What's the smartest way to cash out a flexible variable life insurance policy?

Question

I inherited a flexible variable life insurance policy that my now deceased grandfather bought for me a long time ago. The value on it has gone down in value by about $900 since I found out it was mine 3 months ago...should I just cash it out now or is there a smarter way to cash out the surrender value (it's tied to the stock market...so I know there's probably not much I can do)? Help please.

Answer 1

If you don't need the life coverage you could do a couple of different procedures.  

You could surrender it, (which means cash it out and have the insurance company send you a check)  From here you have liberty to do what every you want with the proceeds.  However, this may generate a taxable event for you if the policy has a gain.  The gain would be reported as ordinary income not a capital gain.

If there is a gain you could consider a 1035. Which is a tax deferred transfer.  To do this you could actually roll the existing life policy into a tax deferred annuity.  The annuity could be fixed or variable depending on your preference and risk tolerance.  The annuity cold provide guarantees and good investment options as well.

Answer 2

The typical way to cancel is to send your request in writing to the company. Tell them you want to discontinue the policy and want the surrender value sent to you. It could take them up to six months to do this. I would suggest that before you do this, speak with a financial advisor. I would bet you would be asked to transfer the surrender value from the policy to an anuity. By doing this, if there would be a taxable event just by withdrawing, you bypass this event by putting the surrender value into the annuity.

Answer 3

A lot more information is needed about your policy. You need to at least call the insurance company and try to find out more information. There may be a lot of benefits in keeping an old policy in force. So, there is just a lot more information is needed to really advise you on your best course of action. Try to find out more before you make any decisions.

Answer 4

first, you will probably want to contact a financial advisor or the agent that wrote the policy so that they can fully discuss the policy details with you to determine if surrendering the policy would benefit or hurt your current financial situation.  if you surrender the policy, it may create a taxable event that you would need to report as taxable income.  another option would be to stop paying premiums into the policy and let the cash value pay for the insurance deductions each month.  that way, you can keep the coverage without additional premium and you would not incurr additional taxes.  you could also 1035 exchange the policy into a fixed life insurance policy or an annuity so you woulnd't be taxable for any gain in the policy upon surrender.  however, if you surrender the policy after its transferred,  you would still be liable for the gain on the policy.  again, your best bet is to consult your financial planner or the agent who wrote the policy.

Answer 5

The question is...how much is the life insurance benefit? If you could use life insurance, you may want to keep it for that reason.  Also, see if there is a "fixed account" inside of the policy.  If so, move what's left of your funds there while the market is so volatile.  Then you can carefully consider your options.