Insuring While Investing

One method to consider using if you’re in need of life insurance is investing inside a variable life insurance policy. With coverage like this, your premiums would be spent in mutual fund look-alikes, and you wouldn’t be required to pay current income taxes on any of your investment earnings.

There are also even more tax benefits that could potentially be available. These benefits may include the following:

• Taking out policy loans and withdrawals while you’re alive, which if handled with care, can provide some continuing tax-free cash flow.
• Beneficiaries, in the event of your death, could receive insurance proceeds exceeding the cash value of the policy. The good news is that generally, these proceed free from income taxes.

However, borrowing or withdrawing too much can have consequences. If you aren’t careful, then the policy could lapse, which means you could be left having to pay the deferred tax income. It is recommended that you review this with your insurer and/or an experienced financial advisor. It is also wise to ask for assistance in preventing potential policy lapses.

In most cases, you must hold on to a variable policy long-term (or for a certain number of years) for the upfront costs to be offset by the tax benefits. Regardless, if life insurance is a real priority, then these policies can help provide access to tax-free investment income while still meeting that need.