Tuesday, January 6, 2015

SENIORS: Is your expiring TERM life policy worthless…or…extremely valuable?


Find out!  It could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars of your net worth. 

Is this you?  Over 60 years old and have a term life insurance policy of $500,000+?

Are you wondering:
“After paying premiums for 10 – 20+ years, will I ever get anything out of the policy…or will it be worthless at the end of the term?”

Are you concerned because your policy:
  • Is set to expire, unused, in the next couple of months or years. 
  • Has zero “cash value” so can’t be traded in to your life insurance company.
  • Can’t be sold in the life settlement market—you’re not old or sick enough.
  • Can’t be converted into a long-term-care benefit plan—you don’t need immediate care.
Did you explore these traditional insurance options… and end up “underwhelmed”:

A full conversion of your term policy into a permanent policy:  Maybe the idea gives you heart burn because the new premium would be 4-5 times the old one. 
A partial conversion:  For example, you could cut the new premium in half by converting just half the term policy, but then of course you’d have only half the death benefit. 
A new term policy to replace the current one:  Maybe it’s as expensive as a conversion?

If you’re like most people, you’re thinking of just letting your current policy lapse.
That could be a big financial mistake.   

Check first to see if a TERM EXTENSION works for you.  If so…
  • You could end up rescuing $200-300,000+ of your net worth… per million dollars of your policy’s death benefit.
  • You would avoid walking away from very significant value that has been building as you age.   
  • You will see your policy as a FINANCIAL ASSET, not just something you “pay for in case you get hit by a bus.”  It may not have “cash value,” and you might not yet be able to sell it to a third party, but it’s far from worthless.
With Term Extension you use a portion of the future death benefit to subsidize today’s premiums.  Your beneficiaries’ share of the death benefit starts at 97% and declines slowly over time.

Term Extension advantages:
It transforms your policy into a highly valuable ASSET.
  • Your expected return is better than investing in financial markets.
  • It’s also safer: it relies on the regulated claims-paying ability of your insurance company.
  • The asset is valuable even if you no longer “need” traditional insurance coverage.
  • It can preserve $200-300,000+ of your net worth… per million dollars of death benefit.

It's cost-effective:  You pay about half the premium you would pay in a direct conversion with your life insurance company… yet you keep much more than half the death benefit for years to come—Term Extensions are for 10 years up to lifetime.

It’s flexible:
  • You can change your mind at any time, surrender the policy, and owe nothing.
  • If the policy qualifies, after 15 years you can surrender it and get your payments back.
  • You preserve your ability to sell the policy in the future, which clearly won’t be the case if you abandon the policy today. 
It’s safe:
  • Your carrier continues to provide your coverage, and yet...
  • Your payments are level and fixed, even if the carrier raises premiums over time.
  • National Advisors Trust Company safeguards your asset.
Bottom line:  Instead of being worthless as it approaches the end of its term, your policy may in fact be your single most valuable financial asset…hiding in plain sight.  Check before you let it lapse.

PolicyFlex’s analysis is free, yet the benefits could be highly significant to your family.


Term Extension is for policies of $500,000 up to $3,000,000 whose conversion option is still available.  


Georges Holzberger is Head of Marketing for PolicyFlex LLC, a firm focused on innovative insurance solutions for retiring baby boomers. Georges has over 30 years of experience in financial services, including marketing, investor relations, and executive recruiting for Wall Street firms and investment managers. He was formerly a founding partner and Head of Marketing / Investor Relations at Plainfield Asset Management from 2005 to 2010. Based in Greenwich CT, Plainfield grew to $5 billion in assets under management. Georges previously spent 20 years in the search industry with Russell Reynolds Associates, Highland Search Group, and Sextant Search Partners.

The PolicyFlex Term Extension℠ program is managed in partnership with National Advisors Trust Company. For more information, visit www.policyflex.com.