In this Assurity life insurance review, we will dive into the companyโs strengths, ratings, history and the different policies and features offered. Our goal at Insurance and Estates is to help our clients find the company that best suits your specific needs, goals and objectives. With that in mind, letโs find out if Assurity is the right company for you.
Review of Assurity Life Insurance Company
There are over 800 companies in the USA that offer life insurance and annuities. The sheer number of options can make finding the right company somewhat overwhelming. In an effort to help narrow down the field, we have created our list of the top 10 best whole life insurance companies, which includes Assurity.
About Assurity
Assurity is a marketing name for the mutual holding company Assurity Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, Assurity Life Insurance Company and Assurity Life Insurance Company of New York.
Assurity has been in operation since 1890. The company has $24.7 Billion in total assets.
Assurity is a mutual insurance company. As a mutual organization, the companyโs primary focus is on maximizing policyholder value, rather than stockholder value. Mutual insurance companies are owned by the policyholders, which share in the profits of the mutual organization through participating policies that receive annual dividend payments.
Assurity Life Insurance Company Ratings
Assurity Lifeโs A.M. Best rating is A-, โExcellentโ with a stable outlook.
In addition, Assurity Life Insurance Company is accredited with the BBB and maintains an A+ rating.
Assurity Group Products
Assurity Group offers products and services in five different areas:
Life Insurance
- Term Life Insurance
- Universal Life Insurance
- Whole Life Insurance
Annuities
Tax deferred investment such as Income Annuities and Lump Sum Annuities that help provide benefits in retirement.
Disability Income Insurance
Provides monthly payments to help replace lost income if you are completely disabled due to an illness or injury.
Critical Illnessn
Provides you with a lump sum payment if you are diagnosed with a qualifying critical illness.
Accidental Death
Provides a death benefit payout if death is due to an accident rather than natural causes.
Assurity Life Insurance Policies
Assurity Life Insurance Company offers both term life and permanent life insurance coverage, including both universal and whole life.
There are pros and cons to all types of life insurance. Which policy is best for you will depend on several factors. You can go to our article that discusses the difference between term life and whole life for more.
Benefits of Term Life Insurance
- Lower Initial Cost
- Income Protection
- Mortgage Protection
- Conversion Option
Benefits of Whole Life Insurance
- Business Succession Planning
- Buy Sell Agreements
- Key Man Insurance
- Estate Planning
- Infinite Banking
- Executive Bonus Plans
- Deferred Compensation Plans
- Retirement Planning
- Wealth Building
Assurity Life Insurance Policies
Assurity offers three different policies: term, universal and whole.
Term Life Insurance
Assurity offers term life insurance with a conversion option available for 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. The company offers its term life for ages 18-74. The policy includes an accelerated death benefit rider which will pay you a lump sum if you are diagnosed with a qualifying terminal illness.
LifeScape Universal Life Insurance
Assurityโs Universal Life is cash value life insurance that offers flexible permanent coverage and premium payments. Available for ages 18-85, the flexibility inherent in Universal Life is dependent on your cash value. Premium and interest are credited to your policy monthly. The policyโs interest rate is declared monthly and has a guaranteed interest rate of 3%.
Assurity Whole Life Insurance
Assurity offers participating whole life insurance under its LifeScape brand.
Whole Life Insurance Guarantees
Assurityโs LifeScape Whole Life offers permanent coverage, which includes specific guarantees, including:
- Guaranteed death benefit,
- Guaranteed cash accumulation and
- Guaranteed level premiums.
Whole life policies also accumulate cash value through annual dividends paid to participating policy owners. Although not guaranteed, Assurity has a strong history of paying dividends to its participating policyholders.
Dividends are valuable and can be used to:
- Buy paid up additional life insurance
- Pay premiums on the policy
- Earn interest with the company
- Cash out payment
Assurity paid $17.4 Million in dividends to participating policyholders in 2015.
Life Insurance Riders
Assurity permanent life policies come with different riders that add additional benefits to your coverage, including:
Accelerated Death Benefit Rider: you can receive an early portion of your death benefit if you are diagnosed with a qualifying terminal illness or permanent care in a nursing facility.
Value Enhancement Rider: The VER is a whole life insurance rider that allows you to add additional single or periodic premium payments to your policy to purchase paid up additions, increasing your death benefit and cash value.
Protected Insurability Benefit Rider: this rider is excellent if you are young or if you are considering life insurance for your children. It provides you the option of adding additional life insurance with no evidence of insurability required.
Monthly Disability Income or Accident Only Disability Income Rider: provides a monthly benefit from $300 to $3000 if you become permanently disabled prior to age 65. The benefit period lasts 2 years.
Critical Illness Benefit Rider: covering qualifying critical illnesses such as heart attack, stroke and cancer, this optional rider will pay you a lump sum of $20,000 up to $150,000 if you are diagnosed with a qualifying major illness. Benefits do not decrease the death benefit.
Additional Benefits of Cash Value Life Insurance
Tax free life insurance policy loans
You can use your cash value as collateral and take out a life insurance loan from the carrierโs general fund income tax free.
Tax Free Withdrawals
Unlike 401K withdrawals that come with a bunch of fees, penalties and exclusions, cash value in permanent life insurance can be withdrawn up to your basis in the policy tax free.
Tax deferred cash value growth
Taxes on cash value life insurance under IRC 7702 are deferred. And if you practice proper policy management, you may never need to pay taxes on the cash value growth.
Tax free death benefit
Your policyโs beneficiary receives the death benefit income tax free. Death benefit proceeds may be subject to estate tax or your state’s inheritance tax. If you have a large estate or you own a business, proper asset protection planning is prudent.
Assurity Life Insurance Review Conclusion
Assurity has been around for quite some time and offers some great products. All in all, you canโt go wrong if you choose Assurity as you life insurance provider. However, with so many options available, you will want to compare Assurity to the competition to make sure you are getting the best policy for your specific need.
Interested in Assurity? We are contracted with Assurity as well as many other top cash value companies in the marketplace. Give us a call today for a free consultation and illustration with an advanced markets professional.
