News & Events

Contact:
Jeanne Desilets
(213) 741-7618

TRANSAMERICA OCCIDENTAL LIFE LAUNCHES NEW MODIFIED SINGLE-PREMIUM UNIVERSAL LIFE INSURANCE PRODUCT

LOS ANGELES (Oct. 30, 2006) - Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company (TOLIC) has introduced TransProtector^SM, a modified single-premium universal life insurance policy for qualifying individuals who pay a single premium of $25,000 or more.

The product is expected to appeal to individuals who wish to transfer wealth at death and have specific assets they don't expect to need during their lifetime for income.

TransProtector offers simplified-issue underwriting based on premium limits that vary by issue age for the single-premium payment option, and by issue age and premium payment-duration period for the Scheduled Required Premium (SRP) option.

Simplified-issue underwriting decisions are based on the proposed insured's answers to health questions. No medical examinations or Attending Physicians Statements are required. The application includes a set of "knockout" questions to exclude proposed insureds who cannot qualify for the product. For those who pass the knockout questions, a personal history interview will be conducted by telephone to obtain additional information that TOLIC underwriters will use to reach a decision on the application.

"TransProtector offers individuals a way to quickly reposition their holdings in cash, CDs, mutual funds or annuities into a more tax-efficient wealth-transfer vehicle with a streamlined underwriting process," says Bill Tate, TOLIC's Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. "The policy allows for a leveraged death benefit that will be income-tax free."

For individuals who prefer to pay premiums over a limited, fixed period, TOLIC offers policy owners the option of paying premiums annually over a period of two to 10 years. Under the terms of the SRP endorsement, the level, annually required premiums purchase the full face amount available at issue.

Annuity owners who want to purchase a TransProtector policy with the proceeds from their annuity may incur a significant tax liability if their annuity value includes sizable gains. An alternative approach is to spread the tax liability over several years by exchanging the deferred annuity for a Transamerica Secure Rewards^® single-premium immediate annuity (SPIA). The SPIA payments, in whole or in part, can be used to fund the scheduled required premiums for the TransProtector policy. The tax liability each year is limited to the taxable portion of the SPIA payment. Beyond spreading the tax liability over several years, this approach may result in lower marginal tax rates on the gain in the annuity.

"This option may be of interest to individuals who wish to reposition assets from a deferred annuity into the TransProtector policy but do not want to incur the full tax liability on the gain in the deferred annuity within a single year," says Tate.

The SPIA used is a temporary life annuity that pays for the shorter of the annuitant's lifetime or a specified time period. The annuitant on the SPIA must be the insured on the life policy.

An optional Return of Premium at Surrender Rider assures the policy owner that the amount that he or she receives if the policy is surrendered will never be less than the premium paid for the policy, adjusted for withdrawals, policy debt, and accelerated death benefits paid. The rider is only available on single-premium policies.

A No-Lapse Guarantee Endorsement is added to each policy at issue. This endorsement guarantees the policy owner that the policy will not lapse and the death benefit will continue to be available until the insured's death, provided there are no loans outstanding on the policy.

TransProtector is also available on a fully underwritten basis if the premium exceeds simplified-issue limits.

The premium paid purchases a specific face amount of insurance. The death benefit under the policy may be greater than the face amount based on growth in the accumulation value of the policy. The death benefit of the policy is generally received by beneficiaries on an income tax-free basis. Compared to a taxable amount received at death from a taxable financial vehicle, the life insurance proceeds may provide substantially higher after-tax values.

About Transamerica

Transamerica Insurance & Investment Group—a marketing unit for Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company and its affiliates—offers an array of innovative financial services and products designed to help individuals, families, and businesses build, protect, and preserve their assets. These products and services are underwritten by Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company or its affiliated statutory insurance companies, and include term life insurance, universal life insurance, variable universal life insurance, and fixed annuities.

Celebrating its 100-year anniversary in 2006, Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company is rated A+ (Superior), the second highest of 16 ratings by A.M. Best, Aa3 (Excellent), the fourth highest of 21 ratings by Moody's, and AA (Very Strong), the third highest of 21 ratings by Standard & Poor's (ratings as of July 2006). Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company is a member of the AEGON Group, a multinational insurance organization headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands. The AEGON Group is one of the world's leading life insurance and financial services organizations.

For more information about Transamerica, visit www.transamerica.com.

Top of Page