Product Review: American General Secure Lifetime GUL II
If you are looking for lifetime coverage at an affordable price, American General’s Secure Lifetime GUL II might be the right fit for you. The Secure Lifetime GUL II offers some unique features that set it apart from the competition. The product is also one of the least expensive guaranteed universal life options available on the market. It is truly a comprehensive product that can be designed to offer protection if you die to soon, live too long or get sick along the way. Here is our review of American General’s Secure Lifetime GUL II.
How Does the Secure Lifetime GUL II Work?
The Secure Lifetime GUL II allows you to customize your policy to match your needs. You can choose a guaranteed death benefit amount, age to which the death benefit is guaranteed and premium payment period (i.e. 15 years, 20 years, to age 100 etc.). You can also add valuable riders to help pay for expenses if you develop a chronic illness or protect you if you out live your retirement funds.
The Secure Lifetime GUL II Features
The Secure Lifetime GUL II offers flexibility that most other guaranteed universal life (GUL) policies lack. Here are some features offered by the Secure Lifetime GUL II that set it apart from the competition.
Return of Premium – At no additional cost, you can surrender your policy within a 60 day period at the end of policy year 20 and receive 50% of your premiums back. This is a free option that almost all other companies do not offer.
Guaranteed Access – Unlike most other GUL products, the Secure Lifetime GUL II offers guaranteed cash value accumulation that can be accessed without affecting the guarantees. The company simply proportionately adjusts the death benefit and other guarantees in the policy. It is a unique way to handle withdrawals and allows you to easily manage the policy if you decide to access any of your cash value.
American General Asset Protector
The American General Asset Protector is a product suite that includes two important riders that can be added to the Secure Lifetime GUL II: the Accelerated Access Solution Rider and the Lifestyle Income Solution Rider.
Accelerated Access Solution Rider
The accelerated Access Solution rider can provide a financial safety net against an unexpected chronic illness that requires ongoing care. The rider allows you to accelerate your death benefit to provide care if you develop a chronic illness. The rider can be purchased as a stand-alone rider or packaged with the Lifestyle Income Solution Rider. Here’s how it works.
Activating the Rider – To be able to activate the rider, one of the following health criteria must be met:
- You are unable to perform 2 out of the 6 Activities of Daily Living (ADL) (bathing, continence, dressing, Eating, Toileting and transferring) without substantial assistance from another person.
- You must suffer from severe cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer’s and other forms of irreversible dementia that is measured by medical testing.
Access Solution Benefits
Multiple Payment Options – Once you qualify, you can accelerate up to 2%, 4% or the IRS maximum per diem amount per month at the time the claim begins. For instance, if you have a $250,000 policy you could elect $5,000 (2% of $250,000), $10,000 (4% of $250,000) or $9,900 (IRS maximum monthly per diem 2015) per month as payments for your care.
Waiver of Monthly Deductions – Premiums will not be due on the policy as long as you meet the chronic illness requirement.
No Receipts Required – Benefits are paid irrespective of actual costs incurred. You control how the money is spent.
Not a “use it or lose it” Policy – If you never use the rider, benefits will still be paid to beneficiaries at death as a death benefit.
There is a 90 day elimination period before payments can start and the death benefit on the policy will be reduced by benefits paid under the rider.
Lifestyle Income Solution
The Lifestyle Income Solution can help protect against outliving your retirement income. The rider allows you to accelerate you death benefit at age 85 if needed later in retirement. You can accelerate up to 10% of your death benefit to supplement your income starting at age 85. For instance, if you purchase a Secure Lifetime GUL II policy with a $500,000 death benefit, you could elect to receive $50,000 per year for 10 years. If you pass away 5 years into receiving your income, you beneficiaries would still receive a $250,000 death benefit. This option could protect you from a retirement income shortfall. The policy must be in effect for 15 years before you are able to receive income.
State Availability of Riders – These riders are not available in every state. If you want to know if these riders are available in your state, feel free to give us a call at 888-687-9444.
How Much Does American General’s Secure Lifetime GUL II Cost?
As mentioned previously, the Secure Lifetime GUL II is one of the most reasonably priced GULs on the market even when the Accelerated Access Solution Rider and Lifestyle Income Solution are added. Here are some samples rates for men and women applicants at various ages. The annual rates are for male and female nonsmoker applicants who qualify for ‘Preferred’ health class rating with coverage guaranteed to age 100. Premiums are required until age 85. Rates as of 6/29/2015.
| Male | $100,000 | $250,000 | $500,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age 45 | $1,056 | $2,343 | $4,373 |
| Age 50 | $1,287 | $3,323 | $6,395 |
| Age 55 | $1,716 | $4,008 | $7,653 |
| Age 60 | $2,352 | $5,492 | $10,622 |
| Female | $100,000 | $250,000 | $500,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age 45 | $926 | $2,073 | $3,837 |
| Age 50 | $1,213 | $2,746 | $5,139 |
| Age 55 | $1,624 | $3,755 | $7,120 |
| Age 60 | $2,238 | $5,292 | $10,134 |
Potential Drawbacks to the Secure Lifetime GUL II
One major drawback to the Secure Lifetime GUL II is that if you choose to add the Accelerated Access Solution Rider and the Lifestyle Income solution rider, you can only get the death benefit guarantee to age 100. With more people expected to live past the age of 100, coverage for that period might not be enough. If you only add the Accelerated Access Solution Rider, you can get guaranteed coverage to age 121. The other issue is that any applicant whose health class rating is ‘Table D’ or worse will be declined for the Accelerated Access Solution Rider.
Is American General a Good Company?
American General has been in business for over 160 years. The company offers life, accident & health and annuity insurance products. They have an A rating or better from all of the major ratings agencies which measure the financial strength and credit rating of financial institutions. They have over 13 million customers across all of their lines and all of their affiliated companies have collectively paid out over $38 billion in claims and benefits to their clients in the last 5 years. They are 6 time winners of the Achievement in Customer Excellence (ACE) award from MarketTools, Inc., which recognizes outstanding achievement in customer excellence. If you have a policy with American General, you should feel comfortable that it will be able to pay its obligations.
Is the Secure Lifetime GUL II Worth It?
If you are looking for affordable lifetime coverage with the potential added benefit of coverage if you develop a chronic illness or protection if you outlive your retirement income, the Secure Lifetime GUL II could be the right fit for you. It offers several important features that you simply won’t find with other GUL products. A small policy could be an excellent choice to cover final expenses with the option for early access if you develop a chronic illness or if you outlive your retirement income. If you are interested in learning more about the Secure Lifetime GUL II, feel free to give us a call at 888-687-9444 or email us at info@archstoneagency.com.
About Us
Archstone Insurance Services, LLC is an independent agency that shops over 40 of the top life insurance carriers to provide huge savings on life insurance coverage for our clients. We are happy to answer any questions you might have about any of the insurance products we offer, your planning needs or your existing coverage. Feel free to call us directly at (888) 687-9444 or email us at info@archstoneagency.com.
