This article will provide a review of Nationwide’s Guaranteed Universal Life Insurance. Nationwide didn’t make our list of 5 Best Guaranteed Universal Life Insurance Companies. However, they did receive an “honorable mention” and they could easily be included in the “5 Best” now that their rates are ultra competitive. Another positive feature of their GUL products is the optional Long Term Care Insurance Rider. You can read about this unique rider towards the end of this article.
Check out our INSTANT QUOTE ENGINE for both Term Life and Guaranteed Universal Life insurance rates.
Nationwide Insurance calls their Guaranteed Universal Life (GUL) Insurance products “No-Lapse Universal Life”. We often refer to GUL as Term for Life or Term to age 100 since they share so many characteristics. Nationwide and a couple of other carriers like the term “No Lapse Universal Life” because it underscore the main point of distinction from their other universal life products.
The distinguishing characteristics of GUL are the guarantees. Like term insurance, the premium and death benefit are guaranteed to stay level. The policy won’t lapse as long as the premiums are paid. This isn’t true of other universal life products. The standard UL policies have non-guaranteed values that could cause the premium to increase (or the policy to lapse) depending on interest rates. Unlike the traditional UL policies, you will find GUL to be fully guaranteed.
We provide a basic review of guaranteed universal life insurance that should be helpful. In addition, we discuss the pros and cons of guaranteed universal life insurance. Because GUL is a unique (and relatively new) product, readers have benefited from the aforementioned articles. You can click on the links to learn more about this product and see how it compares to term life and other types of permanent life insurance.
Overview of Nationwide Insurance
Nationwide is known mostly for their property and casualty insurance. We’re all familiar with their commercials and slogan, “Nationwide is On Your Side”. In addition to auto and homeowners insurance, they have competitive financial and life insurance products.
Nationwide was founded in 1926 as Farm Bureau Mutual. It wasn’t until 1955 that there name was changed to Nationwide Insurance. They are based in Columbus, Ohio, but they have been true to their name, as they now have locations all over the nation.
Nationwide is currently ranked 91 on the Fortune 500 list. In fact, they are now one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in the world.
Financial Ratings:
- AM Best: A+ (2nd highest)
- Standard & Poor’s: A+ (5th highest)
- Moody’s: A1 (5th highest)
- Comdex Score: 89
A Look at Nationwide’s two GUL products.
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The first one is called YourLife No-Lapse Guarantee UL. According to Nationwide’s website, they describe this product as a “no-lapse guarantee universal life product designed for clients who may be risk averse and are looking for flexible, competitively-priced life insurance with permanent death benefit protection.” We will look at the policy provisions and riders below.
Policyholders can select a unique long-term care insurance rider described below.
Insureds can choose a face amount no less than $100,000. Your minimum age to apply is 18.
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The second GUL is called YourLife No-Lapse Guarantee SUL II. This product “is for couples or business partners ages 60 to 75 with a high or ultra-high net worth. The product was designed for competitive pricing in lifetime and 10-pay scenarios.“
The No-Lapse Guarantee SUL II is a “Second-to-die” policy and is suited well for estate planning purposes. It can also be a good solution for owners of a family business for the purpose of transitioning or funding the business.
Since this product has a long-term care rider, it can also be used as a low-cost way to purchase protection for extended care needs.
Insureds can select face amounts of no less than $250,000. Your minimum age to apply is 35, which is higher than most companies.
Nationwide Guaranteed Universal Life Insurance Review – The Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Nationwide hasn’t had very competitive term life plans, but they have consistently had strong, competitive permanent products.
- You will find they offer very competitive rates. Their sweet spot is policies with higher face amounts, but they are competitive at most face amounts.
- No-lapse guarantee universal life is most competitive at ages 45-70 for level pays, especially at $500,000+
- Their long-term care insurance rider is unique for a GUL policy. Most noteworthy is the cost is very reasonable.
- Nationwide offers a free service called the Automated Premium Monitor. This helps policyholders track the policy to keep it in force.
Cons:
- For the most part, Nationwide has relatively strict medical underwriting. Applicants find it is not as easy to qualify for their Preferred Best rate classification.
- We have found that Nationwide is not as quick as some carriers in processing applications (sometimes they take longer than average to get a policy issued).
- Additional benefits (at no cost) are limited. Almost all the additional benefits are riders at an additional cost.
- Nationwide’s Waiver of Monthly Deductions rider is comparatively expensive and only waives deductions, not the premium.
Nationwide Insurance Riders and Policy Provisions
Most carriers use the term Rider to mean an optional benefit at additional cost. However, some companies, including Nationwide use the term “Rider” for both optional benefits and “built-in” policy provisions. We will distinguish the two below.
Policy Provisions:
- While most companies offer multiple policy provision, Nationwide only offers one. The Accelerated Death Benefit Rider pays out a lump sum payment if the insured person is diagnosed with a terminal illness (meaning a life expectancy of 12 months or less). Additionally, you can use only a portion of the death benefit and the amount used would reduce your death benefit.
Riders:
- Long-term Care Insurance (LTCi) Rider. This type of rider is unique for a GUL product. Basically, it allows the policyholder to choose what percentage of the death benefit (at time of application) they want to use for LTCi. The extra cost for this rider is quite reasonable. Since this Rider is rather involved, please look at a brochure for more detailed information.
- Waiver of Monthly Deductions. This rider will pay the monthly deductions after a 6 month waiting period in the event of a disability.
- Accidental Death Benefit Rider. Insureds that die due to an accident receive an additional death benefit.
- Children’s Term Insurance Rider. This rider Allows children to be covered for an additional cost (up to a limited face amount) to age 22.
- Spouse Rider. Most companies don’t provide a spouse rider, which provides level term insurance for the spouse. Additionally, spouses with this coverage can later covert the term policy to a permanent policy if desired.
Summary and Quick Review of Nationwide’s Guaranteed Universal Life Insurance
In conclusion, Nationwide has very competitively priced GUL products. Since they are financially strong company with a history of top-notch permanent life insurance products, we feel confident recommending them. Most noteworthy, is a compelling long term care insurance rider. You will find this rider is unique for a GUL and is quite affordable. We found that Nationwides built-in policy provisions aren’t as strong as some companies that offer Return of Premium or a better Accelerated Death Benefits.
We will be glad to prepare customized proposals showing a breakdown of the costs for additional riders. Your questions deserve informed answers, so please contact us anytime with questions or to request quotes.
