SMART Universal Life Insurance

Flexibility and control for today’s lifestyle.

woman and man giving children piggy back rides in grassy field

What is universal life insurance?

Universal life insurance can provide you with the flexibility to make changes as your life evolves. These products combine lifetime insurance protection with the potential for tax-deferred¹ cash value accumulation. You can even access the cash value if you need it.

Universal life has two parts: a life insurance part and a cash accumulation part. The premium you pay is used to cover the monthly costs for the insurance. If the premium paid is higher than the costs for the insurance, the excess is accumulated as cash value and earns monthly interest and grows over time, typically on a tax-deferred basis¹, until withdrawn as cash or used to help pay the costs of the insurance.

Benefits of universal life insurance

Provides lifetime life insurance protection
Options (known as “riders”) that offer protection for other needs, such as total disability or accidental death
Tax-deferred growth on cash value (some restrictions may apply)
Premium flexibility within maximum and minimum limits
Withdraw funds, or surrender for cash²
Borrow and use the insurance as collateral for a loan³
Death benefit is generally free of income taxes and probate delays^1,5

What is SMART Universal Life Insurance?

Whether you’re planning for retirement, saving for your children’s education or developing strategies to preserve your estate, Foresters SMART Universal Life⁶ can help you cover what’s important to you and build value for the future.

Features and insurance benefits

SMART Universal Life offers you considerable flexibility to adjust coverage as your needs change. It also provides the security of guaranteed coverage for the first 10 years (called a No Lapse Guarantee), as long as you pay sufficient premiums.³

Because SMART is a universal life insurance product, it has the potential to build value beyond the death benefit. This “cash accumulation” portion of SMART Universal Life grows at a guaranteed minimum interest rate of 2% each year. You can even access² the cash accumulated for special needs, such as buying a house, paying down a mortgage or getting married.

Features included with basic coverage

There are four features of SMART Universal Life that may be automatically included with your basic coverage with no additional premium that can help you, your family and your favorite charity in times of need:

Charity Benefit provision⁴: When a claim is paid to the beneficiaries, Foresters will donate (up to $100,000) an additional 1% of the face amount to a designated registered charitable organization, so clients can support their favorite cause. Automatically included in the contract with no additional monthly deductions.
Family Health Benefit Rider: Pays a benefit you can use to help pay certain family health expenses that may occur as a result of some natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes.
Common Carrier Accidental Death Rider: Provides an additional death benefit if you die of accidental injuries that occur while riding as a fare-paying passenger on a common carrier, such as a bus or a train.
Accelerated Death Benefit Rider⁷: Provides an option to accelerate a portion of the eligible death benefit and receive a payment⁸. Subject to eligibility criteria and state variations, this rider can be issued with one or more of the eligible illnesses - Critical Illness, Chronic Illness or Terminal Illness.

Build custom coverage

Choose from a variety of optional riders, which can greatly enhance your benefits:

Children’s Term Rider: Covers new additions to your family and can be converted to permanent life insurance in the future, regardless of the child’s health.
Accidental Death Rider: Provides an affordable additional benefit to help your family financially in case of death due to accidental bodily injury.
Guaranteed Purchase Option Rider (GPO): Offers an opportunity to increase your face amount by up to $50,000 on each option date, without additional evidence of insurability.
Waiver of Monthly Deductions Rider: Waives your premium if you are totally disabled and unable to work for at least 6 months.

Foresters Financial and Foresters are trade names and trademarks of The Independent Order of Foresters (a fraternal benefit society) and its subsidiaries.

¹ Foresters Financial, its employees and life insurance representatives, do not provide, on Foresters behalf, legal, tax or estate advice. The information given here is merely a summary of our understanding of current laws and regulations and is not specific to your situation. Consult a tax or legal advisor regarding estate planning and the taxation of life insurance.

² Withdrawals and/or loans will reduce the death benefit and cash values and may affect how long the insurance contract is in effect. Surrender charges may apply to withdrawals. Loan interest is charged daily on the loan at 4% annually, 2% after the 7th certificate year. Income and growth on accumulated cash values are generally taxable only upon withdrawal: IRC section 72. Loans may be considered a reportable tax event. Ask your tax advisor for details on your specific situation.

³ Assumes no withdrawals.

⁴ Foresters will pay the eligible designated charitable organization in the name of the insured. The designated charitable organization must be an accredited 501(c)(3) organization under the Internal Revenue Code and eligible to receive charitable contributions as defined in section 170(c) of that code.

⁵ Proceeds from an insurance certificate paid due to the death of the insured are generally excludable from the beneficiaries’ gross income for income tax purposes. Consult your tax advisor on your specific situation

⁶ Foresters products and their riders may not be available or approved in all states and are subject to eligibility requirements, underwriting approval, limitations and state variations. If you have questions regarding Foresters products and their riders, please contact your insurance agent or contact Foresters Financial to be connected with an agent in your area. Foresters SMART Universal Life is issued by The Independent Order of Foresters. Foresters SMART Universal Life and its riders are filed under the following form numbers listed below, where “XX” represents either “US” or your state’s postal abbreviation, as applicable.

Foresters SMART Universal Life: ICC18-UL-SMART-US01 or UL-SMART-XX01-2018 or UL-SMART-FL02-2018; Waiver of Monthly Deductions Rider: ICC18-UL-WMDUS01 or UL-WMD-XX01-2018; Accidental Death Rider: ICC18-UL-ADR-US01 or UL-ADR-XX01-2018; Children’s Term Rider: ICC18-UL-CTR-US01 or UL-CTRXX01-2018; Family Health Benefit Rider: UL-FHB-XX01-2008; Common Carrier Accidental Death Rider: ICC18-UL CCADR-US01 or UL-CCADR-XX01-2018; Guaranteed Purchase Option Rider: ICC18-UL-GPO-US01 or UL-GPO-XX01-2018; Accelerated Death Benefit Rider (for Chronic, Critical and Terminal Illness): ICC14- UL-ABRCHCRTI-US01 or UL-ABRCHCRTI-XX01-2014; Accelerated Death Benefit Rider (for Critical and Terminal Illness): ICC14-UL-ABRCRTI-US01 or UL-ABRCRTIXX01-2014; Accelerated Death Benefit Rider (for Terminal Illness): ICC14-UL-ABRTIUS01 or UL-ABRTI-XX01-2014

⁷ ABR is not available in CA.

(If applicable) This product is a life insurance certificate that accelerates the death benefit on account of chronic illness and is not a health insurance certificate providing long term care insurance subject to the minimum requirements of New York Law, does not qualify for the New York State Long Term Care Partnership Program and is not a Medicare supplement certificate.

412735 US 09/18

SMART Universal Life Insurance

What is universal life insurance?

Benefits of universal life insurance

What is SMART Universal Life Insurance?

Features and insurance benefits

Features included with basic coverage

Build custom coverage

Products & solutions

Tools & guides

Customer care

Login

Connect with us

Share this...