Will Your Life Insurance Cover You For Life?

by Bill Hurlbut

Recently I had a gentleman contact that had found me through a Google search. He had a life insurance policy with a company that I represent and he was looking for a local agent to assist him. He had a life insurance policy he had purchased about 15 years ago and the agent was no longer around. 

His concern was that when he had purchased the policy he was under the impression that the policy would provide coverage for his entire lifetime at a fixed premium of $120 a month was was being drafted from his checking account each month. The problem though was that each month he was getting a notice from the insurance company that if he wanted to continue the coverage, he would have to make an additional payment. 

The policy that he had purchase, which he thought was a Whole Life Insurance Policy that guarantees the death benefit and the lifetime premium was actually a type of polciy called a Universal Life Insurance Policy. If structured properly, the policy that he has could provide coverage on a lifetime basis. However, between it not being structured properly and not reviewing it regularly with an agent, he will now have to pay $1,063 a month to be guaranteed that the policy will be there for his entire life. At his age 76, being on a fixed income in retirement, he is unable to afford this and to make matters worse, he is uninsurable. I am hoping that I can at least adjust the current plan to a lower death benefit at a more acceptable premium to at least be able to help him have some coverage. 

While this is just a brief explanation of a complex situation, this happens all to often. Don't let it happen to you. Be sure to review your plan on a regular basis to make sure you have exactly the coverage you want for the period of time you need it. Most people I meet, need to have a least some amount of insurance for their entire life. Don't let you life insurance die before you do.

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