For a life insurance quote, please call us at 1-888-950-TERM.

In addition, at no extra cost, PruTerm WorkLife 65 will pay your premium for one year if you become unemployed.  This can be a valuable benefit when you consider that nearly one in 10 American workers is unemployed today, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics as of September 2010 News Release.

PruTerm WorkLife 65 will also pay for your premiums if you become disabled at any time up to age 65.  Three of 10 Americans will become disabled before they retire, according to the Council for Disability Awareness website, “Chances of Disability,” as of November 2, 2010.

Your premiums are guaranteed and will not increase before age 65.

Conversion privileges are available up to age 65 without additional medical testing.

For additional information please call us at 1-888-950-TERM.

Prudential’s Universal Protector:

• UL Protector shows major improvements in competitiveness through age 65.
• Rates are improved through age 65 for their top three non-smoker underwriting categories.
• Single pay rates have been reduced for their top three non-smoker underwriting categories.
• Rate reductions also for Non-Smoker, Preferred Smoker and Smoker underwriting categories for full pay and No-Lapse Guarantee to age 100 payment scenarios.
• Maximum issue age has been reduced to 85.

Prudential’s Term Essential and Term Elite:

• Premiums at some ages and some underwriting categories have been reduced by up to 10%.
• 30-year Term Essential rates are also top quartile on a same age basis and they are the price leader or close to it across most issue ages and underwriting categories.
• Term Essential rates are often ranked #1 at key ages with the Age Last Birthday advantage:
  • 10-year Term Essential for ages 60 and older.
  • 15 and 20-year Term Essential for ages 50 and older.

Convertibility:

• Prudential’s term products are eligible for conversion to any of their permanent products.
• They do not force you to convert to a less competitive conversion product like many other companies do.

Age Last Birthday Advantage:

• Most life insurance companies calculate your insurance age by your nearest birthday.  So, if you are 65, but you are closer to your 66th birthday, they will calculate your rates as if you were already 66. 
• Prudential uses your actual age to determine your life insurance rates.

If you would like a life insurance quote click here or call us at 1-888-950-TERM.

Some of the lawsuits in connection with this secondary market stem from investors suing insurance companies.  The investors are complaining that some insurance companies are changing the rules after policies have been issued and according to the new rules large life insurance policies are being cancelled.  Other lawsuits are being filed by grieving family members who are suing to receive some of the benefits that were signed away to investors, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The secondary market for life insurance is comprised of seniors selling their life insurance policies to investors for a percentage of the death benefit.  The investor then takes over ownership of the policy and therefore is responsible for paying the premiums and keeping the policy inforce.  As the new owner of the policy, the investor can name themself as beneficiary and will then receive the death benefit when the senior dies recouping his investment and if the senior dies soon enough making a decent profit.  In essence the investor is betting on when the senior will die.  This is a market worth tens of billions each year.

The problem began with the economic downturn.  As the economy worsened, insurers began cancelling policies, thus leaving some investors with a bad investment.

The lawsuits filed by investors claim that the insurance companies already knew about and even promoted life insurance policies that were being bought by seniors with the sole intention of being sold to an investor for profit.  Insurers say that investors are manipulating the market.

In two lawsuits filed in Santa Barbara, Calif., Olive Tree Holdings LLC and XLI holdings LLC are suing Phoenix Cos., which canceled about 30 policies worth $260 million.

Investors said Phoenix were aware the insurance policies “were likely to be resold.”

In 2005, Phoenix “embarked on a concerted effort to regain momentum in its sale of life insurance products,” the plaintiffs said.

“Phoenix denies the allegations and looks forward to its day in court,” Phoenix attorney David McDowell said.

Hundreds of similar lawsuits have been filed, the Journal said.

InsuranceGlobe.net is an independent broker offering life insurance, fixed annuities, index annuities and long-term care insurance.  If you would like a life insurance quote click here and fill out the form or you can call us at 1-888-950-8376.

You may have recently come across a relatively new product called  Term UL.  Term UL is a creation by insurance companies in response to higher reserve requirements on term insurance policies and pressure to keep term insurance rates low to compete with other life insurance companies.  Several well known term insurance companies have introduced or are planning on introducing so called Term UL products.  Genworth Life Insurance Company has a product called Colony Term UL.  West Coast Life has a Term UL product called the Secure-T. 

While these products are universal life products they look and smell like term products.  Just like term insurance, these products have guaranteed level term periods, which last for a specific period of time (10, 15, 20 and 30).  During this level term period your premiums are guaranteed to remain level.  Just like term insurance the death benefit is also guaranteed to remain level.

Because these are universal life policies, there are some advantages over term policies.  Some of the advantages are:

• You can adjust your premium or length of coverage up or down if your needs change.
• You will know up front what it will cost you to extend your coverage in the future without any proof of insurability.  Most term policies allow you to convert to a permanent policy without evidence of insurability, but the cost is not known until the time of conversion.
• You can pay with a single premium or a specified period of years.
• You will typically have a longer grace period before the policy lapses due to non-payment.

Genworth’s Colony Term UL seems to be the most competitively priced so far, but that could change at any time.  We are seeing term and universal life insurance rates changing constantly.  Please feel free to run your own term or universal life insurance quotes by clicking on the upper right hand corner and filling out the instant online quote form.  If you prefer to speak with a licensed life insurance specialist, please call 1-888-950-TERM or you can email us at info@insuranceglobe.net.

 Most people who are wealthy have tax and legal advisors who guide them in how to maximize wealth transfer to the next generation.  One of the most Frequently used strategies is that of lifetime gifts to transfer wealth.  The end of the year is usually the most active when it comes to carrying out gifting strategies.  One reason for this is because it is a time of year that stresses family and giving.  Another big reason is that December 31^st is the deadline to qualify for the $13,000 gift tax exclusion.  If you make a gift after the December 31^st deadline your gift will not qualify for the 2010 gifting exclusion.

 If you don’t use the $13,000 gift tax exclusion for 2010 you lose it, it cannot be used in another year.  For wealth transfer planning strategies 2010 is a year unlike any other.  Outside of any changes to the law as it is now these unique transfer tax rules are set to expire on January 1, 2011.  For clients whose estates are worth more than $10,000,000 and have both the financial capability and the inclination to make large transfers, some of these rules are advantageous.  Making Taxable Gifts and Making Generation Skipping Transfers are two end of year opportunities in particular. 

Taxable Gifts in 2010 

Currently the maximum tax rate on taxable gifts for 2010 is 35%.  This 35% tax rate on gifts is 10% less than the gift tax rates of 2009 and 2011.  Therefore, if you are interested in making additional lifetime transfers of your wealth to family members and you have already used your $1,000,000 gift tax exemption, you have a very good reason to make large gifts this year.  With the 10% drop in gift taxes you are looking at big savings.  Let’s look at an example.  If you were to make a taxable gift of $1,000,000 in 2010 the 35% gift tax rate would result in a federal tax bill of $350,000.  If you make that same gift in 2011 you would owe $450,000 if gift taxes.  That’s an increase of $100,000.

 General Skipping Transfers in 2010 

In 2010 there also exists a tremendous opportunity to make significant gifts to grandchildren and younger generations.  Based on current law the GST tax has been waived for 2010.  For some time, the GST tax has been very complex and costly.  In 2010 GST gifts and non-GST gifts are being taxed in the same way.  Therefore, there may exist an opportunity in what remains of 2010 to minimize the effect of transfer taxes on gifts that would normally have been taxed under the GST tax rules.  Keep in mind that all of this may change if Congress changes this rule retroactively.

 Gifting With Life Insurance

Here are some of advantages of gifting with life insurance: (1) Growth/Leverage – Premiums paid for life insurance death benefit protection can provide significant leverage in the early years and may provide a competitive rate of return through life expectancy.  (2) Income Tax-Free Payment – Policy death benefits (including the amount in excess of premiums paid) are generally income tax free under IRC Section 101.  (3) Predictable Value – The policy may be structured to pay a known death benefit amount when the insured dies.  (4) Value Not Directly Linked to Market Performance – The policy may be structured so that the death benefit may not directly depend on financial market performance.  (5) Liquidity – The death benefits are paid in cash; generally no income taxes, transfer costs, commissions or management fees are subtracted from the death benefit.  (6) May Avoid Estate & Generation Skipping Taxes – Ownership of the policy may be structured so that the death benefits will not be subject to federal estate or generation skipping taxes as part of the insured’s taxable estate.  (7) Avoids Probate – Death benefits may be structured to be paid directly to the beneficiaries without the costs and delays that often impact assets distributed through the probate court system.

 Gifts of Cash To Pay Premiums

In addition to these potential advantages, there are some additional factors that can make life insurance a valuable wealth transfer tool for the wealthy:

 1. Wealthy people usually don’t personally own the life insurance policies that insure their lives. To avoid estate and generation skipping taxes, their policies are often owned by younger family members or by trusts for their benefit. In these cases, they don’t need to give away the policy. Instead, they only need to provide the funds the policy owner needs to pay the premiums.

 2. Unlike most assets, life insurance policies are rarely paid for in one lump sum. Policy premiums are usually paid in a series of annual installments. Gifts of cash to pay premiums can be structured so they are gift tax free under tax exemptions established by Congress and the IRS (e.g. $13,000 in 2009 per donee for annual exclusion gifts; non-present interest gifts may total up to $1,000,000 over a donor’s lifetime). With careful planning, cash can be transferred to pay premiums without triggering gift taxes.

 3. Gifts of cash for premiums can do “double duty” in reducing the insured’s federal estate taxes. First, gifts of premiums reduce the size of the taxable estate. Second, when the insured doesn’t own the policy, the death benefits may be excluded from the taxable estate. As a result, more money may stay in the family.

 4. Because life insurance death benefits are paid in cash, they can be used in different ways for different objectives. For example, the death benefits can be used to pay estate settlement costs, debts, and taxes as well as provide for business stability. Life insurance death benefits often have the flexibility to complement other wealth transfer objectives.

 Is Life Insurance Financially Efficient?

For some people these potential advantages are important, but not enough. They want proof that life insurance will provide good value for the premiums paid in. They want to see a numerical analysis that evaluates a particular policy’s financial efficiency. One method for evaluating a life insurance policy’s financial efficiency is called an internal rate of return (IRR) analysis. A complete IRR analysis usually considers the fact that death benefits are generally paid out income tax free. Based on the insured’s marginal income tax bracket, the IRR is the after-tax interest rate at which the policy premiums would have to grow in order to equal the projected policy death benefit. Because it is difficult to predict the year in which an insured will die, IRRs are usually calculated for a series of years including the year of the insured’s life expectancy. Another way to evaluate a policy’s financial efficiency is to compare its projected performance to the projected performance of a different asset (e.g. a stock or mutual fund) purchased with the same dollars that are used to pay the policy premiums. A financial model can be created to make the comparison. Such a model would be based on a number of assumptions. As long as the assumptions are reasonable, the results may be useful in deciding if life insurance is financially efficient in a particular wealth transfer plan.

 The wealthy can choose from among many financial products and strategies.  They use life insurance when its potential advantages and financial performance increase their ability to pass on more of their net worth and accomplish their other wealth transfer objectives.  It can be a valuable and efficient transfer tool.

 George Steinbrenner may have saved his family approximately $500 million in federal estate taxes by dying on July 13, 2010 six months after federal estate taxes ended.  Steinbrenner’s estate was estimated at 1.15 billion by Forbes magazine.

When federal estate taxes return on Jan. 1, 2011, they will do so at a rate of 55% on estates which are calculated in excess of $1 million.  With federal estate taxes affecting estates over $1 million, it will impact many more families which are no where near Steinbrenner’s level of wealth.  Just take your home, IRA or other retirement account and some other savings and you could be at $1 million very easily.

If you happen to live in an area with high property values you may be especially hurt.  Imagine if you bought a house in the 60′s for less than $100k and  now it’s worth $1 million.  Every dollar of additional assets over $1 million could be subject to estate taxes at a rate of 55%.

Second to die life insurance is used for estate tax planning, because it covers two lives and pays on the death of the second person.  Estate taxes for a husband and wife’s estate are not due until the death of the surviving spouse, assuming that they are both U.S. citizens.  This is because there is an unlimited marital deduction.  When the first spouse dies their assets pass to the surviving spouse estate tax free.  It is only on the death of the second spouse that estate taxes would be due.

In addition to the timing of the death benefit on a second to die life insurance policy coinciding with the timing of the estate taxes being due, there are some other advantages to using second to die life insurance for estate taxes. Second to die life insurance is almost always less expensive than individual life insurance.  The insurance company doesn’t have to pay anything until the second person dies and therefore the premium is typically much lower than a policy covering one person.

It’s also easier to qualify for a second to die life insurance policy than an individual life insurance policy.  Insurance companies aren’t very concerned if one person is unhealthy as long as the other person is healthy, again because they don’t have to pay anything until the second death.

In addition to using second to die life insurance to pay for estate taxes, it can also be used to maximize wealth transfer.  Some people buy second to die life insurance to transfer as much of their estate as possible to their heirs guaranteed.

If you have been or are thinking about buying a second to die life insurance policy for estate taxes, you should consider consulting an attorney that specializes in the area of estate planning.  An estate planning attorney can advise you regarding the proper way of structuring ownership of the life insurance policy to make sure the death benefit is not included in your estate.  Our job is to find the second to die life insurance policy that is most affordable.  We work with many different life insurance companies and we can shop your case and get you multiple competing survivorship life insurance policy rate quotes.  Call us at 1-888-950-8376 or fill out the survivorship life insurance rate questionnaire on our homepage and we will find you the best second to die life insurance for estate taxes.

 George Steinbrenner may have saved his family approximately $500 million in federal estate taxes by dying on July 13, 2010 six months after federal estate taxes ended.  Steinbrenner’s estate was estimated at 1.15 billion by Forbes magazine.

When federal estate taxes return on Jan. 1, 2011, they will do so at a rate of 55% on estates which are calculated in excess of $1 million.  With federal estate taxes affecting estates over $1 million, it will impact many more families which are no where near Steinbrenner’s level of wealth.  Just take your home, IRA or other retirement account and some other savings and you could be at $1 million very easily.

If you happen to live in an area with high property values you may be especially hurt.  Imagine if you bought a house in the 60′s for less than $100k and  now it’s worth $1 million.  Every dollar of additional assets over $1 million could be subject to estate taxes at a rate of 55%.

Second to die life insurance is used for estate tax planning, because it covers two lives and pays on the death of the second person.  Estate taxes for a husband and wife’s estate are not due until the death of the surviving spouse, assuming that they are both U.S. citizens.  This is because there is an unlimited marital deduction.  When the first spouse dies their assets pass to the surviving spouse estate tax free.  It is only on the death of the second spouse that estate taxes would be due.

In addition to the timing of the death benefit on a second to die life insurance policy coinciding with the timing of the estate taxes being due, there are some other advantages to using second to die life insurance for estate taxes. Second to die life insurance is almost always less expensive than individual life insurance.  The insurance company doesn’t have to pay anything until the second person dies and therefore the premium is typically much lower than a policy covering one person.

It’s also easier to qualify for a second to die life insurance policy than an individual life insurance policy.  Insurance companies aren’t very concerned if one person is unhealthy as long as the other person is healthy, again because they don’t have to pay anything until the second death.

In addition to using second to die life insurance to pay for estate taxes, it can also be used to maximize wealth transfer.  Some people buy second to die life insurance to transfer as much of their estate as possible to their heirs guaranteed.

If you have been or are thinking about buying a second to die life insurance policy for estate taxes, you should consider consulting an attorney that specializes in the area of estate planning.  An estate planning attorney can advise you regarding the proper way of structuring ownership of the life insurance policy to make sure the death benefit is not included in your estate.  Our job is to find the second to die life insurance policy that is most affordable.  We work with many different life insurance companies and we can shop your case to make sure you get the best deal possible.  Call us at 1-888-950-8376 or fill out the survivorship life insurance questionnaire on our homepage and we will find you the best second to die life insurance for estate taxes.

More Liberal Exchange Option

In July ING announced an improved exchange option through the earlier of the end of the level premium period or age 70.  On October 2, 2010, all new ING TermSmart  policies will be endorsed with this updated provision.  In early 2011, they will mail the same endorsement to all customers who were issued policies with a more restrictive provision (earlier of age 70 or 5 years before the end of teh level term).  Now you will have more time to exchange to their lineup of competitive guaranteed, current assumption, indexed and variable universal products.

If you have recently been shopping for life insurance, this is a good time to run some new ING term life insurance rates quotes.

Some Rates Increasing

In some cases, rates are  increasing, but ING maintains a top quartile ranking among leading carriers in most cases. 

Click here for free instant online term life insurance rate quotes or call InsuranceGlobe.net at 1-888-950-8376.