US20050086085A1

US20050086085A1 - Methods of offering and providing a variable life insurance product

Info

Publication number: US20050086085A1
Application number: US10/677,839
Authority: US
Inventors: Paul Berlin; Theresa Cordo; Michael DiPiazza; Pamela Duffy; Richard Weber
Original assignee: Mony Life Insurance Co
Current assignee: PAUL F BERLIN
Priority date: 2003-10-02
Filing date: 2003-10-02
Publication date: 2005-04-21
Also published as: US20100169128A1; US8660863B2

Abstract

A variable universal life insurance product that includes a death benefit and associated investment vehicles is selectively offered. A life insurance policy chassis is provided by an insurance company to an asset manager. The asset manager combines the life insurance policy chassis with one or more associated investment vehicles managed by the asset manager to form a variable universal life insurance product. The asset manager selectively makes the insurance product available to respective clients of the asset manager. The insurance company providing service for the death benefit and the asset manager providing service for the associated investment vehicles.

Description

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND

The invention relates generally to products involving insurance, e.g., life insurance, and investments, and to methods of offering and/or providing such products with the participation of an insurance company and an asset manager. More particularly, the invention relates to variable universal life insurance products having a death benefit and investments, and to methods of offering and providing such products with the participation of an insurance company and an asset manager.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The invention provides products involving insurance, e.g., life insurance, and investments, and methods of offering and/or providing such products with the participation of an insurance company and an asset manager. “Offering” is used herein in a broad sense and may encompass activities such as making available, introducing, marketing, advertising and sponsoring. Similarly, “providing” is used herein in a broad sense and may encompasses activities such structuring, managing, servicing and administering.
Preferred embodiments of the invention provide variable universal life insurance products having a death benefit and investments, and methods of offering and providing such products with the participation of an insurance company and an asset manager. In a preferred embodiment, the asset manager is not part of the insurance company; and the products are offered and/or provided to existing or new clients or customers of the asset manager. In this embodiment, the insurance company and the asset manager may be thought of as co-sponsoring the product.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the products are offered and/or provided with a cost of insurance fee that is fixed for the life of the product and/or is a single fee. A fixed fee may be a percentage, fixed for the life of the product, of a variable criterion or criteria used to set the insurance cost or costs. For example, the cost of insurance fee may be the only recurring charge paid to the insurance company.
In the preferred embodiments, insurance aspects of the products, e.g., a death benefit, and asset management aspects of the product are separated and are provided, administered, etc., by different companies. The insurance company, e.g., manages the insurance aspect, and the asset manager, e.g., manages the investment aspect. From the prospective of purchasers of such products, this arrangement permits clients of an asset manager to obtain an insurance-related product that provides for management of associated assets by the same asset manager managing other assets of the client. From the prospective of asset managers, this arrangement encourages asset managers to offer such products to their clients because the asset managers will continue to manage the assets of the client associated with an insurance-related product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is illustrated in the figures of the accompanying drawings which are meant to be exemplary and not limiting, in which like references are intended to refer to like or corresponding parts, and in which:
FIG. 1 is an illustration of a method of offering a life insurance product according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is an illustration of an embodiment in which an insurance company offers a life insurance policy chassis to multiple asset managers.
FIGS. 3A-3S are parts of an exemplary variable life insurance policy which may be the basis of the life insurance product which offered according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The preferred embodiments of the invention provide an insurance product that permits an individual to invest and manage his or her money more effectively. They need not choose between an insurance policy that offers tax deferral but not management by professional asset managers, or investments that are not taxed deferred. An individual utilizing the insurance product according to the preferred embodiment can thus choose how they want the assets allocated among different investment vehicles and still have the investments tax deferred and professionally managed by a single asset manager (such as, for example, a bank, “wrap” manager, trust department, money manager, or “wire house”). The insurance company and asset manager are each positioned to do what they do best, but can combine their strengths to be a “manufacturing partner” of a unique insurance product which still has the advantage of tax deferral. The asset manager manages more money without becoming an insurance company and the insurance gains an important competitive advantage in offering life insurance without having to become an asset manager. More money under management of a professional asset manager leads to more fee income for the asset manager.
The preferred embodiments include “performance-driven” pricing of the insurance product. The charges assessed are guaranteed for life as a function of the assets in the product, not the death benefit. In this way, the death benefit automatically adjusts to the fund value and the policy is never under-funded. Conventionally, illustrations are provided when policies are sold to show an expected return on the policy after payment of charges. Such illustrations can be confusing and misleading because the charges can change significantly from that assumed in the illustration. The preferred embodiments eliminate the potential for confusion because of such illustrations.
Preferably, the products offered and/or provided by preferred embodiments of the invention provide for a single fixed fee to be charged for the insurance costs associated with the product for the life of the product. In a preferred embodiment, the fixed fee is expressed as a fixed percentage of assets under management that may vary over the life of the product.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is the method of offering a variable life insurance product shown in FIG. 1. It includes various transactions between insurance company 100, asset manager 200, and clientele 300 of asset manager 200. Insurance company 100 prepares a life insurance policy 101 and files the policy with the appropriate state regulation agencies as necessary to obtain approval of the policy. The life insurance policy has characteristics, described below, which make it well suited for the offering method according to the preferred embodiment. The policy is preferably a private placement variable universal life insurance policy or other universal life insurance policy, but it may be any type of life insurance policy that employs any of the characteristics described below.
Conventionally, life insurance companies and other insurers have offered variable universal life insurance policies as a stand-alone product directly to their own customers through insurance agents and brokers. The individual pays to the insurer a single premium, periodic premium or combination thereof to fund the insurance policy. The assets of the policy are invested into at least one investment vehicle selected by the individual from among a group of investment vehicles chosen for the policy by the insurer. The investment vehicles for the policy are typically sponsored by a variety of different respective money managers. However, those money managers compete with each other for the insured's investment assets in a very direct manner. This competition among money mangers may reduce the incentive of the money managers to offer high quality investment vehicles for the policy.
In providing insurance products to individuals, insurers reach out to the individuals and compete with other companies offering financial products to individuals. In particular, life insurance is viewed as competing with the financial services and products of asset managers because the payment of life insurance premiums reduces the amount of money remaining available to the policyholder for investment. For these reasons and others, life insurance companies traditionally have different distribution channels (insurance agents, etc.) than asset managers. Given the amount of information associated with each financial product or life insurance policy, for example, the investment options, premium payments, fees to the asset manager, individuals may require coaxing to purchase a particular financial product or life insurance policy, which increases the effort sellers must expend on each individual. In addition, it is inefficient for the insurance product provider or life insurance policy provider to identify appropriate individuals with whom they have had no prior relationship for a particular financial product or life insurance policy. This makes the process more costly, makes it difficult to obtain access to select clientele and adhesion of clientele.
In the preferred embodiment of FIG. 1, insurance company 100 maintains a computer system (not shown) for servicing its various life insurance policies, including life insurance policy 101. This computer system, for example, determines and applies various fees and charges associated with insurance policies, and calculates the account value of each individual policy. The computer system preferably provides policyholders with secure, web-enabled access to policy information. Insurance company 100 adapts its computer system to be capable of servicing life insurance policy 101. Specifically, the computer system is programmed or otherwise adapted to be efficient in administering and servicing a life insurance policy utilizing a plug and play chassis and/or having the characteristics described below.
The efficient administration and servicing of life insurance requires an appropriately programmed computer system. Appropriate software is commercially available, such as the VANTAGE-ONE® series of software available from Computer Sciences Corporation. However, the VANTAGE-ONE® software is not well suited for administering and servicing a life insurance policy utilizing a plug and play chassis and/or having the characteristics below. The plug and play chassis permits assets managers to customize the policy and offer a respective customized insurance product to their clientele utilizing their own investment vehicles. The VANTAGE-ONE® software requires that all information be entered and set up for each insurance policy. This information includes information, such as the basic payment mechanism (i.e., single premium, annual premiums, variable or fixed premiums, etc.), product options and rules (loans, etc), plan of insurance, and investment vehicles. In the preferred embodiments of the invention utilizing a plug and play chassis, the great majority of this information remains the same for the respective insurance product sponsored by different asset managers and only the investment vehicles vary from insurance product to insurance product. Nevertheless, the conventional software requires insurance company 100 to reenter and setup policy information for each respective insurance product even though that policy information remains the same.
In one aspect of the invention, the administrative computer system of insurance company 100 does not execute conventional software requiring that the policy information is reentered and set up each time a new insurance product is created. Instead, the administrative computer system of insurance company 100 executes software that is well suited for the plug and play chassis where the policy information remains the same but different respective insurance products built on the plug and play chassis have different investment vehicles offered by the respective sponsoring asset manager. The software may be a modification of the VANTAGE-ONE® software or other software similar in functionality to the VANTAGE-ONE® software. This software preferably provides appropriate interfaces permitting personnel of insurance company 100 to reuse basic policy information for the respective insurance products of different asset managers while entering the investment vehicles unique to that asset manager. The software may also implement any other unique aspects of the insurance policy or product embodiments described in this application. For example, the software may implement a unique test to ensure that any policy premium is administered in a manner that ensures that the policy complies with death benefit guidelines necessary to obtain tax preferred treatment of the insurance policy. In order for the features and advantages of the preferred embodiments of the invention to be fully realized, it is preferable that the software executed by the administrative computer system of insurance company 100 is modified or that other software is installed or executed to implement those features and advantages in the administrative computer system accordingly.
Insurance company 100 provides the life insurance policy 101 to asset manager 200. It should be understood that the policy provided to asset manager 200 is not the insurance product ultimately offered to clientele 300, but rather serves as a “plug and play” chassis underlying the insurance product. The plug and play chassis allows insurance company 100 to offer a product that the asset manager may sponsor and make proprietary. The investment assets remain under investor control in coordination with insurance company 100, and it is the investor who selects their participation in the various investment vehicles of the asset manager.
Asset manager 200 is permitted and licensed to supplement the policy with a dedicated pool of investment vehicles in order to assemble the end insurance product. In this regard, it should be understood that the “transferred” life insurance policy is not a specific written document that must be signed by each or any one of the clientele purchasing the end insurance product, but may be electronic information sent to asset manager 200 to be used in assembling the end insurance product pursuant to the accompanying permissions and licenses. The life insurance policy may be transferred through any suitable communications network, including the Internet.
Asset manager 200 develops an insurance product 201 based on the universal life insurance chassis 101. For that purpose, asset manager selects a plurality of different investment vehicles IV(1) to IV(n) to include in the insurance product and serve as sub-accounts for the transferred life insurance policy. The investment vehicles may be chosen at the discretion of, or according to the criteria of, asset manager 200. Asset manager 200 preferably maintains a computer system (not shown) for servicing its various investment vehicles and client accounts, including investment vehicles IV(1) to IV(n). This computer system, for example, determines and applies various fees and charges associated with the investment vehicles, and regularly calculates and reports the account value of each client. The investment vehicles may be offered by asset manager 200 independently of the end insurance product, and thus asset manager 200 preferably needs to make minimal adaptations to its computer system for it to provide information for servicing the investment vehicles when bundled with the universal life insurance policy 101 in an end insurance product 201 to insurance company 100. It should be understood from the following discussion that asset manager 200 is only responsible for managing the investment of the funds and reporting the accounts for the investment vehicles for the insurance product 201 and is not responsible for servicing the insurance policy underlying insurance product 201.
Insurance product 201 is preferably offered and marketed as a private placement to clientele 300 of asset manager 200 rather than to the general market. In particular, the offering is not made through the typical distribution channels of insurance company 100 (i.e., insurance brokers, agents, etc.) or through any of the other traditional distribution channels of life insurance companies. The selection and/or targeting of potential clients (e.g., high net worth individuals) is at the discretion of asset manager 200 and is made through the distribution channels of asset manager 200. Preferably, it is offered to sophisticated buyers and other clientele 300 in order to aid in the funding of their financial planning needs. Of course, agents may be selected by asset manager 200 or insurance company 100 to target and offer the insurance product to potential clients on their behalf.
Clientele 300 purchasing the insurance products thereafter contact the insurance company 100 with respect to servicing of the life insurance policy, including the death benefit payment. Preferably, insurance company 100 provides electronic access, such as web-enabled access or toll free automated interactive voice response (IVR) systems, to their policyholders. Although both parties may utilize the same communications network 400 and access methods, as shown by the separate dashed lines in FIG. 4, clientele 300 has independent access and contacts with the parties.
The relationship of the insurance company and the asset manager is developed as follows. Preferably, asset manager 200 owns or utilizes a registered representative under contract to insurance company 100. The manner of the offering, in terms of solicitation and advertising, will adhere to Rule 502(c) as listed under the General Rules and Regulations Promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933. The asset manager determines which funds it wishes to select as dedicated sub-accounts to be offered within the insurance product. The funds may be proprietary funds or 3^rdparty funds. The insurance company and the asset manager draft a “participation agreement” which appoints the asset manager's fund management as sub-account managers and sets forth mutual covenants, duties, responsibilities and rights. This also includes definition of any liquidity restrictions that may be required by the asset manager. The insurance company files the “Policy Offering Memorandum” which creates an exclusive version of the S-P VLI product for the asset manager's customers. The insurance company and the asset manager installation teams collaborate on mechanisms for transfers of fund, assessment of fees, reporting of NAVs/AUM by the asset manager to the insurance company. There may be a Letter of Intent/reciprocal non-disclosure agreement, and an engagement fee. The asset manager decides how to distribute the product. It may be distributed by the insurance company network of broker-dealers, but preferably it is distributed by the asset manager's selected advisors (possibly with training by the insurance company) or the asset manager's exclusive distributor of S-P VLI negotiates any necessary distribution agreements with the insurance company regarding issues such as licensing, training, soliciting, selling, processing and servicing. In any case, the distribution is subject to using registered representatives in accordance with any applicable regulatory requirements. The insurance company, asset manager, and the exclusive distributor determine means for policyholder access to sub-account information and policy values, use of web-sites, IVR systems, toll free telephone line response team, etc., and distribution assessment, taking into account insurance liability, etc..
In a private placement product incorporating a variable life insurance policy, the product is offered to a select group of individuals pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933 which grants a private placement exemption and standards for separate accounts. The Investment Company Act of 1940 grants an exemption of the registration of investment vehicles for investors meeting certain criteria: 1) 3c(1) funds (products) with less than 100 “accredited” investors defined as: Individuals with more than $1 million net worth or $200,000 of net income in each of last 2 years and expectation of same continuing income; entities with more than $5 million gross assets; and certain regulated entities (b-ds, insurance companies); and 2) 3c(7) exception for funds/products of unlimited “Qualified Purchasers” defined as: a natural person with $5 million in investments; an entity with $25 million in investments; and certain other regulated high-net-worth institutions (insurance companies, employee benefit plans, banks). Normal State Insurance Department regulations apply.
FIG. 2 illustrates an alternative embodiment in which a life insurance company provides the same common life insurance policy chassis 101 to multiple asset managers 200-1 to 200-N. Each one of multiple asset managers 200-1 to 200-N provides its respective sponsored insurance product 201-1 to 201-N to its own clientele 300-1 to 300-N, perhaps but not necessarily through unique distribution channels. Each life insurance product 201-1 to 201-N is based on the common life insurance policy chassis 101 but is otherwise unique and proprietary. Each such insurance product 201-1 to 201-N may be distinguished by the investment vehicles made available for use with the product, or by any other criteria or terms chosen by the respective asset manager. Similar to the previous embodiment, the clients separately contact the insurance company.
The life insurance product 201 developed utilizing the process described in this application and based on the universal life insurance chassis 101 will preferably have the following characteristics. First, the insurance product 201 is made available and sold only to a restricted group of investors and the issuance of a policy is subject to underwriting approval. Preferably, Insurance Company 100 relies upon the Regulation D exemption and Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933. The group consists of qualified investors who satisfy certain suitability requirements and are required to represent that they are a qualified purchaser or accredited investor, as defined by Regulation D under the 1933 Act pursuant to the exceptions under the Investment Company Act of 1940 sections 3c(1) and 3c(7). Second, the investment vehicles associated with the insurance product are made available as “Plug and Play” investment sub-accounts by the sponsoring asset manager. The investments are independently managed by the asset manager. The asset manager will not utilize policy illustrations at the point of selling the insurance product. The illustrations are not necessary because, as described elsewhere in this application, the insurance charges are fixed percentage of the account value and thus do not threaten to mislead the insured when the policy is issued. The Net Amount at Risk is determined periodically on the basis of 1) account value and 2) attained age of the insured and the required corridor of insurance under IRC Section 7702. Product information, including current value of the investments, net amount at risk, and risk-class appropriate “Monte Carlo simulation” data will be provided via secure, Web-enabled access for clients and their advisors.
Preferably, the life insurance policy 101 which serves as the chassis for insurance product 201 has the following characteristics (in addition to the characteristics set forth above for the insurance product 201). First, the charges are guaranteed based on account value. Based on factors such as gender, age, and medical underwriting, issued policies will bear a single charge, guaranteed to be based on a percentage of account value, and calculated and assessed daily. There are no fund charges or other assessments except a one-time underwriting fee and a pass-through of state premium and federal DAC taxes. Consequently, as the policy matures, the insurance charges will not become disproportionately large compared with the account value of the investments.
In fixed universal life insurance policies, the insurance company manages the portfolio of investment vehicles. In variable universal life insurance policies, the policyholder “manages” those, if any, portfolios of investment vehicles underlying the policy that belong to the policyholder after payment of various insurance charges. There can be multiple layers of insurance charges, such as M&E, cost of insurance (COI), commissions (concessions made in policy design), fund fees paid to the insurance carrier, loads, premium tax, and surrender charges, the cumulative amount of which can be substantial. Furthermore, the insurer typically reserves the right to increase COIs and other charges. Just as auto/homeowners insurance rates will change with experience and the carrier's need for ROE, so too will life insurance charges change in the future. As the policy matures, the cost of insurance for the death benefit increases to the extent that it substantially decreases or even eliminates the fund value entirely. Constant return illustrations typically made by insurance agents, etc., as part of the conventional offering method for the policy create the potential for confusion and consequent liability for all parties. Market volatility and its impact is not easily demonstrated in these illustrations and few customers comprehend the difference between the illustrations and the policy guarantees. The drop in market value as the policy matures increases the risk substantially. There is thus a substantial risk of and/or potential for under-funding and early lapse of the variable universal life insurance policies.
There are no commission concessions accommodated in the policy chassis. However, this does not preclude asset managers, advisors or other distributors from charging their clients a fee for placement of the insurance product 201 and/or asset management. The product is preferably funded with a single premium, and hence is a Modified Endowment Contract (MEC). However, a term rider can be provided for those insureds wishing to pay periodic premiums and maintain a death benefit-to-cash value ratio sufficient to qualify as Non-MEC. Policy illustrations will not accompany the policy at the point-of-sale unless required by state regulators. Policy information, such as death benefit information, insurance charges, etc., will be provided via secure, Web-enabled access for policy owners and their advisors.
The preferred policy form is a Private Placement Variable Universal Life (PPVUL) policy having the characteristics described above as well as the characteristics described below with reference to the policy form shown in FIGS. 3A-3T. However, different policy forms may be developed and utilized in the invention. Specifically, policy forms may be developed and utilized which extend beyond the PPVUL and UL forms, and are nevertheless part of the invention if any of the major characteristics described above are employed.
The preferred policy is a sponsor proprietary Private Placement Modified Single Premium Variable Life to Age 100 Plan. The issue ages for the policy are ages 40 to 85. The policy will not be illustrated at the time of sale. There is an initial single premium. After deductions for taxes and a policy fee, the remaining amount of the premium may be allocated to one or more sub-accounts of a Separate Account managed by the Asset Manager. The policy allows for the election of additional premium payments during the first policy year. Additional premiums are accepted within one year from the policy date, provided the Insurance Company is notified of the amount(s) at the time of policy application.
In general, variable universal life insurance policies have an advantage over many financial products since the accumulated earnings on the investments are tax-deferred until distributed. They also have a potential advantage over other tax-deferred investment vehicles available to individuals, such as real estate and stocks, which inherently lack professional management and diversification. However, the tax treatment of variable universal life insurance products can be complicated. Internal Revenue Code § 7702 sets forth a cash value accumulation “CVA” test for a minimum death benefit payment requirement as a percentage of the account value in order to qualify a life insurance product for tax-preferred treatment. This section also limits the ability of the policyholder to pay certain high levels of premiums or when any material change is made to the policy.
If a policyholder's cumulative premium payments during the first seven years exceed the limit specified in the Internal Revenue Code, known as the “7-Pay Limit”, the life insurance policy becomes what is known as a “Modified Endowment Contract” (MEC). The 7-Pay Limit depends in part on the amount of the policy's death benefit and the age of the insured. At any point in time during the first seven policy years, premiums paid cannot exceed the sum of the annual 7-pay limits or the policy will become a MEC. This means that the total limit will increase each of the first seven policy years. After seven years, MEC testing will not apply unless at any point in time “a material change” requires your policy to start a new 7-pay testing period with new 7-pay limits. Whenever there is a “material change” under a policy, the policy will generally be (a) treated as a new contract for purposes of determining whether the policy is a Modified Endowment Contract and (b) subjected to a new 7-pay period and new 7-pay limit. Material changes include: a face amount increase, the addition of a rider or an increase in its amount, a reduction in rating, a change to non-smoker status or substitution of insured and all could result in a loss of “grandfathered” status. There are also changes considered reductions in benefits during a 7-pay test period that trigger a retroactive recalculation and testing of premiums. A reduction in benefits during a 7-pay test period causes the policy to be retested as if the policy had been issued at the reduced level of benefits. This could cause the policy to become a Modified Endowment Contract based upon premiums paid prior to the reduction in benefits.
If a life insurance policy becomes an MEC, any death benefit provided under the contract will still qualify for income tax free treatment. However, there may be additional taxes and penalties on any loans, distributions or withdrawals from the policy during the life of the insured. Any distribution from a policy that is a MEC will be taxed on an “income-first” basis. Distributions for this purpose include a loan (including any increase in the loan amount to pay interest on an existing loan or an assignment or a pledge to secure a loan) or withdrawal. Any such distributions will be considered taxable income to the extent there is gain in the account value of the policy at the time of distribution. A 10% penalty tax will apply to the taxable portion of most distributions and withdrawals made by the policyholder prior to age 59½.
The policy in the preferred embodiments of the invention does not carry a minimum guaranteed death benefit. The death benefit will vary according to investment performance. The death benefit is the fund value on the date of death multiplied by the applicable death benefit percentage. The death benefit percentages are determined according to the Cash Value Accumulation (CVA) Test. The death benefit percentages vary by attained age, gender, and tobacco use status of the insured. The factors for obtaining the fixed charge for standard class applicants include for example age, underwriting class, or gender. Factors considered in sub-standard case applicants additionally include medical condition, impairments, or smoking status. The CVA Test death benefit percentages are equal to the reciprocal of the net single premium that funds $1 of future coverage and endows for one dollar when the insured attains age 100 assuming a 4.0% interest rate and the 1980 CSO Age Last Birthday Mortality Tables as applicable. An example table of CVA Test death benefit percentages is shown in FIG. 3E. Preferably, the death benefit is at least the minimum to comply with Section 7702.
The policy does not have a guaranteed fund value. The fund value will vary according to investment performance. A fund table is maintained for each policy. The find value is the value of all units held in the Variable Account plus the value of the Loan Account. Borrowed funds will be credited with a guaranteed minimum rate of 4.0% annually. There are no cost of insurance charges. The premium load is 1.25% plus an amount equal to the applicable state premium tax rate. At issue, a $500 policy fee will be assessed. Mortality & Expense risk charges will vary by sex, smoking status, and issue age will be deducted from the fund value. The policy provides a guaranteed a maximum annual M&E charge.
Cash value is the fund value less any debt. There are no surrender charges. The policy has a variable account divided into one or more sub-accounts. The asset manager selects funds and the customer chooses its selection. The sub-accounts correspond respectively to the variable investment vehicles made available by the asset manager through the insurance product. See the brackets placed around the Variable Account Section in FIG. 3F. The sub-accounts are entirely and exclusively managed by the asset manager and, if desired, its corporate siblings. The asset manager must establish, by legal regulations, portfolios dedicated solely to the funding of sub-accounts of insurance product 201 and which do not contain funds from investors “outside” the dedicated insurance product sub-accounts. This avoids “investor control” issues addressed in a recent IRS Private Letter Ruling. Also, should an asset manager's investor choose to transfer amounts from any of the publicly available funds managed by the asset manager to sub-accounts within the life insurance product, such mutual fund(s) must be sold for cash and any gain or loss is immediately recognizable for tax purposes.
The policy has a loan provision. A loan may be taken any time a policy has a positive Cash Value. The maximum amount that can be borrowed at any time is 90% of the Cash Value, less any Outstanding Debt including a provision for loan interest due through to the next anniversary. Loan interest is payable in arrears on each policy anniversary at an annual rate which varies by duration. The loan interest rate is 5.25% in all years.
When a loan is taken an amount equal to the loan is transferred out of the Fund Value in the sub-accounts into the Loan Account to secure the loan. The Loan Account is a pat of the Company's General Account. Amounts held in the Loan Account are credited monthly with a fixed rate of interest equal to an annualized rate of 4%. Interest in excess of 4.0% may be applied as determined by the Insurance Company.
A policy owner may surrender the policy at any time during the life of the insured. The amount received in the event of a surrender is the Cash Value. A partial surrender may be made at any time after the second policy anniversary. A partial surrender must be at least $5,000, and the Cash Value after the Partial Surrender must be at least $100,000. As of the effective date of any partial surrender, the Fund Value will be reduced by the amount surrendered. There is no fee associated with partial surrenders. No partial surrenders will be permitted during the first policy year.
The date at which the policy matures is the policy anniversary after the insured's age 100, at which time the cash value is payable as the maturity benefit. The policyholder may extend coverage beyond the Maturity Age. Election may be made to defer the payment of the maturity benefit to the date of the insured's death.
Since the policy's death benefit is defined such that the fund value is equal to the 7702 Cash Value Accumulation Test net single premium, and that there are no surrender charge, compliance with The Standard Non-Forfeiture Law (SNFL) is assured. The reserves are CRVM reserves based on 1980 Commissioners Standard Ordinary Age Last Birthday Mortality Tables, and a valuation interest rate of 4.5%. In no event will these reserves be less than the cash value of the policy.
The policy has advantages for the asset manager. It complements and augments, rather than competes with, the goal of the asset manager to increase the amount of assets under management. Eligible clientele of the asset manager may choose to move assets not currently managed by the asset manager into the policy. Assets with the sub-accounts are likely to be more “adhesive” as a result of the tax favored treatment of life insurance in general and the particularly competitive cost for the life insurance death benefit. Furthermore, the offering of the policy does not divert asserts under the asset manager's management and does not dilute any of the asset manager's fee revenue, such as by reduction or sharing of its investment management fees.
The policy also has advantages for the asset manager's clients. All insurance charges for the basic policy are guaranteed at policy issue, and do not increase as the insured ages, and can never be increased by the asset manager. The sum of any and all charges paid by the policy holder for the inherent tax advantages and death protection provided by the policy is less than typical. The policy is simple since the number and types of charges assessed within this policy are very few and very straightforward. In fact, the policyholder can understand and hypothesize their death benefits and values without the assistance of a sales illustration. The first product offered is a single premium design intended for tax-advantaged “wealth transfer” to the next generation. Accumulations grow tax-deferred and death benefits are paid income tax free.
The policy has the following specifications. Of course, these specifications are merely exemplary and may be changed if and as necessary to conform to any state insurance department regulations:
Issue Ages: 40-85 (younger issue ages with prior insurer approval)
Death Benefit: Minimum required under IRC Sec. 7702, CVAT
Minimum Premium: $1 million (but will consider $500,000 based on firm's clientele)
Underwriting fee: $500
Premium Taxes: Actual charge assessed by each state: 0.80% in New York, average of 2.00% elsewhere
Federal DAC Charge: 1.25%
M&E Charge: Varies by issue age bracket, gender and smoking status, GUARANTEED at issue for life
Sales Load: None
COI Charges: None, GUARANTEED for life
Surrender Charges: None, GUARANTEED for life
Other Charges: None retained by insurer, GUARANTEED for life (sponsoring firm assesses its portfolio management fees as a deduction from the funds under its management)
Withdrawals: Unlimited number of withdrawals permitted, $5,000 minimum withdrawal amount
Withdrawal Charge: None, GUARANTEED for life
Transfers: Unlimited
Transfer Fees: None, GUARANTEED for life
Policy Loans: 5.25% interest charged, with 4% credited back to policy Fund Value, GUARANTEED for life
Maturity Extension: Continues the death benefit at age 100 without further M&E charges thereafter, GUARANTEED
A further important consideration is an MEC. The initial offering—SPVUL—is a single premium life insurance product designed for tax-advantaged wealth transfer to the next generation. The policy is classified as a “MEC” under IRS rules and therefore will not enjoy the tax advantaged access to policy values, including certain surrenders and withdrawals as well as policy loans and other collateralized borrowing, accorded non-MEC policies. Planned future product offerings will focus on long-term cash accumulation and lifetime income distribution and will be structured so as to avoid MEC classification and provide tax advantaged access to policy values.
The financial strength of the insurance company backs the insurance guarantees. Preferably, the insurance company and its subsidiaries have a combined risk-based capital well in excess of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners company action level. In addition, the insurance company may have a large amount of available cash and access to additional money via the securitization of certain assets
The process results in a life insurance product with the following attributes. It makes “tax efficient” that portion of an individual's investment portfolio that would otherwise incur unanticipated current income taxes. Ongoing expense charges—covering mortality, expenses, and profits to the insurer are composited and expressed as a guaranteed Mortality & Expense charge and are assessed on the account value of the policy rather than on the Net Amount at Risk (the difference between the face amount and cash value). The underlying life insurance policy does not define the policy's death benefit as equal to the stipulated death benefit, but rather is the account value plus the necessary “net amount at risk” required to qualify as Life Insurance for the insured's attained age at death. The number of charges is kept to a minimum as compared to other product forms and all charges assessable in the policy by the insurance company are expressed and guaranteed. The product developed using the process separates the risk element from the underlying investment or reserve element and allows different financial institutions to manage those elements.
While the invention has been described and illustrated in connection with preferred embodiments, many variations and modifications as will be evident to those skilled in this art may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and the invention is thus not to be limited to the precise details of methodology or construction set forth above as such variations and modification are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A method of offering a variable universal life insurance product that includes a death benefit and associated investment vehicles, comprising:

combining a life insurance policy chassis from an insurance company with one or more associated investment vehicles to be managed by an asset manager to form a variable universal life insurance product; and

making the insurance product available to clients of the asset manager;

the insurance company being prepared to provide service for the death benefit and associated investment vehicles in the variable universal life insurance product.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the death benefit is funded by the associated investment vehicles.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the asset manager selectively making the insurance product to a restricted group of the clients of the asset manager.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising making the insurance product available to respective clients selected in accordance with at least one criterion based on the client's assets.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the asset manager establishing a plurality of sub-accounts for the associated investment vehicles.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the asset manager selecting the associated investment vehicles available in the insurance product and the asset manager allocating a client premium for the insurance product amongst the associated investment vehicles.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising the client allocating a premium for the insurance product amongst the associated investment vehicles.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising compensating the insurance company with a fee funded solely from the associated investment assets.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the fee is a percentage of the account value.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the fee is a guaranteed percentage based on factors.

11. A life insurance product offered by the method recited in claim 1.

12. The life insurance product of claim 11, wherein the investment vehicles are proprietary to the asset manager.

13. The life insurance product of claim 11, wherein the insurance charges for the death benefit are based on the value of the investment assets.

14. The life insurance product of claim 13, wherein the insurance charges for the death benefit are a fixed percentage of the value of the investment assets.

15. The life insurance product of claim 14, wherein the fixed percentage is guaranteed not to change.

16. The life insurance product of claim 14, wherein the fixed percentage is paid to the insurance company out of the investment assets managed by the asset manager.

17. The life insurance product of claim 16, wherein the fixed percentage is the only recurring charge paid to the insurance company.

18. The life insurance product of claim 11, wherein the death benefit is a variable death benefit.

19. The life insurance product of claim 18, wherein the death benefit varies in accordance with the value of the investment assets.

20. The life insurance product of claim 19, wherein the death benefit is the minimum necessary to maintain the insurance product as tax advantaged insurance.

21. A system for servicing insurance products offered to clients of an asset manager, said insurance products including a death benefit from an insurance policy provided by an insurance company and investment vehicles associated with the death benefit, said system comprising:

a computer system adapted to administer client accounts managed by the asset manager, said client accounts including accounts in said insurance products managed by said asset manager; and

a client interface configured to make available to said clients of the asset manager purchasing the insurance products, information relating to the client accounts administered by the computer system, including the accounts of the insurance product managed by the asset manager.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the client interface is accessible via a communications network.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the computer system is further configured to exchange information with the insurance company related to said death benefit.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the computer system forwards a fee to the insurance company related to said death benefit.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the accounts of the insurance product managed by the asset manager comprise sub-accounts and the fee is determined in accordance with the value of the sub-accounts.

26. The system of claim 21, wherein the client interface makes available the information relating to the accounts of the insurance product managed by the asset manager and information relating to the death benefit of the insurance product.

27. The system of claim 21, wherein the computer system administers the accounts of the insurance product of a client managed by the asset manager.

28. A method of developing an insurance product that includes a death benefit and associated investment vehicles co-sponsored by an insurance company and an asset manager, said method comprising:

registering the asset manager as a representative of the insurance company;

executing a participation agreement that appoints the asset manager's fund management as managers of the investment vehicles;

providing a life insurance policy chassis, and accompanying licenses and permissions to the asset manager; and

establishing mechanisms for the reporting of assets under management by the asset manager, the assessment of fees, and transfer of funds from the asset manager to the insurance company.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the insurance company administers and services the death benefit in the insurance product and the asset manager separately manages, administers and services the investment vehicles in the insurance product.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the insurance company and the asset manager provide separate client access.

31. A method of insuring a customer through a variable life insurance policy having a death benefit and investment assets, the method comprising:

allocating the investment assets of the variable life insurance policy to at least one investment fund or at least one investment sub account;

charging the customer cost of insurance fees, the cost of insurance fees being guaranteed for the life of the insurance policy; and

providing a variable death benefit associated with the policy value upon the death of the customer, the variable death benefit varying in accordance with the value of the investment assets.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the suitable customers are identified by an asset manager currently managing the customer's assets according to criteria.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the criteria comprises the age of the customers.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the criteria comprises the amount of assets of the customers.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein the criteria comprises financial indicators of the customers.

36. The method of claim 31, wherein the asset manager allocates the life insurance policy assets to the at least one investment fund or at least one investment sub account managed by the asset manager; and the asset manager controls the life insurance policy assets.

37. The method of claim 31, wherein the guaranteed cost of insurance fees charged to the customer is a fixed percentage of the value of the life insurance policy.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the guaranteed cost of insurance fees charged to the customer is predetermined by an algorithm.

39. The method of claim 31, wherein the variable death benefit is the minimum necessary to maintain the insurance policy as a tax advantaged insurance policy.

40. A method of providing a variable life insurance contract that includes a death benefit funded from associated investment assets, comprising:

making available to respective clients of a plurality of investment fund managers a variable life insurance contract which provides that the client's investment fund manager manages the associated investment assets which fund the death benefit of the respective contract;

for each contract entered into by a client of an investment fund manager, a death benefit insurer providing the death benefit and the respective investment fund manager managing the associated investment assets and compensating the death benefit insurer from at least one of: return on the associated investment assets or the associated investment assets.

41. The method of claim 40, further comprising: a death benefit insurer making available the variable life insurance contract.

42. The method of claim 40, further comprising: the respective investment fund managers making available the variable life insurance contract.

43. The method of claim 40, further comprising making the variable life insurance contract available to respective clients selected in accordance with at least one criterion based on the client's assets.

44. The method of claim 40, further comprising investing the associated investment assets in at least one investment fund or at least one investment sub account.

45. The method of claim 44, further comprising the respective investment fund manager selecting the at least one investment fund or at least one investment sub account in which to invest the associated investment assets.

46. The method of claim 44, further comprising the respective client selecting the at least one investment fund or at least one investment sub account in which to invest the associated investment assets.

47. The method of claim 40, further comprising compensating the death benefit insurer a guaranteed fee from return on the associated investment assets and/or from the associated investment assets.

48. The method of claim 47, further comprising fixing the guaranteed fee to a percentage of the account value.

49. The method of claim 48, further obtaining guaranteed percentage based on factors.

50. A system for offering a variable life insurance contract that includes a death benefit funded from associated investment assets, comprising:

an investment fund manager interface configured for use by an investment fund manager to make available to respective clients of the investment fund manager a variable life insurance contract, and manage the associated investment assets which fund the death benefit of the respective contract; and

a death benefit insurer interface configured for use by a death benefit insurer to provide the death benefit for each respective contract, determine a fixed compensation fee to provide the death benefit, and obtain the fixed compensation fee from the investment fund manager;

wherein the investment fund manager interface and the death benefit insurer interface are connected over a communication network.