Income
Is Life Insurance Through Work Enough?
5 min read
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Policy review
A policy is bought for the life you had on the day you applied. Lives change, and policies change too. A review is a structured look at what you own, what it does today, and whether it still matches your household. Often the answer is to keep what you have. When something needs attention, it is better to find out now.
Cornerstone Capital is an independent life insurance brokerage, not an insurer. Carriers make underwriting decisions, and approval is never guaranteed. This form does not apply for coverage.
01The problem
Coverage is chosen for one moment: one income, one mortgage, one set of people. Then the household changes and the policy does not. Beneficiaries go out of date. A term quietly approaches its end. A universal life policy drifts off course with nobody watching.
None of that announces itself. People usually find out when it is expensive or too late to fix.
02The tool
A review sets what you own next to your life today: owner, insured, beneficiaries, death benefit, premium, riders, deadlines, and for permanent policies whether the funding is on track. Often the answer is to keep what you have. Finding that out is a good result.
03The mechanics
We start with your current policies, including coverage through work, and your most recent annual statements. For permanent policies, an in-force illustration from the insurer shows how the policy is projected to perform from today forward.
For every policy: the owner, the insured, the beneficiaries, the death benefit, the premium and any riders. For term: when the level period ends and whether a conversion option is still open.
For permanent policies: cash value, outstanding loans, current charges and whether the policy is on track to stay in force at the current premium.
We set the coverage next to your current income, debts, dependents and goals. The gap may be too little coverage, coverage that ends too soon, a beneficiary that is out of date, or a policy that needs more funding. Sometimes there is no gap.
Options may include keeping everything as is, updating beneficiaries, adding coverage alongside an existing policy, adjusting funding, using a conversion option, or in some cases replacing a policy.
Replacement deserves caution. A new policy means new underwriting at your current age and health, new surrender charges, and new contestability and suicide exclusion periods. Surrendering a policy with gains may create taxable income. Any replacement should be compared side by side, in writing.
What you may have heard
A newer policy is always better than an old one.
I should cancel the old policy first so I am not paying for two.
04Trade-offs
05Fit
We are an independent brokerage, so we can look at more than one carrier, subject to appointments, product availability, licensing and eligibility. We ask about your situation first and explain the trade-offs. Keeping what you have is a fine outcome.
Important to know
Never cancel, surrender or stop paying for existing coverage before any replacement coverage has been approved, accepted and placed in force, and before the old and new policies have been carefully compared. Replacing a policy may not be in your interest.
A replacement may involve surrender charges, new contestability and suicide exclusion periods, higher premiums based on current age and health, loss of existing benefits and possible tax consequences. State replacement rules and forms apply.
New or additional coverage is subject to underwriting. Eligibility and premium depend on age, health and carrier criteria, and approval is never guaranteed.
Cornerstone Capital is an independent brokerage and can evaluate options from multiple carriers, subject to appointments, product availability, licensing and eligibility. We do not provide tax or legal advice.
Next step
Carrier, policy type, roughly when it was issued and the approximate face amount. Never a policy number.
Or call (501) 476-1468