two Different Modified Endowment Contract Limits?

Two Whole Life Policies and Two Different Modified Endowment Contract Limits

We recently received a really good question regarding whole life insurance and modified endowment contracts that seems like it should have already been the subject of an Insurance Pro Blog article, but alas we skipped over this excellent opportunity to discuss a minor—although interesting and potentially important—quirk to modified endowment contract calculations.

The question was pretty simple:

Looking at various over-funded whole life proposals and I’m noticing that some products appear to hit the modified endowment contract limit sooner than the other, why?

It’s an excellent question, and we encourage everyone to reach out to us with questions they have as they can become great motivators for future articles. The answer, though, is somewhat complex but can pretty easily distilled into a really simple answer.

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Why the Blended Whole Life Idea is Conceptually Perfect, but sometimes Practically Flawed

Why the Blended Whole Life Idea is Conceptually Perfect

Blended whole life insurance has long been a mainstay subject at the Insurance Pro Blog. Dare I go so far as to say it’s the subject that acted as the catalyst for the site’s existence (that might be a tad sensationalist, but also not incredibly far off from the truth).

We’ve explained numerous times how it works, and why it works. We even have historical evidence for its proof of concept. But, in the interest of cash optimization there exists another question that is a tad out of left field, but extremely important. Practically speaking, does it work?

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Can we Please Stop Pretending that Market Corrections are Unusual and Rare?

Can we Please Stop Pretending that Market Corrections are Unusual and Rare

Stock Market Corrections are a fact of life in a our economy. There are several theories that seek to explain this phenomenon, and I personally like to think it’s a result of our warped implementation of market economics, but what do I know?

Lately certain members of the press have been buzzing a bit about the stock market and whether or not it’s headed for a decline. Will 2014 be the year to kiss your post 2008 gains good bye?

Hmmmmm?

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Applying for Life Insurance with a Ventricular Septal Defect

Applying for Life Insurance with a Ventricular Septal Defect

Ventricular Septal Defects or VSD’s are holes in the interventricular septum (the wall that separates heart chambers) of the left and right ventricles. To be clear, generally it’s one hole in the septum (not several, though not unheard of). When it comes to life insurance applications for proposed insured’s with a ventricular septal defect, the applicant generally has really good prospects for being approved, and being approved at better than standard rates (assuming the applicant qualifies for better than standard rates based on other health criteria).

However, there are a few considerations when it comes to individuals who have this condition that underwriting will review quite carefully. And to ensure efficiency in processing the application, it’s best to try and provide as much information as possible at time of application to avoid confusion and ensure underwriting has no apprehensions.

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If the Market Rally Continues is Indexed Universal Life Insurance Dead in the Water?

If the Market Rally Continues is Indexed Universal Life Insurance Dead in the Water

Following up on last week’s article regarding whole life insurance and improved market conditions, we’re bringing the same question up about indexed universal life insurance this week.

Since we already covered some of the more intangible issues with this consideration last week, we’ll skip most of that this week (except for one nuance regarding indexed universal life insurance) and instead focus more on the returns we’d anticipate seeing if conditions improve and remain improved.

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If the Market Continues to Rally, is Whole Life Insurance Dead in the Water?

If the Market Continues to Rally is Whole Life Insurance Dead in the Water

It’s been a pretty good run for whole life insurance over the course of the last five years. 2008 scared the pants off many Americans and has reminded us all that maybe being an “investor” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

As the blood pressure among our investment salesmen and women slowly rises following that last statement, allow me to take a moment and discuss a question we've received a lot lately:

If the market continues to rally, and history does end up repeating itself, will whole life insurance fade into the background just as it did throughout the 90’s?

The answer may surprise you…

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Indexed Universal Life Insurance Company Asset Yield Comparison

Indexed Universal Life Insurance Company Asset Yield Comparison

Oops!! Not sure what happened with our other post today…but hopefully it works this time.  Thanks for your patience.

As a form of cash value life insurance that can be manipulated for asset building purposes indexed universal life insurance has many coveted features. But just like we noted in the whole life insurance company asset yield comparison it’s wise to take a moment and look at company asset yield performance as an indicator for company strength to maintain the yields we’re assuming.

While it’s not the whole story, the yield on assets under management can help indicate a company’s financial fitness in terms of being able to maintain current caps on its indexing account, which affects how well the policy, will perform longer term.

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