Best Flexible Premium Adjustable Life Insurance Companies (2022)
Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina.
He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer…
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Jeffrey Johnson
Insurance Lawyer
Benjamin Carr was a licensed insurance agent in Georgia and has two years’ experience in life, health, property and casualty coverage. He has worked with State Farm and other risk management firms. He is also a strategic writer and editor with a background in branding, marketing, and quality assurance. He has been in military newsrooms — literally on the frontline of journalism.
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Benji Carr
Former Licensed Life Insurance Agent
UPDATED: Mar 1, 2022
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The Facts of Life
Adjustable life insurance, better known as permanent life insurance, can be adjusted to fit your needs throughout your lifetime.
Your premium payment amounts as well as the total death benefit that you earn can be adjusted throughout your policy length, giving you a high degree of flexibility.
Cash value can earn interest or be invested to grow along with a stock market index.
Adjustable life insurance is a form of permanent life insurance that remains in effect for as long as your lifespan is. As long as the premium is paid, policyholders are able to adjust their payments, cash value, and even their death benefit amount during the time that their policy is active.
So, what type of life insurance incorporates flexible premiums? Often referred to as universal life insurance, by having a flexible premium adjustable life insurance policy, this allows you the flexibility to change and tweak your policy to your benefit with no added cost to you.
And unlike term insurance, flexible premium life insurance has no term length, meaning your policy will continue to build up cash value as you age.
What companies have the best flexible premium adjustable life insurance?
When looking at which type of life insurance offers flexible premiums, you are going to want to look out for which companies offer the most variety when it comes to policy options. Since you are have the flexibility of premium life insurance, you will want to get the most out of your policy.
Thankfully, there are plenty of reputable insurance companies that offer just that.
State Farm
A.M. Best Rating: A++
S&P Rating: AA
State Farm is a staple among the insurance industry and has a leading spot in the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Life Insurance Study with 822 out of 1,000 points.
With its wide range of life insurance products that include adjustable life insurance, the overall flexibility of your coverage can be tailored exactly to your needs. State farm offers three different types: Universal Life Insurance, Survivorship Universal Life Insurance, and Joint Universal Life Insurance.
All three of these policies offer flexible premiums.
Policies are offered in lifetime coverage periods, with purchasing ability maxing out at 85 years of age. Coverage can start at $25,000, $100,000 or $250,000 depending on which policy you purchase, and tax-deferred cash value can be accessed during the policyholder’s lifetime, as long as the premiums are paid.
Other benefits include:
Premiums have a lifetime payment term period.Death benefits are paid in a lump sum.A waiver of monthly deduction for disability rider and level term rider is available.If a policy is cancel, the policyholder will be entitled to the cash value that has accrued.
Some of State Farm’s life insurance policies are available through an online application, while others are available only exclusively through licenced agents.
Northwestern Mutual
A.M. Best Rating: A++
S&P Rating: AA+
Northwestern Mutual is another contender for best insurer, earning third place in the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Life Insurance Study.
Northwestern Mutual offers a flexible premium adjustable life policy called Custom Universal Life (CUL) Accumulator Permanent Universal Life. Northwestern Mutual’s policies are offered in lifetime coverage periods that are with available coverage starting at $500,000. This coverage is available to those aged 18-85 years and is only available through Northwestern agents.
Other benefits include:
Features tax-deferred cash value that can be accessed during the policyholder’s lifetime.If the policy is canceled or surrendered, the policyholder is entitled to the cash value.A waiver of premium benefits is available for a policy rider.
A Northwestern Mutual financial advisor and agent can help you determine if the policy that you want to purchase and riders that you are considering are available in your state since not all policies are available in every state.
Mutual of Omaha
A.M. Best Rating: A+
S&P Rating: A+
Mutual of Omaha secured the fifth spot in the J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Life Insurance Study, offering the most flexibility in their policies compared the rest mentioned so far.
Mutual of Omaha has three available policies with coverage starting at $100,000. These policies are, Life Protection Advantage SM, Income Advantage SM, and AccumUL Answers.
The Life Protection Advantage and Income Advantage SM policies provide downside protection by guaranteeing policyholders will receive no less than 0% if the market dips below that and into the negative. AccumUL Answers policy accumulates cash value by declaring interest rates that are guaranteed to earn at least 2% interest annually.
Any cash value accrued can be used for loans and through riders for any specific need that might arise, and some policies can also be surrendered for a percentage of the cash value. Death benefits, like most policies, are paid in a lump-sum, but you are able to use the payment to purchase a single-premium immediate-use annuity.
Riders that are available:
Accelerated death benefit (terminal illness)Accelerated death benefit (chronic illness)Accidental death benefitAdditional insured (self)Additional insured (other)Children’s riderDisability continuation of planned premiumDisability waiver of policy chargesGuaranteed insurabilityGuaranteed refund optionLapseGuardLong-term careWaiver of surrender charges for partial withdrawals
Some policies may allow multiple riders, while some will only allow one.
Prudential
A.M. Best Rating: A+
S&P Rating: AA-
Prudential offers a few different types of life insurance policies that qualify as universal life insurance.
Here are the polices available:
PruLife Essential ULPruLife SUL Protector (Survivorship Universal Life)
Indexed Universal Life (IUL):
PruLife Founders Plus ULPruLife Index Advantage ULPruLife Survivorship Index UL
Variable Universal Life:
VUL ProtectorPruLife Custom Premier IIPruLife SVUL Protector
All are available with flexible premiums, with coverage starting at $25,000. Higher limits are considered, but only on a case-by-case basis. These policies are all available for policyholders up to age 90. Death benefits are paid in a lump-sum as is standard, but can also be released as installments, depending on the policyholder’s needs.
Riders are considered an additional add-on, but can be added to any of these policies:
Living needs benefit rider Accidental death benefitChildren’s level term riderEnhanced disability benefitEnhanced cash value rider,Overloan protectionEstate protection rider
Though Prudential offers quite a bit of policy types for flexible premiums, they unfortunately do not offer any discounts to bundle with their other products. Which may be a deciding factor since Prudential rates tend to run a bit high.
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How do I qualify for flexible premium life insurance?
You will have to pass a health questionnaire in order to qualify for universal life insurance, as is standard among the industry. Some companies will also require a medical exam to be done within the last 12 months of your policy date. If you are in poor health, this may affect your coverage levels when getting this type of policy.
Best Flexible Premium Adjustable Life Insurance Companies: Key Takeaways
There are plenty of things to like about each company listed, all of which have flexible premium adjustable life insurance policies available. If you are looking for an extensive amount of coverage options, then Prudential may be your best bet. Since they offer coverage for a variety of situations, they tend to be the company that is the safest to go with.
However, they are not the cheapest. So, if you are looking for a budget-friendly policy, then Mutual of Omaha will be your best bet.
