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In completing most any good, solid financial plan, life insurance will often be needed. One of the biggest reasons for this is because life insurance proceeds can be used by loved ones and survivors for some needs - including the payoff of debts, the continuation of income, and/or for keeping financial promises like funding a child's or a grandchild's future college education.
But before going out and purchasing just any life insurance policy, it is essential to keep a few key things in mind. For example, you need to know which type of life insurance coverage will be right for you. Likewise, knowing the anticipated amount of protection to purchase can help to make sure that you are not under- or over-insured.
It is also important for you to review the insurance company that you are considering purchasing the coverage through. That way, you will have a better idea of how financially stable the insurer is, and you'll know whether or not the company has a good reputation for paying out its policyholders' claims. One company that has a stable financial footing in the life insurance arena is Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company, which acquired First Colony Life.
First Colony Life Insurance Company was a Lynchburg, Virginia based insurer that was acquired by GE Financial Assurance (which is now Genworth) in 1996. First Colony was initially founded back in 1955 by Edwin Horner as a local term life insurance provider. The company was primarily focused on offering impaired risk coverage, and over time, First Colony Life Insurance Company grew into a large national provider of both life insurance coverage and retirement annuities.
In 1996, First Colony Life Insurance Company was acquired by GE Capital (now Genworth), after which First Colony continued to grow and expand. The company also opened a new Customer Service Center in order to assist its new and existing policyholders.
While the company continued to offer insurance coverage as First Colony Life following its acquisition by GE Capital / Genworth, in 2007, First Colony Life Insurance Company officially merged into Genworth Life and Annuity Company.
Today, even though First Colony Life Insurance Company has been merged into Genworth for over a decade, current policyholders can still obtain service via the company's Customer Service Center.
Genworth is also headquartered in the state of Virginia (in the city of Richmond). Genworth has a long history in the life insurance business, as it was initially founded in 1871, as the Life Insurance Company of Virginia. (Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company was later formed in 1955). The company now has a presence in more than 25 countries around the world.
Today, Genworth primarily focuses on offering mortgage insurance protection, as well as both individual and group long-term care insurance. The company also offers immediate need annuities.
Over the past few years, Genworth has had some financial struggles, and because of that, its once-stellar ratings have since been downgraded. The most recent insurer ratings for Genworth Life Insurance Company include the following:
In addition, although Genworth is not an accredited member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB), the company has been given a grade of A+ by the BBB, which is on an overall grade scale of A+ to F.
Over the past three years, Genworth has closed out a total of just two customer complaints through the Better Business Bureau. One of these complaints had to do with problems with the company's products and/or service, and the other was related to billing and/or collection issues.
At this time, Genworth is no longer selling new life insurance policies. It is not clear whether or not the company will resume offering this type of coverage in the future. Prior to this stoppage, Genworth offered a "hybrid" term / universal life insurance policy which was somewhat like a term life plan, however it was built upon a universal life insurance policy platform.
The company offered a "coverage protection" feature. This allowed the policyholder to extend coverage, in many ways like converting a term policy over into a permanent policy. However, in the case of the Genworth policy, the policyholder already knows what his or her premium price for this coverage would be at the time they purchase the initial coverage.
Here, the Colony Term UL policyholders could extend their plan's death benefit guarantee beyond the original term that was chosen. The end result was that the policy would work like term life insurance coverage throughout the remainder of the no-lapse guarantee.
Based on which term duration that a policyholder had initially chosen (in this case, either 15 or 20 years), Genworth would add a coverage protection guarantee that stated that for the remainder of the term that was chosen, the policy would act the same as term life insurance. Then, at the end of the term, the policy would go back to its universal life status. (This essentially meant that cash value would be required to continue keeping the policy in force).
If, however, the term coverage did end up expiring, then the premiums would go up - usually quite a bit, based on the insured's then-current age and health status. So, if a policyholder had purchased a Colony Term universal life 10 policy, and then they decided five years after purchasing it that they wanted to have coverage for the remainder of their lifetime, then the coverage extension feature would have allowed the insured to extend the death benefit protection guarantee to either age 90, age 100, or 105 - and, this could occur without the need for the insured to provide evidence of insurability. (This means that there would not be a medical examination needed to keep the coverage in force).
It is important to note that there are some guidelines that had to be followed to use the conversion feature. For example, this conversion feature must have been exercised for a Colony Term UL 10 policy within years two through ten. Likewise, if the insured had a Colony Term UL 15, the conversion must have taken place with years two through fifteen. The same holds true with the Colony Term UL 20 and 30 plans, in that the coverage conversion must have taken place within years two through twenty, or in years two through thirty, respectively.
Also, the insured must be age 75 or younger in order for the coverage conversion feature to take place, and at a minimum, the coverage must have been projected to extend to the insured's age 90. In addition, the amount of the death benefit coverage would remain the same.
While the sales of life insurance products are currently suspended, Genworth still offers long-term care insurance protection and mortgage insurance, as well as immediate need annuities. (In March of 2016, the company did, however, suspend new sales of all of its traditional life insurance and traditional fixed annuity products, including its Total Living Coverage plan. The company does plan to honor its commitment to provide service to its existing 2.8 million life and annuity policy contract holders and their beneficiaries).
The mortgage insurance that is offered through Genworth can be beneficial in many ways. For example, this type of coverage can help qualified borrowers to realize their dream of homeownership sooner. That is because it allows borrowers to purchase a home with less than a 20% down payment, and it can also provide financial protection to lenders and investors in case of mortgage default.
Those who are purchasing a home can attain many benefits from the purchase of a Genworth mortgage insurance plan, such as:
The immediate need annuity product from Genworth offers a lifetime stream of income, which can help to alleviate the worry of running out of income in retirement. The income from this type of annuity can be used for a wide range of needs, including regular living expenses, as well as medical costs and / or the cost of a long term care need.
This Income Assurance Immediate Need Annuity is designed to help individuals fund the costs that are associated with a need for care, and because of that, the monthly income payments that are received may be higher that other traditional income solutions.
With this product, a portion of an individual's assets are used to secure a guaranteed monthly income that cannot be outlived - regardless of how long that may be. The income plan is personalized to the specific individual and the funding level for his or her particular circumstances.
Genworth also offers long-term care insurance coverage. It has done so for more than 40 years, which makes this company one of the first to enter into the long-term care insurance business. This type of insurance can help with paying the expenses that are associated with care that is received in a facility, as well as care that is received at one's own home. Through March of 2014, Genworth has paid out more than $10 billion in just long-term care insurance claims to its policy holders.
At this time, Genworth (and likewise, First Colony Life Insurance Company) are not offering traditional life insurance products for sale. However, there are many other insurers that provide term life insurance protection at affordable premium prices.
To find the best premium rate on a term life insurance policy, it is recommended that you work in conjunction with an independent life insurance brokerage or agency so that they can show you side-by-side comparisons of policies and premium costs. From there, you can determine which one will work the best for you.
If you are ready to see what type and amount of life insurance coverage may be available to you, we can help. We are an independent life insurance brokerage, and we work with many of the top-rated life insurance carriers in the market place today. We can assist you with getting the details that you need for making a well-informed insurance buying decision - and we can do this for you quickly, easily, and conveniently, all from your own computer, and without you having to meet in person with a life insurance agent.
Are you ready to move forward? If so, then all you need to do is just simply take a moment to fill out the quote form on this page.
Should you find that you still have any additional questions or concerns regarding the right life insurance policy and/or premium for you, then please feel free to reach out to us directly and speak with one of our life insurance coverage experts. We can be contacted directly by phone, toll-free, by dialing 541-400-9040.
We understand that purchasing life insurance can seem like a difficult task. There are many different components that you need to keep in mind, and you want to make sure that you are getting the property coverage for your needs. So, contact us today - we're here to help.