Hybrid life insurance product with an improved total return
Disclosed is a novel life insurance product that provides an improved return to a purchaser. The life insurance product contains a benefit payment, and has a fixed benefit amount and a variable benefit amount. A policy protection benefit prevents a purchaser's life insurance product from lapsing, and a minimum death benefit ensures that the purchaser receives the greater of the face value of the product and a predetermined percentage of the account value.
1. A computer system for administering by a service provider an insurance product covering a client having a death benefit, said system comprising:
a premium payment module for receiving premium for coverage associated with said insurance product;
a data storage module for storing information associated with providing said death benefit for said insurance product;
a processing module for configuring said death benefit, wherein said death benefit is the greater of a face value plus an investment account value and a percentage of an account value and for determining a policy protection benefit for said insurance product to prevent said insurance product from lapsing by waiving periodic deductions, said policy protection benefit being determined by a positive value in a policy protection account, whereby a policy protection test is met as determined by said policy protection account; and
a payment module for structuring payouts in a manner determined by said client.
2. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein said processing module is configured for determining said face value at least in part according to said premiums.
3. The computer system of claim 2 , wherein said investment account value is a value in an investment account.
4. The computer system of claim 3 , wherein said account value further comprises a benefit account and a variable investment account.
5. The computer system of claim 4 , wherein said variable investment account further comprises a fixed account and a plurality of sub-accounts, whereby a value of said variable investment account is determined by a sum of said fixed account and said plurality of sub-accounts.
6. The computer system of claim 5 , wherein an amount associated with said variable investment account is transferable to said benefit account.
7. The computer system of claim 5 , wherein a value associated with said benefit account is transferable to said variable investment account.
8. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein a policy protection test is met if said policy protection account comprises a value greater than or equal to zero.
9. The computer system of claim 8 , wherein deductions from said benefit account are waived when said deduction exceeds said value from said benefit account, thereby guaranteeing a said minimum death benefit.
10. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein said processing module is further configured for determining at least one rider.
11. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein said at least one rider is selected from the group consisting of an estate tax repeal benefit rider, an accidental death benefit rider, a waiver of specified amount disability benefit rider, a waiver of the monthly deduction rider, a cost of living adjustment rider, a policy continuation rider, a child rider, and an accelerated benefit rider.
12. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein said processing module being further configured for transferring value within said insurance product.
13. The computer system of claim 12 , wherein said processing module is further configured for selecting a settlement option for said insurance product.
14. A computer system for processing data related to an insurance product with an improved total return, said system comprising:
a data storage device storing data related to the insurance product with an improved total return, the data including data indicative of amounts of premiums received from a purchaser, said premiums being associated with said insurance product, and an account value for an account of said insurance product and data indicative of a policy protection benefit for said insurance product to prevent said insurance product from lapsing by waiving periodic deductions; and
a processor in communication with the data storage device, the processor being configured to:
determine the account value by crediting at least an initial one of the premium payments to the account value;
determining whether a policy protection test is met, the policy protection test being met responsive to a positive value in a policy protection account, said policy protection benefit being invoked responsive to meeting the policy protection test; and
determine an amount of a death benefit under the insurance product payable upon death of an insured under the insurance product, wherein said death benefit is determined to be the greater of a face value plus an investment account value and a percentage of the account value.
15. The computer system of claim 14 , wherein said insurance product sold by an offeror.
16. The computer system of claim 15 , wherein said face value is determined at least in part according to said premiums.
17. The computer system of claim 16 , wherein said investment account value is a value in an investment account.
18. The computer system of claim 17 , wherein said account value further comprises a benefit account and a variable investment account.
19. The computer system of claim 18 , wherein said variable investment account further comprises a fixed account and a plurality of sub-accounts, whereby a value of said variable investment account is determined by a sum of said fixed account and said plurality of sub-accounts.
20. The computer system of claim 19 , wherein a value associated with said variable investment account is transferrable to said benefit account.
21. The computer system of claim 19 , wherein a value associated with said benefit account is transferrable to said variable investment account.
22. The computer system of claim 14 , wherein a policy protection test is met if said policy protection account comprises a value greater than or equal to zero.
23. The computer system of claim 22 , wherein a deduction from said benefit account is waived when said deduction exceeds said value from said benefit account, thereby guaranteeing a said minimum death benefit.
24. The computer system of claim 14 , further comprising at least one rider.
25. The computer system of claim 24 , wherein said at least one rider is selected from the group consisting of an estate tax repeal benefit rider, an accidental death benefit rider, a waiver of specified amount disability benefit rider, a waiver of the monthly deduction rider, cost of living adjustment rider, a policy continuation rider, a child rider, and an accelerated benefit rider.
26. The computer system of claim 25 , wherein a value associated with said benefit account is transferable to said variable investment account.
27. The computer system of claim 26 further comprising a settlement option.
28. A computer implemented method for administering by a service provider an insurance product covering a client having a death benefit, the method comprising the steps of:
receiving via a premium payment module premiums for coverage associated with the insurance product;
storing via a data storage module information associated with providing the death benefit for the insurance product and data indicative of a policy protection benefit for the insurance product to prevent the insurance product from lapsing by waiving periodic deductions;
configuring via a processing module the death benefit, wherein the death benefit is the greater of a face value plus an investment account value and a percentage of an account value;
determining via the processing module whether a policy protection test is met, the processing module determining that the policy protection test is met responsive to accessing data indicative of a positive value in a policy protection account, the policy protection benefit being invoked responsive to determining that the policy protection test is met; and
structuring via a payment module payouts in a manner determined by the client.
29. The computer implemented method of claim 28 , further comprising the step of determining via a processing module a face value at least in part according to the premiums.
30. The computer implemented method of claim 29 , wherein the investment account value is a value in an investment account.
31. The computer implemented method of claim 30 , wherein the account value further comprises a benefit account and a variable investment account.
32. The computer implemented method of claim 31 , wherein the variable investment account further comprises a fixed account and a plurality of sub-accounts, whereby a value of the variable investment account is determined by a sum of the fixed account and the plurality of sub-accounts.
33. The computer implemented method of claim 32 wherein an amount associated with the variable investment account is transferable to the benefit account.
34. The computer implemented method of claim 32 , wherein an amount associated with the benefit account is transferable to the variable investment account.
35. The computer implemented method of claim 28 , wherein a deduction from the benefit account is waived when the deduction exceeds said value from the benefit account, thereby guaranteeing a minimum death benefit.
36. The computer implemented method of claim 28 , further comprising the step of determining via the processing module at least one rider.
37. The computer implemented method of claim 36 , wherein the at least one rider is selected from the group consisting of an estate tax repeal benefit rider, an accidental death benefit rider, a waiver of specified amount disability benefit rider, a waiver of the monthly deduction rider, a cost of living adjustment rider, a policy continuation rider, a child rider, and an accelerated benefit rider.
38. The computer implemented method of claim 37 , further comprising the step of transferring via the processing module value within the insurance product.
39. The computer implemented method of claim 38 , further comprising the step of selecting via the processing module a settlement option for the insurance product.