Best VUL (Variable Universal Life Insurance)?

[danica00]

Anybody here invested in a VUL policy? Is this a good investment? What are the best plans to get? Any tips on maximizing the investment?

[metropolitan]

How much do you know about VULs? If you don't know much, I suggest you do some research on the internet first.

[danica00]

How much do you know about VULs? If you don't know much, I suggest you do some research on the internet first.

I'm starting to know quite a bit and continously researching about different investment vehicles. I know that there are premium charges and about the risk compared to traditional insurance. However I do think this is the best initial investment for me since I currently do not have an insurance policy and I also want to start learning about investing with mutual funds, stocks and the like. It's less risky than investing purely on mutual funds, stocks or bonds since I'm also getting the added benefit of an insurance policy. Just wanna know about others' first hand experiences with their plans

[lush89]

I'm starting to know quite a bit and continously researching about different investment vehicles. I know that there are premium charges and about the risk compared to traditional insurance. However I do think this is the best initial investment for me since I currently do not have an insurance policy and I also want to start learning about investing with mutual funds, stocks and the like. It's less risky than investing purely on mutual funds, stocks or bonds since I'm also getting the added benefit of an insurance policy. Just wanna know about others' first hand experiences with their plans

I have a few VULs. My principle is before I add another life insurance policy, I segregate the purpose as to whether it's for protection or for investment. If I'm after protection, I get the basic whole life policy because the premium is way cheaper than those endowment or VUL plans. If it's for investment, I take into consideration that usually, the earnings are not guaranteed & are lesser than other financial investments because a portion of the premium has to pay for the life insurance cost. For VULs, I also consider when I need the money because like right now that markets are down, the surrender cash value could be negative.

[mxherr5]

I have Sunlife's Flexilink.
So far, I don't have any regrets.. the only bad thing
I could see about VULs in general are the monthly charges
that are taken out of the "fund"

See, instead of just taking paper losses during bear markets
nagiging realized loss sya because of the charges..

[nuss]

Philamlife's AIG Asset Builder has no premium charges whatsoever. Which means that almost all of what you pay gets invested already.

Here's a summary... http://www.philamlife.com/Products/Savings.html

But if you want to be technical about it, the AIG Asset Builder is only considered to be variable life and not VUL.

[metropolitan]

Philamlife's AIG Asset Builder has no premium charges whatsoever. Which means that almost all of what you pay gets invested already.

Here's a summary... http://www.philamlife.com/Products/Savings.html

But if you want to be technical about it, the AIG Asset Builder is only considered to be variable life and not VUL.

So does that mean that the insurance agent does not earn a commission at all? Kindly enlighten me.

[danica00]

Just invested in Sunlife Flexilink, hopefully this works out well for me VULs are not for everyone. If you can afford getting a separate life insurance and mutual fund investment, that could work also work well (with less charges). But I think for those who'd like to be covered now with limited funds to invest in both at the same time, I think VUL is a good option. Yup there are insurance charges but at least even if the market is down (along with your VUL unit prices), you're still insured. And since life insurance is a long term proposition,
I think it may force otherwise skittish investors to wait for an upward vcycle instead of panicking and getting out of the plan at the first sign of a downturn.

[danica00]

Philamlife's AIG Asset Builder has no premium charges whatsoever. Which means that almost all of what you pay gets invested already.

Here's a summary... http://www.philamlife.com/Products/Savings.html

But if you want to be technical about it, the AIG Asset Builder is only considered to be variable life and not VUL.

What's the main difference between a VUL and a variable life plan?

[nuss]

metropolitan... the insurance agent gets a commission but not from the premium per se. Philamlife is willing enough to shoulder the commission to be paid to the agent.

danica00... there's a vague difference but not much. VUL, especially with the products offered in the United States, have much more complicated terms.

[rmelendres]

hi there guys..

There are 2 types of VUL products kasi 1.) Single Pay or One-time payment. 2.) yung regular payment lets say 5 or 10yrs.

Before kasi insurance alone lang ang uso dito satin but now because of the emerging market needs nagkaron ng VUL (Variable Unit Linked)
2-in-1 package. May insurance ka na, may investment ka pa.

the first thing that you should ask yourself is willing ka ba na mag invest and wait for a very long period of time? If yes then VUL is the right thing for you.. BUT if you intend na after few years eh bawiin na *** investment mo eh siguradong talo ka..

keep this in mind: "for money to grow, you need to put time"

[rmelendres]

nuss.. evry insurance agents has a commission per sale. Philam agents also gets commissions kasi hindi lang nakikita included na kasi sa computations. in other insurance, for them to be eligible for a commision they need to hit certain targets first. kapag hindi nila na hit yun ang tawag daw dun "thank you" for the company.

[rmelendres]

lets talk charges:

some companies have one-time charge, some yearly charges.

with AXA Phils. i think one-time charge lang sila sa single pay. sa regular pay, 1st yr -100% goes to insurance. 2nd and 3rd yr-50% goes to insurance. afterwhich lahat na is for the investment part. take note: no charges for withdrawal. iba kasi meron eh.

[The DJ Project]

The best VUL really depends on your needs and investment capacity.
So the best way is to look comparatively. "Window shopping" ka muna dapat.

From what I know, the top three companies offering VULs are the following:

Philam
SunLife
AXA

There are also different configurations of VUL.
- For some, like AXA as the post above mentioned, there's the option of single pay or regular pay. Meron din 'to sa Philam. I'm not too sure about SunLife. In any case, I would almost always suggest a regular pay option. Why? Because you benefit from dollar (or peso) cost averaging. It won't matter if the market is up or down. You tend to win 66% of the time. Talo ka sa single pay kasi tali ang number of shares mo sa panahon na nag avail ka.

- There are companies that separate the insurance premium from the invested amount. In SunLife, I think they split, then would ask you to tap up. In AXA, it was explained above. In Philam, as nuss mentioned, 100% is invested then the insurance is based on the amount invested. So if you want a big insurance, then get from those that has independent insurance premium in their policy. Kung investment, dun ka sa malaki ang investment component.

- How long would you keep your money invested? Kung short-term, kuha ka ng walang withdrawal charge (pero mataas ang magiging premium mo nun, I think). Kung long term, kuha ka kahit may withdrawal charge. In any case, VUL is for long-term, especially for estate planning.

- Speaking of estate planning, that's one thing you should consider when getting a VUL. What estate planning is, is a different discussion.

- Some of the companies I mentioned above offer "guaranteed principal" in your investment. Personally, I would get that type of plan. Anong catch? Usually offered in a very limited time only. So kung nagkataong wala kang pera pag nag offer sila, wala kang magagawa.


I hope that helps.

[danica00]

^^ Thanks for the info

[codylee23]

Philamlife's AIG Asset Builder has no premium charges whatsoever. Which means that almost all of what you pay gets invested already.

i believe the no premium would means no sales load on your investment, but there is a premium with the insurance portion deducted through out the duration of your plan.

[danica00]

Another option is Pru Life UK, sila yung pioneer sa VUL dito sa Philippines. My friend got a 10-yr limited pay VUL there. Mukhang ok naman when I browsed thru her policy. Pero I still like Sunlife better, mas updated yung site nila for the daily NAVPU and there's also sunlink online (online facility) + kilala ko na rin yung agent.

[leela1025]

this is a helpful thread. nagsscout din ako ng VUL for myself.

ito naman yung ibang nabasa ko about VUL. sana makatulong.

The Best VUL?

[danica00]

^^ That's my main source of info on the net, There are some very helpful posters there

[allanj246]

i admire all of you guys for thinking of investing when people are afraid to do so and for putting your money on VUL's (mutual funds) when the stock market is low. This only means that you all know when is the best time to invest. When i say best time, i mean now! ...when the stock prices are low, houses are low, and generally, when people are not investing.

I am an agent with Sunlife Financial and we're having a hard time convincing people to put their money in while prices are low so they can take advantage and cost average.

For any more detailed questions about VUL's or other Sunlife Financial products:

Allan Asuncion
0917.700.6004
YM: allanj246