Can I miss a payment, make a lower payment or stop paying on my whole life policy? Yes, No, It Depends, but Basically No.

​Did you commit to overfund a whole life policy and now find that making those payments are too difficult? What happens if you experience financial stress? There are times in life when we have to be frugal and resourceful with our dollars.
 
Did you call your agent and ask them for options? What did they tell you? Did you get those options in writing through an “in force” illustration(s)? If not, the information you received may not be accurate.
 
Questions you may have asked before you purchased your whole life policy.

• How long do I have to make these payments for?
• What happens if I can’t?
• If I don’t, how does it impact my death benefit guarantee?

 
Questions you may want to ask NOW to see if this policy is still a viable option for you.

• If I make any changes, what are all the impacts on this policy?
• Can I make back payments later on and catch up to original plan?

 
Reports you may want to see now before you make another premium.

• How are dividends broken down and what formula are they based on?
• If I stop making premiums payments in year X, show me how long this policy will last.

Conclusion
Whole life has limited transparency. It is impossible to see the cost of the insurance. Whole life has front end loaded expenses, which makes it a poor investment for the first 5 years, a breakeven investment after about 16 years and reasonable investment after 20 years.
 
If you only need insurance for 20 years or less, you may be better off with a term policy, unless you funded the policy sufficient to stop payments in 20 years and wanted a “paid up” policy.
 
A word about dividends: Sales reps often misrepresent exactly what a dividend is and is not. It is a profit-sharing component of the company and it is not guaranteed and can change up or down each year. It also is not based on the stock or bond market results that year.
 
Whole Life has been called Traditional Life & Final Expense Insurance. Whole Life has an abundance of misunderstanding due to selling practices. Classic dividend paying WL is referred to as “participating (par) WL. Many consumers have a lack of understanding and policies have a lack of agent management.
 
What is a WL Dividend? A dividend is basically a return of premium over and above the amount required to support contractual guarantees.
What is a current assumption policy?
What is a guaranteed assumption policy?
This column incorporates a lower dividend crediting rate and higher overhead and mortality charge and overhead expenses than the current assumption column.
What’s the difference?
Set up a phone call to discuss.

Howard Wolkowitz is a financial author, educator and fiercely independent life insurance broker.

You can visit LifeInsureAssure.com and go to his quote engine to see for yourself in seconds how inexpensive term life to age 85 is. If you want to speak with Howard, call 954-558-3673 or email him at [email protected]. 
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Stop overpaying for your current life insurance. ​

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