Comments on: What Do You Think About Variable Universal Insurance (VUL)? – Money Mailbox

By: Tiersa

Tiersa — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:26:11 +0000

Kris, Yikes, unless the $600 a month is something that you can easily afford to live without right now it sounds like the agent did not take into consideration what your real needs are.

I for one see the value of the investment is VUL for the right person and the right circumstances (I’ve seen it work), but I wouldn’t use it as a priority for retirement for sure.

Saving as much as we can for retirement shouldn’t put us in the poor house at the same time, regardless of who helps us make our financial decisions.

By: Kris

Kris — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 02:08:48 +0000

My in-laws had Adjust Complife policy with NW Mutual on my husband when he was a kid, so a couple of years ago they sent their insurance officer to us to sign us up for life insurance. Being very financially unsavvy, we ended up getting a half mil Adjust Complife policy, which the insurance agent said would help with our retirement. Now we’re stuck paying almost $600 a month on a life insurance policy. We have to pay for 21 years before the guaranteed cash surrender value equals the amount we put in. The estimated (non-guaranteed) value in 21 years is at a return of 4%.

Right now we max out our Roth IRA’s and pay for this policy. I am continuously torn between just keeping it in this account because it forces us to save (regardless of the low percentage rate), or stopping payment and losing the front loaded $6000 (yes, that’s how much the front load fees were). I had no idea of any of this, and am sort of grumpy about it all. My dad is pretty savvy in the market (unfortunately we didn’t consult him before we signed) and used to be an insurance agent, and both he and his stockbroker are shocked that we have a policy like this. He’s worried because we’re forcing so much of our money into a subpar investment vehicle at the same time that we’re trying to start a family.

Anyway, there’s my sad life insurance story.

By: CreditShout

CreditShout — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 18:07:31 +0000

I’m appreciative that you make a point to distinguish between insurance policies and investments. There is definitely a difference and I’m glad I was reminded of this.

By: CD Rates Blog

CD Rates Blog — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:17:18 +0000

For any investment keep in mind, no one is working for free. So all advice should be kept in that perspective. Hopefully, any “adviser” always has your best interests in mind and not their pocket book.

Even Tax professionals can be making money with referrals. There is nothing wrong with people earning a living. Just make sure you are comfortable and seek lots of input as was done here.

I do have a small policy for my wife that is structured similarly. But again, its main purpose was to protect against the horrible. I have a much larger Term policy on myself. Frankly, I haven’t been too impressed with the “gains” on the whole life policy so don’t do it as an investment.