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New whole life — a lifelong benefit that's ready to enroll now

Starting right now, you can enroll new and re-enrolling customers in our new whole life coverage. This new product has even more appeal than our discontinued interest-sensitive whole life (ISWL) coverage because it offers consumers and employers several advantages:

  • Guaranteed cash value — grows at a fixed 4.5% interest rate
  • Designed to fit employees’ needs at various stages of life
  • Option for a paid-up policy at age 70 with no more premiums due
  • Helps make benefits package more competitive, with no direct costs to the business
  • Health care reform ready

Why did we change the product?

Beginning Jan. 1, 2014, all whole life policies in the U.S. must offer a minimum 4.5% non-forfeiture rate.

The change in interest rate gave us the opportunity to redesign the product. And because consumers have been asking for simpler, more consumer-friendly financial benefits, we built our new whole life to be easier to understand and manage — while keeping the best parts of our interest-sensitive whole life.



What's new and what stayed the same

The maximum employee face amount has been increased to $300,000. The new coverage offers two plan options at enrollment, each with different premiums:


  1. Paid-up at age 70: The option provides a fully paid-up death benefit, and continues to earn guaranteed cash value with no more premium payments after age 70. Covered individuals can access the cash value as they need.*
  2. Ongoing premium payment until death: This option provides a full, guaranteed death benefit, with premiums that are payable for all years. Covered individuals can convert this policy to a reduced amount, paid-up policy at retirement age, if their financial protection needs change.

The new coverage also has new term riders and new children's volume purchase option.


  • The spouse term rider provides a guaranteed level premium and level death benefit for 20 years, and the employee term rider provides a level benefit equal to 50% of the base policy amount for 20 years.
  • Children’s coverage may now be purchased on either a money-purchase or volume-purchase basis. The children’s purchase option does not have to match the employee/spouse purchase option.

The coverage still includes:


  • Qualified LTC rider: This rider allows policy owners to access the death benefit after the insured individual has been receiving long term care for 90 days, subject to rider conditions.
  • Guaranteed issue option: This option allows employees to purchase the minimum amount at enrollment and increase coverage at future re-enrollments, with no need to answer health questions or get a physical exam.


Layering whole life with term life


One of the best things about this new product is how well it complements employer-paid term life.


Term life works well as income protection for a policyholder’s family, but whole life can play a different, equally important role. During working years, it can accumulate cash value. During retirement years, after employer-provided term life is no longer available, it provides a death benefit that can also be accessed for end-of-life care.


By layering both types of coverage as soon as they are eligible, employees can make sure they have affordable protection for their needs through all stages of life. Plus, since it’s 100% employee-paid, employers can offer whole life at no direct cost to their business while increasing the attractiveness of their company’s benefits package.

For you, a simplified offering with comprehensive protection means easier employee and employer education. And since employees tend to keep whole life after they buy it, whole life provides a revenue stream that persists year after year. It’s a benefit that will add continual value to your business.

For more information about our life insurance offerings, contact your Unum representative.



*Only for issue ages 15-50.

This information is not intended to be a complete description of the insurance coverage available. The policy has exclusions and limitations which may affect any benefits payable.

This insurance will not pay a benefit for deaths caused by suicide within the first 24 months (12 months in CO, MO and ND) after the policy is issued or after the policy amount is increased.