(Image: The Cooper Collection of U.S. Railroad History/Wikimedia Commons)
Washington National Insurance Company has introduced a term life insurance product that pays death benefits in the form of a Monthly Income Protection benefits stream.
The policy is designed to pay the beneficiaries a series of monthly benefits over several years, rather than one big lump sum, according to Washington National.
An employer sponsor can pay extra to provide a modest lump-sum death benefit, ranging from $10,000 to $25,000, to help the beneficiaries with funeral expenses and other final expenses.
The new policy will be available in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, according to Washington National.
Washington National is a subsidiary of CNO Financial Group Inc. It specializes in selling supplemental health and life products aimed at middle-income Americans.
The company sells the products to individuals through agents and by offering coverage at the worksite.
Haven Life Insurance Agency LLC — an arm of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company — introduced a life insurance policy that pays death benefits as a stream, rather than in the form of one lump sum, in early 2020. A MassMutual subsidiary, C.M. Life, says it developed the policy together with SCOR Global Life, a reinsurer.
In other life insurance moves:
The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, is offering a care conversion option rider along with term life insurance.
The rider guarantees that an insured who converts a term life policy into a permanent policy will be able to get a long-term care (LTC) rider with the permanent policy, according to Guardian.
The rider eliminates the risk that Guardian riders might reject a policyholder's effort to buy an LTC rider along when converting a term life policy into a permanent policy, Guardian says.
Guardian is offering the LTC access rider at issue along with the Guardian Level Term 10, 15, 20 and 30 policies.
The rider will be effective for the first five policy years, or for 10 years when an extended conversion rider is purchased.
Guardian is writing the term life policy through iThe Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company Inc. , a Delaware corporation.
Western and Southern Financial Group, Cincinnati, is working with Afficiency Inc., New York, to offer new, simplified issue whole life and disability insurance policies through Afficiency's digital insurance sales system.
Afficiency will promote the system through worksite marketing programs, and the policies involved will be issued by Western and Southern's Gerber Life Insurance Company unit. Western & Southern acquired Gerber Life from Nestlé S.A. at the end of 2018.
Lincoln Financial Group, Radnor, Pennsylvania, has introduced two indexed universal life (IUL) policies who want to use IUL policies in retirement income planning or LTC planning arrangements.
The new policies are new versions of its Lincoln WealthAccumulate IUL and Lincoln WealthPreserve IUL policies.
The investment index menu available with the new policies includes the Fidelity AIM Dividend Indexed Account and the S&P 500 Performance Trigger Indexed Account.
In related news, Lincoln is introducing a new LTC rider. Lincoln variable universal life purchasers who buy the new LTC rider can use the rider pay for home care as well as care in an LTC facility.
An insured who has the rider can use the LTC benefits as soon as the client is deemed eligible for the benefits.
Another feature, a transitional care assistance benefit, can help clients cover the cost of a limited amount of professional care when family members or friends are providing most of the care.
