Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Life Insurance Premium Financing

Life insurance premium financing is used by wealthy individuals to pay their life insurance premiums. By financing your premiums, it allows you to free up the funds that might have otherwise been used to pay your premium. Many wealthy people require a substantial amount of life insurance for business planning, estate planning, or for income replacement.

Life Insurance Premium Financing
Insurance Premium Financing
In order to qualify for life insurance premium financing most insurance companies require you have a minimum of $2.5 million in net worth and at least a $200,000.00 a year income. In addition, you must be bankrupt remote entity, such as a Limited Liability Corporation, or an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust.
In a normal premium financing arrangement, you would apply for a policy at the same time you apply for a loan. The loan is usually arranged by the insurance company you are working with although there are many different companies that handle only the financing and do not deal with the actual insurance policy. While you are being medically underwritten for the life insurance policy, your loan is being processed. Assuming you pass the medical exam and qualify for the loan, the policy and financing are put into place at the same time.
The benefits of a premium financing arrangement is that it frees up business and personal money to be used more efficiently in other investment arenas. In addition, life insurance premium financing may minimize gift taxes, and can provide a greater rate of return on the death benefit paid through regular non-financed methods.
Insurance Premium
 Life Insurance Premium Financing
Life insurance premium financing loans may be repaid either by paying a monthly payment while you are alive, pay from the policy itself, or at the time of your death, proceeds from the policy will pay off the loan.
Interest on the life insurance premium financing loan is considered to be personal interest, and therefore, not tax deductible.

If you are considering a premium financing loan for estate planning, there are some tax issues you may want to consider. The life insurance proceeds will be included in your estate if you own the policy. If the life insurance policy is owned by an irrevocable life insurance trust, estate taxes on the death benefits may be avoided.
Before you consider financing your life insurance premiums you should be aware that the life insurance policy will have to earn returns of between 150 to 300 basis points over the interest rate of the loan.

In addition, you should ask what the loan commitment fee is, as well as knowing whether the life insurance premium financing loan is renewable, how long the term of the loan is, and if the loan extends well beyond your life expectancy.
You may want to find out if the loan requires a personal guarantee, or if the loan is guaranteed by the life insurance policy.

Also, you want to know how if the program is designed on your IRS calculated life expectancy or is it conventional. If the loan is based on your life expectancy, and you live beyond that, the loan amount will exceed the cash value and the whole program will come apart.

Before entering into a financing agreement you may want to consult a trusted attorney, your financial advisor, and/or your Certified Public Accountant.
You will also want to shop around and compare insurance companies, their individual plans, the premium amounts, and the different types and amount of life insurance available to you.

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