Conclusion
While many factors, such as changing needs, rising
premiums, medical expenses, financial troubles,
divorce, cash need, and changing costs of insurance
may drive individuals to seek other insurance options
or abandon their policies altogether, there are several
options available that may give the individual a greater
value than simply letting the policy lapse or surrendering
it. Section 1035 exchanges to a new policy will
allow the individual to take advantage of lower costs
of insurance and preserve the policy’s cash value. For
policies that have a gain, the cash value is transferred
into a new policy without any tax on the gain, and
the value will continue to grow tax deferred. For
policies that have a loss, Section 1035 exchanges are
useful in preserving the tax basis to offset potential
future gains. Section 1035 exchanges to annuities
or long-term care policies will respectively allow the
policyholder to access the cash value for lifetime income
or use the cash value to fund a long-term care
policy. Life settlements may provide a benefit that is
significantly greater than simply surrendering a policy
and can provide a profitable exit strategy that addresses
the policyholder’s goals and objectives. When
considering all of the aforementioned options, it is
necessary for the policyholder to be well-informed on
the different options available before making a rash