Universal Life Insurance

Universal life insurance is permanent life insurance protection with a tax-advantaged investment component. Great-West universal life insurance can help you meet financial responsibilities and opportunities that can develop during your lifetime.

Universal life combines traditional life insurance and a tax-advantaged investment component, consisting of a diversified range of interest options. You select the interest options that match your financial security goals and your risk tolerance. We can help you tailor your life insurance coverage to fit your lifestyle, budget and investment objectives.

• Pay final expenses and any debts you may have
• Help provide your family with the resources to maintain a comfortable standard of living
• Pay any taxes owing on your estate so more of your estate is transferred to your children or grandchildren
• Leave a legacy in your community or to your favourite charity
• Provide your business with the money necessary to fund a buy-sell agreement
• Protect your business against the loss of a key employee

During your lifetime, it can:

• Build tax-advantaged cash value which you can draw upon as needed for personal or business opportunities
• Supplement your retirement income
• Provide funds for long-term care or home care

A universal life policy combines permanent life insurance protection with the opportunity to accumulate tax-advantaged cash value. In fact, it may be the only insurance plan you’ll ever need.

Within limits set out in the contract, you can decide how much or how little you want to pay into the policy. As cash value accumulates, you can withdraw cash from your policy or borrow against it. You can also use the cash value to pay part or all of the cost of your insurance. Any cash value withdrawn from the policy may be subject to tax.

New Cost of Insurance Options

Part of the premium you pay into your policy covers the cost of insurance protection. This includes the cost for the primary and additional lives insured, as well as any optional benefits you select. Life insurance costs generally increase as you get older. Great-West universal life insurance allows you to manage this increase with our new cost of insurance options:

• The annually increasing rate (AI) increases annually as your age increases, but the rate scale is guaranteed for the duration of the coverage. AI cost of insurance is lower in the early years, allowing you to accumulate more of your premium in your chosen interest options and accelerate the growth in your total account value in the early years.
• With limited-pay cost of insurance options, you can select a set cost of insurance period of 10, 15 or 20 years. Once elected, the cost of insurance rate is guaranteed for the duration of the coverage, with guaranteed cash value beginning after the fifth coverage anniversary and continuing for the duration of the coverage.
• The guaranteed level cost of insurance rate (level COI) is locked-in for the duration of the coverage, allowing you to spread your insurance costs evenly over the life of the policy.

For specific information about what life insurance can do for you and how you can benefit from owning a policy, speak to your financial security advisor. They can show you ways to tailor your insurance coverage to meet your needs today and in the future.