Nationwide Financial unveils YourLifeSM Accumulation Universal Life insurance
New product helps financial professionals provide clients withcompetitively priced life insurance plus living benefit features
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 20, 2008
Contacts:
Dan Orzano
614-677-5115
orzanod@nationwide.com
Jeff Botti
614-249-6339
bottij@nationwide.com
Columbus, Ohio — Following its recently updated Accumulation Variable Universal Life product, Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: NFS) today unveiled Nationwide YourLifeSM Accumulation Universal Life, an individual, flexible premium, adjustable universal life product.
Nationwide continues its aggressive rollout of new products, as the January 2009 deadline approaches for all insurance carriers to update their life insurance products to incorporate the 2001 CSO mortality tables. Since the beginning of 2006, Nationwide has released nine new life insurance products.
“Nationwide YourLife Accumulation Universal Life is geared for consumers looking for flexible, cost-effective permanent protection that can also offer some return,” said Peter Golato, senior vice president for Nationwide Financial. “The typical age of the consumer is 40 to 55 with incomes ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 per year.
“The secondary market is a consumer who is age 60-plus, who likes the idea of wealth transfer. They want to leave a larger legacy to their heirs but with an affordable, low-cost premium compared to a whole life policy. Adding our new accumulation universal life insurance to our existing suite of products ensures that we’re providing consumers with a variety of life insurance choices to meet their needs,” Golato said.
Key features of Nationwide YourLifeSM Accumulation UL
Nationwide’s YourLifeSM Accumulation UL has features to help
financial professionals grow their business. For example:
• Financial professionals can use Nationwide’s simplified underwriting
applications such as EasyMed® and other underwriting programs, which help
issue a policy faster.
• Financial professionals can offer competitive premiums and features
from a highly rated company.
• Nationwide’s Advanced Sales team can provide individual case support
throughout the sales process.
• Easy access to Nationwide’s life underwriting department by phone or
e-mail can help simplify the sales process.
Nationwide’s exclusive YourLifeSM Wellness program
To encourage and support Nationwide’s customers to live healthier
lives, the company has partnered with its affiliate, Nationwide Better
Health, to offer programs and simple advice on issues like smoking
cessation, stress management, fitness and nutrition.
“Our financial objective is to offer our customers peace of mind via the death benefit and help them prepare for their financial future,” said Golato. “Now we’re offering them a chance at better, healthier and happier lives, too.”
Customers have free access to the Nationwide Better Health Web site, which includes a library of health and medical topics, healthy recipes, a prescription interaction tool, and other tips and calculators. Additionally, the customer can use Nationwide Better Health CheckSM – a free, confidential health-risk assessment tool that recommends various health-related programs based on his or her needs.
Once the customer completes the Health Check, Nationwide Better Health
can recommend which of six available online programs to use that may be
beneficial to improve his or her overall health. Program topics
include:
• weight management
• stress management
• getting fit
• nutrition
• quitting smoking, and
• quitting smokeless tobacco.
Available riders help tailor a policy to a customer’s needs
Nationwide YourLifeSM Accumulation UL allows the customer to select
riders to tailor the policy to fit his or her needs. All riders are
available for an additional cost, may not be available in all states and
may be known by different names in different states.
For example, Nationwide’s long-term care (LTC) rider provides monthly benefits for nursing home care and home health care. It will provide for a monthly accelerated payment of a portion of the death benefit under the base policy whenever qualifying conditions and the elimination period have been met.
Customers who purchase the LTC rider have access to the Nationwide Care Guide Network®, a suite of consultative services provided to customers and their families that are designed to help answer questions and provide information on health care, nutrition, legal issues, support services and more.
“Not all long-term care coverage is the same; in fact, some policies and riders can be so complex and restrictive that customers end up with more hassle and less control than they bargained for,” Golato said. “With our indemnity-style long-term care rider, we make payments directly to the policyowner. There is no need to submit bills and payments are set to pay out up to the maximum amount allowed, avoiding unfavorable tax consequences.”
Keep in mind that the LTC rider payout is an acceleration of the death benefit and, as such, it will reduce both the death benefit and cash values. Care should be taken to make sure that the clients’ life insurance needs continue to be met even if the rider pays out in full. There is no guarantee that the rider will cover the entire cost for all of the insured’s long-term care as these vary with the needs of the insured. Once invoked, the LTC rider represents an acceleration of the death benefit and reduces it dollar for dollar. If the client is collecting LTC benefits from another company, in addition to the LTC benefits from Nationwide, any amount of total benefits that exceeds the daily HIPAA rate will be taxed as ordinary income.
Other available riders include:
• Accelerated Death Benefit - This rider provides for an accelerated
death benefit in the event that the insured has a non-correctable
terminal illness that results in a remaining life expectancy of 12 months
or less.
• Accidental Death Benefit - Proceeds from this rider are payable in
addition to the specified amount of the base policy if the death of the
insured was caused by accidental means. An accident must occur no more
than 90 days before the death of the insured.
• Spouse and Children’s Term Insurance - provides level term insurance
on the spouse and provides term insurance on all the children of the
insured.
• Overloan Lapse Protection - previously known as Policy Guard, this
rider provides lapse protection once the policy has been in force for at
least 15 years and the insured is at least 75 years old for heavily
loaned policies, avoiding potential tax consequences.
• Premium Waiver - credits a monthly premium while the insured is
disabled. The benefit will be credited to the accumulated value at the
beginning of each month.
Important Consumer Information
Neither Nationwide nor its representatives give legal or tax advice.
Consumers should contact their legal or tax advisor for answers to their
specific questions. As with all life insurance, guarantees are subject to
the claims-paying ability of the issuing life insurance company. As
consumers’ personal situations change (for example, marriage, birth of a
child or job promotion), so will their life insurance needs. Care should
be taken to ensure this product is suitable for long-term life insurance
needs. Any associated costs should be evaluated before making a purchase.
Investing involves market risk, including the possible loss of principal.
Life insurance has fees and charges associated with it that include costs of insurance that vary with such characteristics of the insured as gender, health and age, and has additional charges for riders that customize a policy to fit individual needs.
About Nationwide Financial
Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: NFS), a publicly traded
company based in Columbus, Ohio, provides a variety of financial services
that help consumers investi and protect their long-term assets, and
offers retirement plans and services through both public- and
private-sector employers.
It’s part of the Nationwide group of companies, which offers diversified insurance and financial services. The group is led by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, which is ranked No. 108 on the Fortune 500 based on 2007 revenue.ii For more information, visit www.nationwide.com.
Life insurance is issued by Nationwide Life Insurance Company or Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company, Columbus, Ohio.
Nationwide, Nationwide Financial, the Nationwide framemark and On Your Side are federally registered service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. Nationwide YourLife is a service mark of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.
