| This information is believed to be correct as of May 2, 2002. No
compensation was received from the insurance company or product distributors for the
preparation of this profile.
TIAA-CREF Annual Renewable Term |
| Insurance company |
TIAA-CREF Life Insurance Company, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, one of the largest U.S. life
insurance companies. Domiciled in New York; licensed to do business in all states and D.C.
www.tiaa-cref.org, 800-223-1200Financial
strength ratings:
|
| Product
features |
| Availability |
States: Current information is at www.tiaa-cref.org. Issue ages: 15 to 70
Minimum face amount: $100,000 |
| Rate structure |
Attained-age (i.e., rates are based on current
age only and do not depend on how long the policy has been in force). Age last birthday.
Four face amount bands: $100,000-$249,999; $250,000-$499,999; $500,000-$999,999;
$1,000,000+. No policy fee. |
| Underwriting classes |
Non-tobacco: Preferred Plus, Preferred, Select,
substandard (for health impairments). Tobacco: Standard, substandard (for health
impairments). Preferred Plus, Preferred and Select classes are each expected to contain
about one-third of non-tobacco, healthy applicants. |
| Guarantee period |
One year |
| Renewability |
To age 80 regardless of health |
| Convertibility |
How long? To age 65.
To what? Low-load universal life and low-load variable universal life. |
| Can face amount be reduced after issue? |
Yes, by current company practice, but not
contractually guaranteed. |
| Premium payment modes |
| Mode |
Modal factor |
Effective annual interest rate |
| Semi-annual |
0.52 |
17.4% |
| Quarterly |
0.26 |
11.2% |
| Monthly (EFT) |
0.0875 |
11.3% |
The effective annual interest rate shows the cost of
paying premiums in installments, reflecting the insurer's surcharge for time value of
money, administrative costs and lapses. Unlike the Annual Percentage Rate disclosed for
installment loans, it takes account of compounding. It should be interpreted as an
after-tax rate, since these charges are not tax-deductible. |
| Riders |
Accelerated death benefit, cost of living,
disability waiver of premium |
| Other features |
|
| Treatment
of existing policyholders |
| Service |
By mail, e-mail, or phone (800-223-1200). |
| Repricing actions |
None. |
| Cost comparison with similar products |
| Ranking based on present value of premiums for 5,
10 and 15 years, discounted at 3% interest |
This table shows the ranking of this product
relative to 87 annual renewable term policies in Compulife's database (for more
information about Compulife, go to www.term4sale.com).
The rank is shown for selected combinations of issue age and face amount, for six
underwriting classes: M-1 = Male Preferred Plus (top nonsmoker class); M-2 = Male
Preferred (second nonsmoker class); M-3 = Male Select (third nonsmoker class); F-1 =
Female Preferred Plus; F-2 = Female Preferred; F-3 = Female Select. Example:
"M-1: 10,4,2" means that this policy has the tenth-lowest 5-year present value
of premiums (discounted at 3% interest), the fourth-lowest 10-year present value of
premiums, and the second-lowest 15-year present value of premiums.
| |
Face amount |
| Issue age |
$200,000 |
$400,000 |
$800,000 |
$1,600,000 |
| 25 |
|
M-1: 10,4,2
M-2: 19,4,4
M-3: 28,19,13
F-1: 18,8,4
F-2: 23,8,6
F-3: 15,8,6 |
|
|
| 35 |
|
|
M-1: 6,1,1
M-2: 9,1,1
M-3: 9,1,1
F-1: 12,2,1
F-2: 14,2,1
F-3: 12,2,1 |
|
| 45 |
|
|
|
M-1: 1,1,1
M-2: 2,1,1
M-3: 1,1,1
F-1: 4,1,1
F-2: 3,1,3
F-3: 1,1,1 |
| 55 |
M-1: 5,1,1
M-2: 4,1,1
M-3: 1,1,1
F-1: 12,3,1
F-2: 22,6,3
F-3: 4,1,1 |
|
|
|
|
| Comments |
| Strengths: The issuer has
top financial strength ratings and a culture of treating policyholders fairly. The
premiums are generally competitive (relative to other annual renewable term policies), and
the convertibility provision offers the right to buy low-load cash value policies until
age 65. Weaknesses: Some people may prefer to buy level-premium term, rather than
annual renewable term. Rates are guaranteed for only one year. |
|