Life insurance companies: Deciding what may be right for you
This article is for informational purposes only. Guardian may not offer all products discussed. Please consult with a financial professional to understand what life insurance products are available for sale.
1 All whole life insurance policy guarantees are subject to the timely payment of all required premiums and the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Policy loans and withdrawals affect the guarantees by reducing the policy’s death benefit and cash values.
2 Some whole life polices do not have cash values in the first two years of the policy and don’t pay a dividend until the policy’s third year. Talk to your financial professional and refer to your individual whole life policy illustration for more information.
3 Policy benefits are reduced by any outstanding loan or loan interest and/or withdrawals. Dividends, if any, are affected by policy loans and loan interest. Withdrawals above the cost basis may result in taxable ordinary income. If the policy lapses, or is surrendered, any outstanding loans considered gain in the policy may be subject to ordinary income taxes. If the policy is a Modified Endowment Contract (MEC), loans are treated like withdrawals, but as gain first, subject to ordinary income taxes. If the policy owner is under 59 ½, any taxable withdrawal may also be subject to a 10% federal tax penalty.
4 A Variable Universal Life (VUL) policy is considered both life insurance and a security and is sold with a prospectus. Premium and death benefit types are flexible. It’s crediting rate is based on the performance of the underlying investment options provided in the policy. There is no guaranteed interest rate. This type of policy may lapse due to low or negative performance of the underlying investment options, inadequate funding, and increasing cost of insurance rates. See your policy prospectus for more information.
5 Financial information concerning Guardian as of December 31, 2022, on a statutory basis: Admitted Assets= $76.0 billion; liabilities = $67.2 billion (including $55.0 billion of reserves); and surplus = $8.8 billion.
6 Riders may incur an additional cost or premium. Riders may not be available in all states.
7 Dividends are not guaranteed. They are declared annually by Guardian’s Board of Directors.
8 2022 U.S. Individual Life Insurance & Individual Annuity Studies | J.D. Power (jdpower.com)
9 Permanent life insurance consists of two types: whole life and universal life. Cash value grows in a participating whole life policy through dividends, which are declared annually by the company's board of directors and are not guaranteed. Cash value grows in a universal life policy through credited interest and decreased insurance costs. The cash value of both policy types benefits when the policyholder pays an amount above the required premium.
10 Universal Life Insurance may lapse prematurely due to inadequate funding (low or no premium), increase in cost of insurance rates as the insured grows older, and a low interest crediting rate. This does not apply to universal life policies which have a secondary guarantee, but if the secondary guaranteed requirements are not met the policy will most likely lapse.
Guardian, its subsidiaries, agents and employees do not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. Consult your tax, legal, or accounting professional regarding your individual situation.