by jbus78253 » Fri Nov 20, 2009 11:37 am
On a $100,000 whole life thay have raised my payment from $130 to $260 in two years .I am 58 years old and have been paying on this around 20 years or more with no increase till last year .can they just raise this any time they want
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 12:33 pm Post Subject:
Yep. Whole life ins is a waste of money and takes advantage of you IMO. You ae better off going with term.
Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 09:51 pm Post Subject:
You do not have Whole Life insurance if your premiums are going up. You could have Universal Life insurance. You could also potentially have modified whole life insurance which would cause a one time leap in the price of your premiums.
As far as Trench's "suggestion" goes, ask him what happens with level term insurance once the level period is over. While you are at it, see if he'd be so kind as to provide you with a YRT quote and take a look at the planned premium 10 years from now.
Who is taking advantage of whom here?
Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 12:22 am Post Subject:
Trench, it's more useful to not answer questions than to give wrong information.
Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 09:06 pm Post Subject:
BNTRS said:
You do not have Whole Life insurance if your premiums are going up. You could have Universal Life insurance. You could also potentially have modified whole life insurance which would cause a one time leap in the price of your premiums.
More than likely UL. Modified whole life normally only has one increase to the premium and it doesn't typically occur after the policy's been in force for 20 years. Most modified w.l. that I've seen changes the premium after 3, 5 or 7 years.
More than likely a Universal Life policy that needs more premium $$ to stay in force.
InsTeacher 8)
Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 05:36 pm Post Subject:
While this is most likely a Modified WL policy, everyone is overlooking another obvious possibility.
This could be a graded-premium whole life policy which will have a series of premium step-ups in the early years of the contract. Usually happens every year for the first 5-7, but who's to say that some insurer hasn't written one for older persons with a lowball initial premium that has to be overcome with ridiculous increases every other year or two in its later years.
I have a copy of a Modified Variable Life policy written on a 26-year-old where the modifying age was 65! The premium would have increased from about $50/month to about $250/month at that time. And would probably have led to a cancellation just a few years before the insured's death had we not replaced his coverage.
As for Trench's recommendation for term insurance, obviously no one can make that as a blanket prescription without knowing more about the insured's situation. Term is best used with younger persons, but that's not to say that it wouldn't work in "jbus78253's" situation.
Yes, of course, in any discussion of term insurance, an agent must discuss the renewal premiums. It's about the only disadvantage that exists in a term policy. But in the instance that started this thread, it appears that the agent didn't do an adequate job of explaining the possibility or absoluteness of premium increases in the product either.
The caveat emptor? You have to read the contract during the free look period and decide whether you understand what it says or not. If you can't understand it, and the agent can't explain it, you should send it back for the full refund to which you are entitled.
Add your comment