ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Universal Life Insurance
Pacific Life Policies
Insurance agents and financial advisors often suggest California consumers purchase universal life insurance as a savings vehicle for the future, especially indexed universal life insurance (IULs). Our lawyers recommend against these costly, complicated policies, and advise you to be prepared when an agent recommends one. Pacific Life (sometimes called “PacLife”) is a leading seller of indexed universal life insurance in California. PacLife issues policies to California consumers through its subsidiaries Pacific Life & Annuity Company and Pacific Life Insurance Company. Trade names for these products include Pacific Indexed Accumulator 5, Pacific Discovery Xelerator IUL, or Pacific Discovery Protector IUL. Pacific Life offers riders to these IULs such as its No-Lapse Guarantee Rider for additional premiums. All of these IUL products are complex and involve complicated structures of returns on your money, fees, and charge and penalties you may incur if you surrender your policy or allow it to lapse.
The California insurance and financial elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent consumers, especially seniors, who suffer losses on indexed universal life insurance policies including Pacific Indexed Accumulator 5, Pacific Discovery Xelerator IUL, or Pacific Discovery Protector IUL issued by Pacific Life through its subsidiaries Pacific Life & Annuity Company and Pacific Life Insurance Company. If you or a loved one is a California resident over age 60 and has purchased an indexed universal life insurance policy from Pacific Life, call us today at (415)441-8669 and we can review your policy and any riders attached to it for free. A list of major life insurance carriers and distributors in California, in addition to Pacific Life, appears below.
Consumers, especially seniors, do not always understand how IULs work, and agents may not fully explain important details either. Actual returns may be less than those advertised. IULs generally require additional premium payments after the initial premium, and if the policyholder does not keep up with premium payments, coverage will lapse. Carriers like Pacific Life reserve the right to change fees, increase premiums, and modify any non‐guaranteed elements like fee waivers. Senior consumers need to understand the risks involved with IULs. Don’t count on an agent or advisor to fully explain those risks as universal life insurance, like all life insurance and annuities, is a common-producing product. And don’t buy into the idea that universal life is a good way to save; there are plenty of less costly tax-deferred ways to save for retirement. In any event, always consult a professional with nothing to gain from your purchase of any life insurance or annuity and also consult your tax advisor as withdrawals, replacements, and surrenders can have adverse tax consequences for you.
Annuities and life insurance produce large sales commissions for brokers but are often inappropriate products for consumers, especially seniors. Leading providers and distributors of life insurance and fixed, variable and fixed indexed deferred annuities in California, including Pacific Life, are listed below. We are not in any way suggesting that any of these carriers or distributors has done anything wrong. Rather, the list is provided solely as a reference for our readers.
AIG/American General Life Insurance Company
Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America
American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company
American General Life Insurance Company/AIG
American International Group, Inc. (AIG)
American National Life Insurance Company
Ameriprise Financial/RiverSource Life Insurance Company
Ameriprise Financial/Securities America, Inc.
Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company
Athene Annuity and Life Company
Athene USA
Aviva Life Insurance Company
AXA Equitable Financial Services, LLC
AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company/AXA US
AXA Advisors, LLC
Bankers Life Insurance and Casualty Company
Berkshire Hathaway Group
Berkshire Hathaway Life Insurance Company of Nebraska
Brighthouse Financial, Inc./MetLife
Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.
Crump Life Insurance Services, Inc.
CUNA Mutual Group/CMFG Life Insurance Company
Delaware Life Insurance Company
EquiTrust Life Insurance Company
Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company
Forethought Life Insurance Company/Global Atlantic Financial Group
Genworth Financial, Inc.
Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company
Genworth Life Insurance Company
Global Atlantic Financial Group/Forethought Life Insurance Company
Guardian Life Insurance Company
Guggenheim Partners/Security Benefit Life Insurance Company
ING USA Annuity and Life Insurance Company
Jackson National Life Insurance Company
John Hancock Life Insurance Company
Lincoln Benefit Life Company
Lincoln Financial Group
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
Merrill Lynch Life Agency Inc.
Metlife/Metropolitan Life Insurance Company/Brighthouse Financial, Inc.
Minnesota Life Insurance Company
National Life Group
National Life Insurance Company/Equity Services, Inc.
National Western Life Insurance Company
Nationwide Life Insurance Company
New York Life Insurance Company
North American Company for Life and Health Insurance
Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company
Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company
Oxford Life Insurance Company
Pacific Life
Pacific Life & Annuity Company
Pacific Life Insurance Company
Principal Financial Group
Prudential Life Insurance Company
Raymond James Insurance Group
Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company/Tokio Marine Group
Reliastar Life Insurance Company/Voya Financial
RiverSource Life Insurance Company/Ameriprise Financial
Securities America, Inc./Ameriprise Financial
Security Benefit Group, Inc.
Security Benefit Life Insurance Company/Guggenheim Partners
Security Investors, LLC
Security of Denver Life Insurance Company
The Standard Life Insurance Company
Symetra Financial Corporation
Symetra Life Insurance Company
Transamerica Life Insurance Company
The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York
Unum Life Insurance Company of America
USAA Life Insurance Company
The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company
Voya Annuity and Life Insurance Company
Voya Insurance and Annuity Company
Voya/Reliastar Life Insurance Company
Wells Fargo Advisors
Western & Southern Financial Group
The Western & Southern Life Insurance Company
World Financial Group Insurance Agency, Inc.
