Understand life insurance living benefits, qualifying events, benefit reductions, charges, taxes and questions to ask before making a claim.
Key point: An accelerated death benefit lets an eligible policy owner receive part of the life insurance death benefit while the insured person is alive. The payment can reduce what beneficiaries receive and may affect policy values, premiums, taxes or public benefits, so request the insurer's written calculation before electing it.
Read accelerated death benefits and living benefitsReview cash surrender value, taxes, loans, replacement risk and alternatives before canceling a permanent life insurance policy.
Key point: Cash surrender value is the amount available when a cash-value policy is ended, after contract charges and policy debt. Before canceling, request a current in-force illustration, a written surrender quote and the effect on taxes and future coverage.
Read cash surrender value and canceling life insuranceEvaluate waiver, accelerated benefit, child, accidental death and guaranteed-insurability riders by trigger, cost and overlap.
Key point: A rider changes a specific contract rule. Judge it by the covered trigger, exclusions, added premium and interaction with the base death benefit, not by the rider's marketing name.
Read life insurance ridersUse a term conversion option before its deadline and compare the permanent policy, premium and partial-conversion choices.
Key point: A conversion option can preserve access to permanent coverage without new medical evidence, but only within contract deadlines and available products. It does not guarantee an inexpensive premium.
Read term life insurance conversionCompare old and new life insurance contracts, surrender costs, contestability, underwriting and guarantees before replacing coverage.
Key point: A lower illustrated premium or higher projected value does not prove a replacement is better. Compare guarantees, new acquisition costs, surrender effects and the risk of starting a new contract.
Read replacing a life insurance policyUnderstand grace periods, reinstatement, reduced benefits and policy-loan risks when life insurance premiums or values fall short.
Key point: A lapse ends the intended death-benefit protection. Act during the grace period when possible, ask for written reinstatement terms, and check tax effects before letting a cash-value policy with loans terminate.
Read what happens if life insurance lapses?Measure interest, death-benefit reductions, lapse risk and possible taxes before borrowing from life insurance cash value.
Key point: A policy loan is not free access to cash. Interest accrues, policy values and death benefits can fall, and a later lapse or surrender can create a tax bill.
Read life insurance policy loansFollow the insurer's process for changing primary or contingent beneficiaries and confirm the accepted record.
Key point: A beneficiary change is complete only when the insurer accepts it under the policy and applicable rules.
Read how to change a life insurance beneficiaryReview control, consent, tax and beneficiary consequences before transferring ownership of a life insurance policy.
Key point: An ownership transfer changes who controls beneficiaries, loans, assignments and cancellation, and it can create tax or estate consequences.
Read how to change life insurance ownershipUnderstand how automatic premium loans can prevent a missed payment while increasing debt and lapse risk.
Key point: An automatic premium loan can use available cash value to cover a premium when elected and permitted, but the amount becomes policy debt with interest.
Read automatic premium loans in life insuranceCompare cash, premium reduction, accumulation and paid-up additions without treating dividends as guaranteed.
Key point: Participating policy dividends are not guaranteed, and each election changes access, death benefit or future policy values differently.
Read life insurance dividend optionsLearn how paid-up additions use dividends or extra premium to purchase small blocks of permanent coverage.
Key point: Paid-up additions can increase death benefit and cash value, but their funding source, availability and limits are contract-specific.
Read paid-up additions in life insuranceUnderstand the nonforfeiture option that can exchange cash value for a smaller paid-up death benefit.
Key point: Reduced paid-up insurance can stop scheduled premiums by using existing value to purchase a lower permanent benefit.
Read reduced paid-up life insuranceReview how cash value may buy temporary term coverage when a permanent policy stops receiving premiums.
Key point: Extended term generally uses net cash value to continue the original or adjusted death benefit for a limited period.
Read extended term life insurance optionCheck basis, surrender charges, death-benefit reductions and lapse risk before withdrawing policy value.
Key point: A partial withdrawal removes policy value and can reduce the death benefit, while tax treatment depends on the contract and modified endowment status.
Read life insurance partial withdrawalsUse an in-force illustration to review current guarantees, assumptions, loans and funding needs in an existing policy.
Key point: An in-force illustration updates projected policy performance using current values and assumptions; it does not turn non-guaranteed columns into promises.
Read life insurance in-force illustrationsUnderstand surrender periods, net cash value and alternatives before canceling or replacing a cash-value policy.
Key point: A surrender charge reduces the amount available when a policy is canceled or certain value is withdrawn during the charge period.
Read life insurance surrender charges
