I received a notice in my mail Thursday from my life insurance company that my whole life policy was about to "lapse" unless I paid over $980 within 61 days. After that, the premium doubles to $320 a month, and future changes could even triple.
I bought this policy over 20 years ago and allowed the insurance company to take $160 per month directly out of my bank account each month for all of those years. Therefore, it was never late, and I always made sure the funds were there for the withdrawal. My life insurance policy was the one thing I was always sure of . . . that when I died, my children would get this benefit.
Needless to say, this notice shocked me to my core. I had just noted the $160 withdrawal for August several days ago and just took it for granted. I have moved a lot in the past 20 years, and I always made sure I made the insurance company aware of my new address and bank account number immediately, so there would never be any chance that this premium would not be paid on time. It is the only asset I have to pass on to my children.
I called them immediately and was told that I no longer had enough money in my "policy account value" due to the "fluctuation of the subaccounts I have selected." I was speechless, as I have never selected any "subaccounts" in anything. I was told my policy was tied to the market and there was nothing they could do. I had no idea that my whole life policy, which was to last until I was 98, was anything but a whole life policy. Now, all of a sudden, I am told that it has been tied to the market all of this time. I asked who, if not me, was selecting my subaccounts all this time. They said it was automatically selected by the insurance company if the policy owner did not choose to select them, and my account balance is now "zero," again, "because of the market."
To make a long and confusing story as short as possible, I spoke to one "gentleman" Thursday (when I had just gotten home from the dentist, and my mouth was killing me) and one last night, both of whom sounded as though they were just out of college and talked over me constantly. My anger caught up with me and believe me, they got earfuls of my very colorful language when that happens.
It finally became apparent that my "age" is the issue. I am now 76, no longer in my mid-fifties, and I will be subject to a lot of extra charges as I age. I asked how many and how much and was told there was no way to know, as it depended upon the "market." I asked how come it didn't change radically in 2008 when the market crashed, and that's when they had to admit it was because I am older now. Duh!! It is obviously the insurance company's decision to change the rules as their customers dare to live longer.
The guy last night actually suggested that he transfer me to another department so that I could lower the policy benefits by $100,000 and be able to keep the same premium for a while longer. He said it's totally up to me how I want to handle it. I said "thanks, but no thanks." I asked his name and hung up.
It's to my children's benefit that the policy be kept as is, so they have told me that if it gets to the point where I can no longer pay it all, they will supplement it to make sure in stays in force.
Yeah, I'm loving this.
Formerly Ford1224
We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Elie Wiesel 1986
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