Northwestern Mutual Financial Network
Northwestern Mutual Financial Network
325 5th Ave
Indialantic,FL32903
(321) 676-0304
When you're looking for a company to help you manage your financial risk and achieve financial security in today's complex world, you have much to consider.
In choosing a life insurance company, your financial security depends on the reliability of the company and the product you choose.
•What features should you look for in a life insurance policy?
•What benefits does a life insurance policy provide? Why do you need life insurance?
•How do you select the right insurance policy?
•What do others say about the life insurance company? Is it financially strong enough to be there when you need it? Does it deliver exceptional value over the long term?
Key Features Living Benefits Perm vs. Term Our Advantage The Next Step Contact Us Key Features of Life Insurance
Not all insurance policies are alike. A life insurance policy may not be the most entertaining reading but what you find in the contract may make all the difference in the world.
Keep in mind that there are many benefits and add-ons you can include in your life insurance policy.
Conversion Rights
Some term insurance policies may be converted to a permanent life insurance policy without additional proof of insurability. Policies purchased during certain age groups offer conversion rights up to a certain age. Partial conversions may also be permitted. The premium on the new policy is based on the insured’s age at the time of conversion.
Dividend Options
Participating policies share in profits of the Company returned to policyowners in the form of a dividend.*
You may choose to use your policy dividends in multiple ways. Most policyowners choose to use them to increase policy values. You can use them to help pay your premiums, let them accumulate and earn interest. Or you can choose to receive your dividends in cash.
The following graphs show how these dividend options affect the policy's death benefit and cash value over time.
* The dividend scale and the underlying interest rates are reviewed annually and are subject to change. Future dividends are not guaranteed, although Northwestern Mutual has paid a dividend every year since 1872.
Guaranteed Death Benefit
The minimum death benefit that will be paid, regardless of dividend and investment experience. The benefit can be adversely affected by untimely premium payment and policy loans. Death benefits are guaranteed with permanent life insurance; limited guarantees apply for blended products.
Guaranteed Minimum Cash Value
The minimum values guaranteed by the life insurance policy that will be available on surrender of the contract, assuming all required or illustrated premiums have been paid to the date of surrender.
Cash values are invested in and benefit from the investments in Northwestern Mutual's general account. The cash value increases when you make premium payments and when interest is credited to the policy.
Options Available If Premium Payments Are Missed
A nonforfeiture option protects you if you are ever unable to pay your policy premiums. Options include:
•Automatic Premium Loan (APL)
If a scheduled premium payment is missed, money is automatically borrowed from the cash value of a permanent life insurance policy to pay the overdue premium and interest is charged until the loan is repaid.
•Extended Term Insurance
Keeps the full death benefit in force by using the cash value of the policy to purchase Extended Term Insurance.
•Paid-Up Insurance
Keeps some level of protection in force by using the policy's entire cash value to purchase paid-up permanent life insurance. The face value of the paid-up insurance will be less than the face amount of the original policy. The paid-up policy remains in force until the insured dies.
•Cash Surrender
Elect to receive the policy's cash value by surrendering the policy. Any outstanding loan balance and accrued loan interest will be deducted from the cash value.
Optional Life Insurance Policy Benefits
The following optional policy benefits may be added to a life insurance policy subject to underwriting and additional cost.
•Additional Purchase Benefit
The Additional Purchase Benefit (APB) guarantees the policyowner the right to purchase additional life insurance policies on the life of the insured at specified dates without evidence of insurability.
Why is the APB important? When adults add the Additional Purchase Benefit to their own policies, they are purchasing a valuable asset. With more of their income producing years ahead of them, taking steps to guarantee their own future insurability is a strategic and smart move.
Parents or grandparents can also add the APB to a life insurance policy they are buying for a child. This way, they are not only insuring the child's life, but also protecting the child's ability to purchase additional insurance later in life.
•Indexed Protection Benefit
The Indexed Protection Benefit (IPB) increases a policy's death benefit in specified years in the policy contract. The increase is based on the Consumer Price Index, usually with an annual cap.
Why is the IPB important? With increasing prices and decreasing purchasing power becoming realities of life, and the ever eroding effect of inflation, a life insurance policy bought several years ago may now only be providing a fraction of the protection it originally did.
•Waiver of Premium
With the Waiver of Premium Benefit, the life insurance company will pay an insured's premiums if he or she becomes totally disabled. Total disability must last at least six months before the benefit takes effect and the premiums will be waived for the duration of the disability, potentially for the entire premium-paying period.
During disability, premiums are credited to the policy and the tax-deferred cash value will continue to grow. The dividends and cash value are available to the insured for use in emergencies, to supplement living expenses, retirement income, or to provide education funding. With term insurance, the policyowner may be even able to convert the term contract to a permanent plan and have those premiums waived as well.
Why is the Waiver of Premium important? With the Waiver of Premium Benefit, policyowners, in addition to securing life insurance to protect those who depend on them, can also guarantee that their insurance premiums will be paid, even if they are unable to work due to disability. Few, if any, financial vehicles can offer this type of protection. Any policyowner can become a victim of a disabling accident or illness at any time. To prevent a disability from destroying your life insurance program, make sure your policy has Waiver of Premium.
Life Insurance Policy Loan
Most permanent life insurance policies contain the option to borrow from the cash value of the policy. Loans may be taken at a fixed or a variable loan rate determined annually. The amount borrowed from the cash value affects the amount of dividends you will receive. Any unpaid loans, along with accumulated interest, will be deducted from the proceeds at death or if the policy is surrendered prior to death. Within contractual limitations, there is a maximum value that can be borrowed that is less than the total cash value of the policy.
NMFN-LI-001 (1209)
Living Benefits of Life Insurance
Life insurance has no equal when it comes to providing for those you care about when you die. At a time when their lives have dramatically changed, your survivors can be financially secure. Because of your foresight, their everyday needs can be met.
But did you know that a permanent life insurance policy is also an excellent foundation for a long-term financial program? Whether you’re wondering if you will be able to retire comfortably or provide for your family in an emergency, a permanent life insurance policy can be one of the best low-risk financial vehicles available to help you provide for future living needs.
Retirement Income
When you retire, you may need more income than your pension plan, 401(k) or Social Security can provide. You may use the cash values in a permanent life insurance policy to supplement your retirement income.
College Tuition
The cash value your policy generates as your child is growing can be used to help pay college tuition costs. Using a life insurance policy’s cash value to pay for college expenses has some important advantages over other education funding methods.
Some education funding tools dictate how and when the money you have accumulated must be used to avoid penalties and taxes. Life insurance doesn’t. If you decide not to use your permanent life insurance policy’s cash value to pay for tuition, it just keeps on growing, tax-deferred.
Permanent life insurance is one education funding vehicle that will not be taken into consideration for the purposes of determining your child’s eligibility for financial aid. This is important if you’re looking to supplement your existing financial resources with financial aid or loans to cover the full cost of your child’s education.Opportunity Dollars
You can use the cash value to help make the down payment on a new house, provide start-up cash for a new business or take advantage of other opportunities as they arise.
The guaranteed accessibility to the cash value makes permanent life insurance one of the most valuable assets people can own. It can be withdrawn, borrowed, used and replaced repeatedly at the discretion of the policyowner.
The impact of taxes can make some options more valuable than others. As a general rule, when policy values are surrendered, the amount received is not taxed until it exceeds the amount paid in premiums. Income tax is due on the gain.
Non-guaranteed values and benefits include dividends. The dividend scale is reviewed annually by the Company’s Board of Trustees and is subject to change.
NMFN-LI-002 (1209)
Permanent Life Insurance vs. Term Life Insurance
When looking for life insurance, a common debate often occurs over permanent life insurance and term insurance. How do you unravel all of the information you have and make a decision that’s right for you?
Cookie cutter answers are rarely appropriate where lives are as different as ours. Consider the length of time you will need insurance and balance the cost against the value.
Because of the variety of opinions about the relative value of the different kinds of life insurance, the one thing each of us can fall back on is our individual needs.
Permanent life insurance and term insurance can work well together or separately. The solution that’s best for you depends on your situation.
The following examples can help to pinpoint how permanent life insurance or term insurance may help you.
You need protection for the four years your child attends college. (Term insurance)
You want protection for as long as you need it or for your entire lifetime. (Permanent life insurance)
You want to ensure your child/grandchild attends the college of their choice – whether you live or die. (Permanent life insurance)
You need protection but your financial resources are stretched. (Term insurance)
You want to accumulate money to supplement retirement income. (Permanent life insurance)
You want to provide for a special needs child. (Permanent life insurance)
You want to protect the lifestyle your income provides for your family. For a two-income family, you should consider protecting both incomes. (Term insurance or Permanent life insurance)
You need to financially replace the contributions of a non-working spouse. (Term insurance or Permanent life insurance) You want to provide an inheritance for people or organizations you care about. (Permanent life insurance)
Your bank wants you to own life insurance in order to loan you money, perhaps to expand your business. (Term insurance)
You want to help your employees save for retirement. (Permanent life insurance)NMFN-LI-003 (1209)
The Northwestern Mutual Advantage
Founded in 1857, Northwestern Mutual is one of the most respected companies in operation today, an honor earned by providing excellence in financial management and personal service for over a century and a half.
Ratings and Their Importance
Evaluating the financial condition of an insurance company is difficult and complex. The ratings services use specialized knowledge and extensive information when evaluating an insurance company.
How is a life insurance company evaluated?
The rating company examines the insurance company’s financial statements to make a quantitative analysis.The rating company may visit the insurance company to interview management and assess the insurance company’s operations.The rating company may analyze the insurance company’s current markets and environment.What can ratings do for you?
They can indicate the ability the insurance company has to pay its obligations to policyowners.They can provide insight into the quality of an insurance company’s assets and management.They provide an objective third-party analysis of an insurance company’s financial condition.Northwestern Mutual has maintained the best possible insurance financial strength ratings from all four major rating agencies.
Industry-Leading Operational Fundamentals
Northwestern Mutual’s financial strength is also attributable to its performance in four critical areas:
Operating expensesCareful underwritingUnusually high persistencyClaims experience Each plays a part in allowing the company to have industry-leading investment returns from a portfolio that is more diversified than most life insurance companies. The experience a company has in these four areas has the greatest impact on the performance of its policies.
The Mutual Advantage
As a mutual company, Northwestern Mutual has no stockholders. This structure allows the company to act differently than most publicly traded stock companies which are typically forced to split their focus between customers and shareholders. Because of this ability to provide value exclusively for its policyowners, Northwestern Mutual can take a longer-term investment approach with the assets in its general account.
Learn more about Northwestern Mutual:
Industry rankings and accoladesFacts and ReportsA Northwestern Mutual Representative – Your Strong Partner
Making the right choice for your life insurance protection requires the expert guidance of a professional you can trust. The personal relationship you build with your Northwestern Mutual representative is an important step in developing innovative solutions to your needs today and in the future.
Not only can your representative provide you with life insurance protection, your representative can also offer exclusive access to Northwestern Mutual and its vast array of financial products, services and specialists who can help you reach your financial goals.
NMFN-LI-004 (1209)
The Next Step
Our web site can’t tell you everything you need to know about life insurance and it can’t tell you what type of life insurance policy is best suited to your particular situation.
Northwestern Mutual representatives are well prepared to answer questions you may have. They can also provide expert guidance in helping you identify the right mix of products and in making recommendations that will meet your specific needs.
Northwestern Mutual policies are available exclusively through representatives of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.
NMFN-LI-005 (1209)
Contact Form All fields marked with * are required
*First Name
*Last Name
*Address
City
State Select a State AK AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC ND NE NH NJ NM NV NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VT WA WI WV WY *Zipcode
*Phone
When is the best time to call? Select Morning Afternoon Evening Email
Current Customer? *Are you a current customer? Yes No Policy Number Or Rep's name Tell us more about your needs... All personal information which is provided via this form is secured during transmission and processing.
Tools and Resources Articles
Pitfalls of Price Shopping Life Insurance
Six Reasons to Consider Life Insurance for the Entire Family
There's More to Permanent Life Insurance Than Just a Death BenefitCalculators
Life Insurance
Additional Information How We Determine Dividends
Through dividends, Northwestern Mutual's goal is to provide policyowners with world-class insurance protection at the lowest possible cost.
Life Insurance Products at a Glance
Review this brief guide to the types of policies Northwestern Mutual offers, some of their features, and when they might be appropriate for your situation.
Site Index
Legal Notice
Online Privacy Statement
Third Party Links
Contact Us
Copyright © 2010 The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. All Rights Reserved.
Votes:12
Comments: 0