The Renaissance of Whole Life

They say everything old is new again.   Such seems to be the case with Whole Life insurance. When I first started in the business in the mid 80's, product selection was pretty cut and dry. The predominance of sales were either Term or Whole Life.   I sold tons of Whole Life policies and it was my product of choice. It was the most versatile, but is was expensive compared to alternatives. It was pricey, but with that price came a lot of benefits. It was always a great cash accumulator and had so many choices, Life Paid up at 100, Life Paid up at 65, 10 Year Limited Pay, 20 Year Limited Pay, etc.

Then, Universal Life entered the marketplace, Variable Universal Life became a player as well. Later on, we moved to Guaranteed Universal Life contracts and with that an explosion of sales in that market. With all the goings on with AG-38, GUL has definitely seen its share of volatility with product repricing and quick exits from the marketplace. GUL is still around and grabbing market share, but the options to purchase these products are shrinking and the changes are not over yet.

With that, Whole Life is having a bit of a Renaissance. It is still the most versatile, time tested product around and the Insurance Carriers are letting us know it. Whole Life allows you to do so much and with The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), we have a shift to Income Tax Planning. What better product to use than Whole Life. With Whole Life, we can take advantage of all of its benefits;

Many carriers have re-introduced Whole Life into the marketplace.   Some are now offering those Limited Pay options such as 10/20 Pays and Paid up at Age 65. These products provide us with a finite number of years that premiums are due. This takes stress off the products by enhancing the use of policy dividends. When the policies become "paid-up" in their respective years, the product is only in an accumulation phase and not applying dividends to pay premiums. This gives the values a boost and maximizes performance that can be used for income streams.

If you're not using Whole Life in your practice, you should.   It remains one of the most versatile products out there.   They say everything old is new again and with Whole Life, its seems to be new again. That makes me feel good since I am older now, so there's hope for me as well.

Happy Selling!