What kind of policy best fits my needs?
This site moves beyond blame and gives policy owners solid, credible advice for managing these policies. A similar result is waiting for owners of Variable Universal Life whose funding premiums were calculated in the "dot com" surge. If a funding premium was calculated using 10 percent and not adjusted for the reality of falling interest rates, that policy is likely to fail. A Universal Life policy purchased in 1985 with a 10 percent crediting rate is now crediting just 4 percent; that doesn't make it a bad policy, it's just that things have changed, and perhaps expectations have not been effectively managed. Trillions of dollars of life insurance have been bought in the last 20 years, and a significant amount of that insurance is the kind where premiums are not fixed but must be managed for changing economic conditions. Perhaps of utmost concern to readers is the consideration of life insurance that's already been purchased. The benefit of this process is given credibility in its recent confirmation by federal securities regulators, and this information makes it easier for me to counsel my planning clients. Dick's breakthrough was in developing statistical analyses that provide a better ongoing measuring tool of how likely a policy would sustain for as long as the client might live. Many of my clients do not want that same level of understanding as long as they believe my utmost consideration is helping them with their concerns and questions. And, with which life insurance company should I "partner" for a policy I fully expect to own for 40 or 50 years? How much should I expect to pay for life insurance? I've worked with life insurance companies, Broker-Dealers, and insurance agents to foster better processes the consumer can use to determine such things as: How much life insurance do I need? I've been licensed to sell life insurance for more than 38 years, but in the last 12 years found that I preferred spending my time advocating for better consumer information and disclosure. In my experience as a tax and financial planner, I want to understand how something works and to make sure I understand it. For most of us, life insurance is something that we need to seriously consider and understand at one time or another in our financial lives.