WEST DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WEST DES MOINES, IA, Feb. 21, 2020 – North American Company for Life and Health Insurance®, a member of Sammons Financial℠ and one of America’s preeminent life insurance and annuities companies, is introducing a new Indexed Universal Life (IUL) insurance product. Smart Builder IUL is innovative in that it tackles a challenging consumer concern: how to quickly build cash value for liquidity while making sure money is in place for beneficiaries.
By design, Smart Builder IUL quickly builds the policy’s cash value as it does not have either a premium load charge or a surrender charge (if the Waiver of Surrender Charge Option Rider is selected1) - both common in traditional insurance policies. Without these charges, the premium a client pays goes immediately to building the policy’s cash value. This can be important to a policyowner’s overall strategic financial plan if in addition to the death benefit protection they seek liquidity coupled with an ability to grow cash value in the long-term. The surrender charge can be waived only if elected at time of application.
“The new Smart Builder IUL is designed to fill a void that could potentially exist in many clients’ financial strategy,” said Jerry Blair, chief distribution officer of North American Company. “Smart Builder combines the death protection that everyone who purchases life insurance needs with the flexibility they want.”
One of the key benefits of any IUL policy is tax-deferred cash accumulation – the cash value – that can be an extra source of emergency funds during retirement.
“Today’s high cost of medical care requires you to be prepared. Smart Builder includes accelerated death benefit endorsements2 for critical, chronic and terminal illness for no additional premium,” said Blair. “This can provide access to cash from the policy’s death benefit while the insured is living and if diagnosed with a qualifying illness.”
The ability to make funds available for an immediate need is a key distinction in the Smart Builder IUL.
“If you look at your overall financial plan as a puzzle – with each piece fitting securely into other parts of your plan – then Smart Builder may be an option,” said Blair. “Building cash value quickly meets a very real consumer need – liquidity for those ‘just-in-case’ scenarios in retirement.”
About North American Company for Life and Health Insurance
North American Company for Life and Health Insurance® is a member of Sammons Financial℠. 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, click here.
About Sammons Financial
The companies of Sammons Financial℠ are here to help families and businesses protect their future, so they can enjoy life’s moments today. A subsidiary of Sammons Enterprises, Inc., Sammons Financial is a group of privately-owned financial companies, including several of the most enduring and stable companies in our industry, and 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 DistributorsSM and Sammons Retirement Solutions®. Together, the companies offer some of today’s most sought-after life insurance, annuity, and retirement planning products. Sammons Financial: With You for Every Moment®.
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.
1 Not available in California. Available for an additional charge of $1,000 per month, depending on issue age and underwriting class. Surrender charges will be waived upon a full surrender or partial surrender. Surrender charges will not be waived if the policy is surrendered under a 1035 Exchange (except in Florida). A decrease charge will be assessed if a reduction in the policy face amount is requested during the Waiver of Surrender Charge Period. However, if a partial withdrawal results in a reduction of the face amount, the withdrawal charge is waived.
2 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.
Indexed Universal Life products are not an investment in the “market” or in the applicable index and are subject to all policy fees and charges normally associated with most universal life insurance.
Smart Builder IUL is issued on policy form series LS178 and the Waiver of Surrender Charge Option Rider is issued on form series LR479 or state variation, including all applicable endorsements and riders, by North American Company for Life and Health, Administrative Office, One Sammons Plaza, Sioux Falls, SD 57193. Product, features, endorsements, riders or issue ages may not be available in all jurisdictions. Limitations or restrictions may apply.
Sammons FinancialSM is the marketing name for Sammons® Financial Group, Inc. and its member companies, including North American Company for Life and Health Insurance®. Annuities and life insurance are issued by, and product guarantees are solely the responsibility of, North American Company for Life and Health Insurance®.
Media contact:
Kevin Waetke, Sammons Financial
kwaetke@sfgmembers.com
Cell: 515-608-2558