The paid up additions feature of a whole life insurance policy is one of the most powerful components with respect to cash value accumulation. Most whole life products have a paid up additions (PUA) feature, but they can all work a little differently so it's important to note that one company's approach could vary substantially from others.
But before we explain how they work…
What Are Paid Up Additions?
Paid up additions are available through a rider that is added to a whole life insurance policy. The PUA rider allows the policy owner to purchase additional paid-up insurance on their policy. That all sounds very technical, so let's explore what that actually means for you if you're looking at cash value life insurance (whole life in particular) and trying to decide if it's the right fit.
The PUA rider is the mechanism used to place additional money into a participating whole life insurance policy to increase policy cash value performance. Every dollar of premium that is allocated to the paid up additions rider creates a small paid up insurance policy that has its very own cash value that is created immediately. In general, whole life insurance policies that have a substantial portion of the total premium allocated to paid up additions will outperform those that do not take advantage of PUAs.
There are also various paid-up additions options available from each insurance company. It may all seem complicated but hang in there, we're gonna explain it in multiple ways and provide examples to illustrate how it works. We want to help everyone understand paid-up additions and their application to life insurance policies.