Transamerica Trendsetter LB Review
When people think of term life insurance, they almost never think of it as a product that can provide benefits while they are still living. The fact is that most traditional term policies don’t provide many living benefits. But what if there was affordable term product that provided cash to help you pay for chronic and critical illnesses? Well look no further. Transamerica’s Trendsetter LB (Living Benefits) term life insurance product offers the affordability of a traditional term policy with access to living benefits to help you deal with any of life’s unpredictable events.
Basic Policy Features
Trendsetter LB is just like many other term policies in that you can choose from a 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 year level benefit period. The face amounts range from a minimum of $25,000 to a maximum of $999,999 in coverage. Transamerica does offer a non-medical underwriting option to applicants up to age 60 for coverage up to $249,999. Non-medical policies are only available at a standard rating.
Conversion – The Trendsetter LB policy can be converted to a permanent policy up to the earlier of the end of the initial level premium period or the insured’s 70th birthday (75th for Preferred Plus class).
Living Benefits
The key to the Trendsetter LB policy is the living benefits it provides. Benefits for chronic, critical, terminal illnesses are available if you qualify. Here’s how each benefit works.
Chronic Illness Accelerated Death Benefits – Allows the policyholder to accelerate up to 24% of the death benefit each year when he or she is unable to perform 2 of the 6 activities of daily living (bathing, continence, eating, dressing, toileting and transferring) for a period of 90days, or to be suffering from severe cognitive impairment for a period of 90 days or more. The policyholder can accelerate up to the lesser of 90% of the face value of the policy or $500,000.
Critical Illness Accelerated Death Benefits – Allows the policyholder to accelerate his or her death benefit when determined by a physician to have suffered a critical health condition such as cancer, heart attack, stroke, a major organ transplant, end stage renal failure, ALS, blindness or paralysis due to the loss of two or more limbs. The policyholder can accelerate up to the lesser of 90% of the face value of the policy or $500,000.
Terminal Illness Accelerated Death Benefit – Allows the policyholder to accelerate his or her death benefit when determined by a physician to have less than 12 months to live. The policyholder can accelerate up to the lesser of 100% of the face value of the policy or $500,000.
What Happens When You Receive Benefits? – It is very important to note that although you can accelerate up to 90% of the death benefit for chronic and critical illness, there are several factors that will determine the actual amount you will receive. The amount received will be based on how much you choose to accelerate, your life expectancy as determined by Transamerica, the accelerated benefit interest rate in effect and any administrative fees. For example, if you have a policy with a $200,000 face amount, you can request up to 90% or $180,000 of the face amount to be accelerated if you qualify for the chronic or critical illness benefits. The portion of the $180,000 you will receive will be based on all of the factors just mentioned. If your condition is less severe and your life expectancy is expected to be longer, you will most likely receive less than $180,000 but it will be as if you accelerated the full $180,000 benefit. You will still have a $20,000 death benefit for your family. If you have a more severe condition and your life expectancy is shorter, you will qualify for a larger amount of the $180,000 or maybe even the full amount. You can accelerate all or a portion of your death benefit.
The good news is that you can find out exactly how much your payout will be before your claim is exercised. This will allow you to decide if taking the benefits will be worth it for your particular situation since you might not get the full amount requested.
Cost Compared to Policies without Living Benefits – The Trendsetter LB product can be slightly more expensive than other traditional policies that don’t provide chronic or critical illness benefits. Most traditional term policies will include some sort of terminal illness rider. When compared to traditional level term policies for some of the least expensive products available that do not offer living benefits, the Trendsetter LB costs roughly 15-30% more depending on the term length of coverage. This is reasonable when you consider the added benefits provided by the Trendsetter product.
Available Riders – The following riders can be added to the base policy. These are simply basic descriptions of the riders and do not discuss, in detail, the terms and conditions of each.
Waiver of Premium – Waives premium if you become completely disabled.
Children’s Insurance Rider – Provides life insurance coverage on policyholder’s children.
Accidental Indemnity Rider – Pays a multiple of death benefit if death is accidental.
Monthly Disability Income Rider – Provides monthly income benefit for up to 2 years in the event of total disability.
Conclusion – Transamerica’s Trendsetter LB product provides valuable living benefits that you wouldn’t normally receive in a term policy for a reasonable cost. It should be noted that the chronic, critical and terminal illness riders are not available in every state so check with your agent for availability. If you are looking for a term policy that can provide valuable living benefits, the Trendsetter LB product might be a good fit for you. If you are interested in learning more about Transamerica’s Trendsetter LB product, feel free to call or email us. We have access to over 40 insurance companies and will use all of our resources to get you the best coverage option available. Please feel free to give us a call at (888) 687-9444 or email us at info@archstoneagency.com if you have any questions.
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. You can also visit our website at www.archstoneinsurance.com.
