WEST DES MOINES, Iowa, Aug. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- North American Company for Life and Health Insurance®, a member of Sammons® Financial Group and one of America’s leading insurance companies, today announced a new Custom Guarantee® Universal Life (UL) insurance product with an added Premium Recovery Endorsement and new rates. These new features allow North American to help consumers secure guaranteed death-benefit protection1 that meets their needs. The new Custom Guarantee UL also includes enhanced dial-a-guarantee pricing (selecting a no-lapse guarantee period that is shorter than a guarantee to maturity) for guarantees to age 100 or less and is strong in level pay, single pay and 10-pay scenarios.
“In this era of low interest rates, a number of carriers are no longer offering a lifetime guaranteed universal life insurance product. People are living longer and need to be better prepared for the future,” says Jerry Blair, chief distribution officer of Sammons Financial Group’s Life Division. “Custom Guarantee Universal Life provides customers and their families with support when they need it most.”
Custom Guarantee UL is the latest product innovation from North American that builds upon their reliability and commitment to their customers, who want to protect and provide for their families after they are gone or in case of an emergency. Features of this guaranteed UL are:
- New Premium Recovery Endorsement: Custom Guarantee UL allows policyowners to receive some or all of the total premiums paid when fully surrendering the policy following the 15, 20 or 25-year policy anniversary.2
- Accelerated Death Benefit Endorsements: Policyowners may accelerate a portion of the policy’s death benefit which pays an unrestricted cash benefit if the insured is diagnosed with a qualifying critical, chronic, or terminal illness.3
- Guaranteed Exchange Privilege: This feature allows an exchange to an indexed universal life product at the same risk class with no underwriting and no surrender charge, subject to the terms of the policy.4
- Additional Compliance: Custom Guarantee UL is now compliant with Principal Based Reserves and 2017 CSO Mortality Tables.
This product is available with North American’s WriteAway® Accelerated Underwriting, which provides a faster and less invasive process for issuing a policy.
North American is continually rated A+ by agencies including A.M. Best, Fitch and S&P Global Ratings. To learn more about the new North American Custom Guarantee Universal Life product, you can find an agent near you.
About North American Company for Life and Health Insurance
North American Company for Life and Health Insurance® is a member of Sammons® Financial Group, Inc. Since 1886, North American has established a tradition of providing quality insurance products to consumers throughout the U.S. We offer a comprehensive portfolio of term, universal life, and indexed universal life insurance products. North American also offers a wide variety of traditional fixed and fixed index annuities and consistently ranks among the top fixed index annuity carriers in the U.S. (Source: Wink Sales & Market Report, 2018). For more information, please visit www.northamericancompany.com.
About Sammons Financial Group, Inc.
The member companies of Sammons® Financial Group, Inc. (SFG), are here to help families and businesses protect their future, so they can enjoy life’s moments today. A subsidiary of Sammons Enterprises, Inc., SFG is a group of privately-owned financial companies, including several of the most enduring and stable companies in our industry. SFG is comprised of three member companies: Midland National® Life Insurance Company, which includes Sammons® Corporate Markets; North American Company for Life and Health Insurance®; and Sammons Institutional GroupSM, which consists of Midland Retirement Distributors® and Sammons Retirement Solutions®, Inc. Together, SFG offers some of today’s most sought-after life insurance, annuity, and retirement planning products. Sammons Financial Group: With You for Every Moment®.
1. Subject to premium payment requirements.
2. The Premium Recovery Endorsement allows the owner to fully surrender the policy during the premium recovery period and recover all or a portion of the total premiums paid less any policy debt or withdrawals, including withdrawal charges and processing fees. The owner may recover up to 50% of paid premiums if exercised following the 15-year anniversary, and up to 100% of paid premiums if exercised following the 20 or 25-year anniversaries. The maximum amount that can be recovered is capped at 50% of the lowest specified amount of the policy. Please reference the policy for complete details.
3. Subject to eligibility requirements. An administration fee is required at time of election of an accelerated death benefit. The death benefit amount will be reduced by the accelerated death benefit amount. Since benefits are paid prior to death, a discount will be applied to the death benefit amount accelerated. As a result, the actual amount received will be less than the amount of death benefit amount accelerated.
4. Allows policy owner the right to exchange the policy, without evidence of insurability and surrender charges, to one of our indexed universal life policies available at the time of exchange. The cash surrender value on the new policy may not be greater than the cash surrender value on the policy being exchanged. Not available for policy ages 76 and above or if there is an outstanding policy loan.
A.M. Best is a large third-party independent reporting and rating company that rates an insurance company on the basis of the company’s financial strength, operating performance and ability to meet its obligations to policyholders. A+ is the second highest rating out of 15 categories and was affirmed for North American as part of Sammons Financial Group on August 7, 2019. For the latest rating, access www.ambest.com.
S&P Global Ratings awarded its “A+” (Strong) rating for insurer financial strength on February 26, 2009 and affirmed on August 14, 2019 to North American, as part of Sammons Financial Group. The “A+” (Strong) rating is the fifth highest out of 22 available ratings.
Fitch Ratings, a global leader in financial information services and credit ratings, on April 17, 2019, assigned an Insurer Financial Strength Rating of A+ Stable for North American. This rating is the fifth highest of 19 possible rating categories. The rating reflects the organization’s strong business profile, low financial leverage, very strong statutory capitalization and strong operating profitability supported by strong investment performance. For more information, read the Fitch Ratings Report.
THE ACCELERATED DEATH BENEFIT ENDORSEMENT FOR CRITICAL ILLNESS IS NOT HEALTH INSURANCE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO REPLACE HEALTH INSURANCE.
THE ACCELERATED DEATH BENEFIT FOR CHRONIC ILLNESS IS NOT LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO REPLACE LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE.
Agents offering, marketing, or selling accelerated death benefits for chronic illness in California must be able to describe the differences between benefits provided under an accelerated death benefit for chronic illness and benefits provided under long-term care insurance to clients. You must provide clients with the ADBE Consumer Brochure for California that includes this comparison. Comparison is for solicitation purposes only, not for conversions.
Custom Guarantee Universal Life Insurance (policy form series LS185), Premium Recovery Endorsement (form series LR511), Accelerated Death Benefit Endorsement for Critical, Chronic and Terminal Illness (form series LR508), Accelerated Death Benefit Endorsement for Chronic and Terminal Illness (form series LR507), Accelerated Death Benefit Endorsement for Terminal Illness (form series LR506), Accelerated Death Benefit Endorsement for Critical Illness (form LR498, CA only), Accelerated Death Benefit Endorsement for Chronic Illness (form LR492, CA only) and Accelerated Death Benefit Endorsement for Terminal Illness (form series LR488, CA only) are issued by North American Company for Life and Health, Administrative Office, One Sammons Plaza, Sioux Falls, SD 57193. Products, features, endorsements, riders or issue ages may not be available in all states and jurisdictions. Limitations or restrictions may apply.
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