Readily provided by various some of our best life insurance providers, it can be ideal if you want lifelong coverage and a cash value component but don’t want to commit to set terms. Read on to learn more about how universal life insurance works, its benefits, and when it might be a good fit for you.
Understanding Universal Life Insurance
Universal life (UL) insurance is a type of permanent life insurance that offers flexible premiums and adjustable death benefits. It's similar to whole life insurance in providing lifelong coverage and a cash value component. The difference is that universal life insurance doesn't pin you down with a fixed premium or a set death benefit. Instead, it allows you to adjust these aspects as your needs or preferences change.
For example, if you decide 20 years into the policy that you want to leave more money behind to your children, you can contact your insurer and request to increase your death benefit.
How Does Universal Life Insurance Work?
Managing universal life insurance is a balancing act of sorts. You have the freedom to adjust different parts of the policy according to your needs but have to stay within certain limits. Here’s how it works.
Premiums
Universal life insurance policies generally come with a target monthly premium that’s designed to keep your policy active and your cash value increasing throughout your life. However, once your cash value reaches a certain point, you can tweak your premium payment amount within certain limits.
For example, if you get laid off and need to cut your expenses, you might lower your $250 life insurance premium to $150 while you’re busy job hunting. Then, once you get hired, you could bump it up to $350 until you get back on track. This flexibility is also handy to stay insured while freelancing, though you've got to keep an eye on your cash value—it needs to stay positive, or your policy risks lapsing.
“UL policies can be customized to fit a budget when long-term or even permanent death benefit is the main goal of the coverage. The cost (premium) can be flexible and potentially less than other permanent options,” says Gretta Zuz, financial specialist at the Center for Wealth Preservation, a MassMutual firm.
Cash Value Component
When you pay your universal life premium each month, your insurer will typically deduct a fee and deposit the remaining amount into your cash value account. From there, they will deduct the cost of your life insurance coverage and any applicable fees from your cash value balance. What remains will grow tax-deferred according to a variable interest rate. Don’t worry about the risks though; insurers guarantee a minimum rate of return to keep things steady.
Now, why should you care about building up this cash value? Well, after your policy has been active for a preset period, you can borrow against the cash value or make withdrawals. Think of it as a financial safety net that you can dip into if needed. And if you decide to call it quits on your policy, you can surrender it and cash out, although you might face a surrender fee.
Death Benefit
Universal life policies typically either offer a level death benefit or a combination of the level death benefit plus the policy’s accumulated cash value. Either way, you’re not necessarily stuck with the amount you choose at the outset. You can request unscheduled changes from your insurer throughout your life as your needs change.
If your insurer agrees to adjust your death benefit, the new amount will go to your beneficiary when you pass away. Just keep in mind, any changes might impact your premium limits and may not go into effect until your policy renewal date.
Key Features of Universal Life Insurance
The main features of universal life insurance include:
Permanent coverage: As long as you keep up with the minimum premium payments, this coverage sticks with you for life.
Cash value component: The policy has an interest-yielding cash value account you can eventually withdraw from and borrow against.
Adjustable premiums: You have the flexibility to change or even skip premium payments, though there are some limits.
Adjustable death benefit: You can request to adjust the death benefit throughout your life.
Tax-deferred cash value growth: You won’t owe taxes on the cash value growth until you decide to make withdrawals.
No-lapse guarantee: Many policies have no-lapse guarantees that keep policies in force as long as policyholders meet certain requirements, such as paying the minimum premiums.
Guaranteed minimum interest rate: Although the interest rates on the cash value account are variable, the account will always earn at least the guaranteed minimum interest rate.
What Are the Benefits of Universal Life Insurance?
Now that you’re familiar with the workings of universal life insurance, let’s dive into the main benefits it offers:
Death benefit: Unlike term insurance, universal life coverage doesn’t expire after a set number of years. Keep your coverage active, and your beneficiary will receive the death benefit when you pass away.
Financial safety net: If you build up the cash value component, you’ll have access to a lump sum of cash during your lifetime for emergencies and other expenses.
Financial flexibility: The adjustable premiums allow you to increase or decrease your monthly insurance cost, which can be helpful if you experience income fluctuations throughout your life.
Tailored coverage: You can make changes to your death benefit if you decide you want more or less protection.
Steady growth: The guaranteed minimum interest rate ensures your funds will continue to grow, even in poor market conditions.
What Are the Drawbacks of Universal Life Insurance?
Universal life insurance also has a few potential drawbacks. Here’s what you should consider:
Complexity: These policies are typically more complex than other policy types, such as term or whole life, making them difficult to understand.
Maintenance: You might need to keep tabs on your policy since universal life insurance requires periodic reviews to monitor the product’s performance. It’s not a 'set it and forget it' type of policy.
Cost Increases: Insurers can increase mortality and expense charges as you get older.
More expensive than term: Universal coverage is often more expensive than term policies.
Risk of the policy lapsing: If you don’t pay sufficient premiums or your cash value doesn’t grow as expected, your policy could lapse, causing you to lose coverage.
Less predictable: Adjustable nature of the premiums and the variable interest rates make it more difficult to predict your costs and earnings.
Who Should Consider Universal Life Insurance?
Universal life insurance is worth considering if you're looking for permanent coverage that guarantees a death benefit for your beneficiaries, regardless of when you pass away. It's particularly useful if you're planning to cover your end-of-life expenses and want to pass on wealth to your family without hefty taxes.
It’s also worth considering if you prefer a more hands-on approach to your financial accounts and products. Universal life comes with a target premium rate but you can override it and decide what’s best for your situation. It can be a good fit if you prefer flexibility over predictability and appreciate the option to make adjustments as your life changes.
Additionally, the universal life insurance route may be helpful if you want to build a sizeable financial safety net or strategic financial resource. The cash value component can grow over time, creating a resource you can tap into for emergency expenses, premium payments, or even to supplement your retirement income.
How Does Universal Life Insurance Compare to Other Life Insurance Policies?
While universal life insurance offers considerable flexibility and sits mid-range in terms of pricing, term life and whole life insurance might be better fits for certain situations.
Universal Life vs. Term Life
Term life insurance provides coverage for a set amount of time, often 10 to 30 years. If you pass away during the term, your chosen beneficiary receives the death benefit. If you don’t, the policy lapses without a payout—though you may have options to renew or switch to a permanent policy.
Additionally, when compared to universal life insurance, term life is much simpler. It has fixed premiums and benefits and doesn’t come with a cash value component. It also tends to be cheaper than permanent life insurance because there’s no guaranteed payout. Term life can be a good fit if you’re on a tight budget, comfortable without a cash value component, and only need coverage for a specific period.
Universal Life vs. Whole Life
Like universal life, whole life is a permanent life insurance policy with a cash value component. However, the similarities pretty much end there. Whole life is a much simpler policy that comes with fixed premiums, a guaranteed fixed interest rate, and a set death benefit. It can be a good fit for people who prefer predictability and a low-maintenance, hands-off policy. However, it does tend to cost more.
| Whole | Term | Universal | |
|---|---|---|---|
Premiums | Fixed | Fixed | Adjustable |
Death Benefit | Fixed | Fixed | Adjustable |
Coverage Period | Lifetime | Limited term, often 10-30 years | Lifetime |
Cash Value | Yes | No | Yes |
Cash Value Growth | Guaranteed fixed rate | No | Variable with a guaranteed minimum interest rate |
Policy Loans | Yes | No | Yes |
Premium Cost | Highest but fixed | Lowest but increases with age | Middle and can increase with age |
Bottom Line
Universal life insurance offers flexible, permanent coverage that can evolve with you as you go through different life stages. The adjustable premiums and death benefits give you more control than whole or term life policies, while the cash value component provides a financial safety net for emergencies and other needs.
Still, it may not be the best fit if you prefer a simple policy you can set and forget. The flexibility of universal life policies requires an ongoing awareness of where your policy stands—especially if you're making withdrawals or reduced premium payments.
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