March 24, 2022
I also cover this in a YouTube video. Click here to watch!
So, what is the super cool feature called Return of Premium and which insurance products offer this coverage? By the end of today’s blog I’ll have not only shared with you how you can get this feature, but I will also warn you about some of its potential pitfalls.
I find insurance policies a necessary evil – but if we can purchase policies that protect us and our families, plus give us an opportunity to get a portion or 100% of our premiums back… Well, sign me up!
There are 3 common Return of Premium options in the marketplace:
Return of Premium on Death. This is somewhat obvious in how it works, meaning the pitfall is that you have to die to collect. So really this means the money is going back to your estate.
The Return of Premium that allows you certain risk management products, or in other words the “50% Return of Premium after so many years of coverage.” I will explain later how you can take advantage of this offer
Finally the Return of Premium that says “Give me 100% of my money back after a certain time period.”
So for Critical Illness Insurance – otherwise known as CI – you can add on the feature of Return of Premium on Death. You’re either going to get a covered policy and receive the CI benefit, or if you die while it’s being processed, your estate will get 100% of the premiums that you paid back, 100% tax-free.
A Critical Illness Policy can also be designed with a term to the age of 75 – meaning you will have coverage from now until 75, and you can add on a 15+ years ROP on Surrender. So while you are alive, after paying premiums for 15 years, you can decide to either continue to pay the premiums each year, or you could ask for 100% of your money back tax-free. In this case, you are either going to get a covered CI benefit, and if you don’t, you qualify to receive 100% of your money back. This is what I call the Cadillac version of CI.
There is another Critical Illness Policy for business owners that is kind of cool.
It is called Shared Ownership CI. This means that the Corporation pays the premium for the CI benefit and you personally pay the premium for the ROP on Death and the ROP on Surrender. Why is this cool? Because after 15+ years you can decide to surrender the policy and not only will you get back all the premiums that you paid personally, but you also get back all the premiums that the corporation paid – you get them all back personally and it is 100% tax-free money.
With Personal-Individual Disability Policies you can add on an ROP feature that allows you to receive back 50% of the premiums that you have paid if you haven’t claimed on the Disability Policy. This feature usually kicks in for every eight years you own the Disability Policy, and continues all the way up to the expiry date for the coverage. So if you haven’t contracted this policy, and you hit your eighth, 16th, or 24th anniversary, then you will receive 50% of your premiums back. The best part? That is 100% tax-free money.
If you’d like to learn more about how you can incorporate the ROP feature into your Risk Management Coverage or if you have already decided that you need to get the coverage in place, contact me at the coordinates below to apply to become my client. Thanks for reading and always remember: when we design financial plans for our clients, we make sure that your money outlives you in retirement.
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By John Moakler, BMath, CFP, CLU
President and Senior Executive Financial Planner
Moakler Wealth Management
info@moaklerwealthmanagement.com
1 416 840 8544