Determining whether return of premium life insurance is a good choice depends a lot on your own habits, goals, and tolerance for risk. Let’s consider a hypothetical situation of a 35 year old female who is looking for a $1 million, 30 year term policy. Let’s say she can purchase a traditional term policy for $650/year, or a return of premium policy for $1175/year.

If she buys the traditional term policy, she will spend $19,500 on the coverage over the course of 30 years ($650 x 30). This money is gone forever, but it has done its job of purchasing peace of mind for her and her family.

If she buys the return of premium policy, she will spend $35,250 on the coverage ($1175 x 30), but if she is alive at the end of the 30 year term, she will get the entire amount back. This option costs a total of $15,750 more than the traditional term policy, so the trade off between the two policies is what she could have done with that money if she had purchased the traditional policy instead.

Here’s where an investment calculator comes in handy. The return of premium policy will cost $525 more per year than the traditional term policy. We can use an investment calculator to determine what sort of return she would have to get on that money if she invested it on her own, in order to end up with at least a total of $35,250 at the end of 30 years (since that’s the amount she will end up with if she buys the return of premium policy).

There are numerous online investment calculators that you can use. Each person’s situation will be different in terms of taxes (ie, one person might choose to invest the difference between the premiums in a traditional IRA, with tax-deferred growth, while another person might put the money into a taxable brokerage account) so I’m focusing solely on the growth of the money without taking taxes into consideration. Here is an example of a simple calculator that you can use to determine the effective rate of return that the return of premium policy is giving you.  For our hypothetical lady, we can input 30 years, an initial principal of zero dollars, and an annual investment of $525.  We can reduce the tax rate to 0%, but if she is investing her money in a taxable account, that amount will have to be increased.  Then we can move the little blue arrow on the rate of return line until the investment total (in blue at the top of the calculator) gets to at least $35,250.  For our lady, this happens at 4.8%, at which point, her investment would be worth $35,324 after 30 years (if she invested her money in a taxable account, her rate of return would have to be higher to offset the loss to taxes).

So if this lady were to get average returns of more than 4.8% in another investment vehicle, she would be better off getting the traditional term policy.  But if she likes the idea of a guaranteed rate of return and forced savings, she might be better off with the return of premium policy.  The final decision will be up to you, but understanding the numbers behind the premiums will likely make the decision easier.

But what about life insurance?  66% of Americans get their life insurance through an employer.  It’s typically inexpensive, just a few dollars per paycheck, or in some cases completely funded by the employer.  But for a person who gets laid off, life insurance is often just one more thing to add to the list of benefits that are lost in addition to the job.

Basic term life insurance is much less expensive than health insurance, but it might not be something that a family thinks about in the face of a job loss.  Unfortunately, that leaves a family – that might already be facing some of their most trying economic times – with much more potential financial risk.

It is possible to continue group life insurance under COBRA, but I don’t think it’s an option that most people know about.  And while individual life insurance premiums are quite low, it’s easy to procrastinate on the application process.  Although most Americans understand the importance of life insurance, it might be pretty far down on the list of priorities in the event of an unplanned job loss.   Here in Colorado, unemployment reached 6.1% in December – the highest in five years.  And nationwide, job loss numbers are not encouraging.  While it’s not particularly enjoyable to think about being laid off, it’s a good idea to think of the benefits your job includes, and get an idea of the options that are available for continuing or recreating those benefits on your own if necessary.

We are independent life insurance brokers, with no allegiance to any particular company. This gives us the freedom to help our customers choose the life insurance that truly fits their financial situation and risk tolerance. We can look at a wide variety of Colorado life insurance companies and get quotes on many types of insurance and different risk classes. By letting us know your health, driving, and family history up front, we can let you know what life underwriting class you will be classified into and get you the right quotes the first time.

We have a relationship with each of the life insurance companies that we represent. This allows us to serve as advocates for our clients, and help them get in touch with the right person when they have a question about their policy.

We have a very good working knowledge of the companies we represent:

• benefit options
• stability of the life insurance companies
• underwriting and health class guidelines for each company in Colorado . Each company has a different set of underwriting guidelines to determine what classification you will be. From preferred plus, ultra preferred, preferred, standard, and many different smoking classes, we will know what company will benefit you the most based on your health history. This can save you a lot of time and frustration getting this figured out before actually applying and jumping through the hoops for each company.

We’re free. We get paid commissions by the insurance companies so the quotes are the same if you use a broker or go directly through the insurance company. Most life insurance in Colorado is done with the help of brokers because there is no disadvantage and there are many advantages to using a knowledgeable broker to guide you in the right direction. You will always get the lowest premium for the same coverage by purchasing your Colorado life insurance through us because we can shop for the life insurance plan that fits your financial situation and tolerance for risk using our expert knowledge of how each company grids pricing, underwriting guidelines, and takes risks with their money. We will also give you more personalized attention, and a balanced perspective about the advantages of choosing one policy over another. We can also act as a liaison between you and the insurance company if you ever have any questions or problems.
The Colorado Division of Insurance polices the pricing of life insurance, so no insurance company or agency is allowed to sell at a price that is any different from the price set by the commission. So we can find the best plan for you at no cost. For years, we have been highly recommended in Colorado as a no hassle agency able to find the best life insurance for your financial plan.

We continue to be there for our customers after their policy is in force. We can always analyze different options as your financial needs change and keep you current. This will always help you know that you are getting the best deal available and that you have the best coverage you can get for your family.

We have designed this interactive web site where our customers can compare prices, get details on various Colorado life insurance policies, download applications on their own, and even apply online. We shop over 75 companies such as American General (AIG), Zurich/Chase, Banner Life, Empire General, First Colony, Transamerica, Lincoln Benefit Life, MONY, Protective, Prudential, Transamerica, Travelers, West Coast Life, United of Omaha, Fidelity & Guaranty, and many more. Get as far as you like by yourself until you would like our assistance. We will always be there to answer questions or help with applications if needed. but we have the web site in order to provide a no-pressure setting for clients to compare options that are available for them. Colorado Life Insurance disclaimer

We analyze a client’s life insurance requirements using either an income replacement method, or a needs fulfillment method, or both. We also combine this with a clients individual budget for life insurance to determine what type, and how much Colorado life insurance the client requires. The income replacement method of a needs analysis is to determine how much life insurance is required if the purpose is to replace the income that your family would require to survive. The needs fulfillment method determines how much life insurance is needed to cover future family needs like paying off debts and mortgages, saving for college, etc.

A universal life insurance policy is more flexible and less expensive than a whole life insurance policy, but the interest rates have lower guarantees. Premiums may be increased or decreased by the policyholder within policy limits in order to change the policy as needs change. The amount of life insurance may be increased, subject to evidence of insurability, or decreased subject to minimums set by each Colorado life insurance company. Loans can be taken from the policy once it has gained a cash value, but can reduce the cash surrender value and death benefit. Withdrawals may also be taken but can also reduce the cash surrender value and death benefit.

An Easy Long Term Solution

A whole life insurance policy pays out its face value whenever you die. In the early years of a whole life policy, the premiums are much higher than the customer would pay with a term life insurance policy. These up-front overpayments are what keep the later payments reasonable. Otherwise, as you grow older, your premiums would need to increase substantially to keep up with the risk of insuring you. Level Premium Whole Life policies require premiums to be paid your whole life. Limited-pay whole life policies require higher payments for only a few years.

Are you getting a good deal with whole life?

- Probably not. Check out a good analysis by Moolanomy. It also has a comment that sums up my feelings on whole life:

Whole life is a huge rip off for most people. Stick to a combination of a strong savings plan and fixed term life insurance. If 30 years from now you need a large death benefit you’ve done something wrong along the way.
Estate planning does have some use for whole life style policies but most people won’t have an estate that is large enough to need to duck the estate tax and gift tax laws.

A term life policy pays out its face value only if you die during the selected term. Normally, if you have not used the death benefit when the term runs out, the policy expires. However, return of premium policies are becoming very popular as an alternative to typical term life insurance and even whole life and universal life policies. Building cash value with a permanent policy means paying high premiums (2 to 3 times as much for the same coverage). While an unused term policy can feel like a waste. Return of Premium (ROP) term is an easy and effective new solution that splits the problem down the middle. It starts out like term life insurance with one extra promise from the carrier: If you pay your premiums and you live, we’ll give you your money back. On a normal 20 year level term Colorado life insurance policy the ROP benefit may cost about 30% more, but that extra premium will effectively earn you a 6-7% return over the 20 years — just enough to earn you back everything you’ve invested. What’s in it for the life insurance company? Your loyalty. Colorado life insurance companies spend a lot of money to get your business, and only start making a profit if you stick around more than five years or so. ROP gives an incentive for their customers to stay for the full term. And, for those that don’t, the carrier made an extra 30% on those guys — and used some of it to pay you a solid return on your money for sticking around and living. So if you know that you are going to be insured for the entire term, then think about paying a little more for the ROP benefit and getting it all back in the end. We would be happy to give you the price of a term life policy and compare it with the same amount of ROP term and do the math to see if ROP term would be a good investment.