Universal Life
Universal Life Is Not One Product. It’s Three.
Universal life is the chassis on which most modern permanent insurance is built — flexible by design, with the cost of insurance separated from the cash value account. That flexibility is the feature and the risk. Two flavors share the same name and serve fundamentally different plans: GUL for guaranteed estate liquidity, and IUL for tax-advantaged accumulation. A third, VUL, is a securities product and is placed through a separately registered partner. The chassis you choose — and how it’s funded — determines whether the policy still works in year forty.
Begin a conversation →Three chassis. One permanent decision.
GUL and IUL share the universal life name and the flexible chassis. Past that, they serve different plans, different buyers, and different risk tolerances.
Guaranteed coverage. Estate liquidity.
Guaranteed Universal Life is the cheapest way to lock in a permanent death benefit. Cash value accumulation is minimal; the death benefit and the lapse-protection guarantee are the product.
- Lowest premium for a guaranteed permanent death benefit
- Lapse protection typically guaranteed to age 90, 95, 100, or 121
- Minimal cash value — designed for coverage, not accumulation
Indexed accumulation. Floors and caps.
Indexed Universal Life credits cash value based on a market index, with a floor protecting against losses and a cap limiting upside. Tax-advantaged accumulation with downside protection — provided the policy is funded properly.
- Tax-deferred cash value tied to a market index
- Floor (often 0%) protects against index losses
- Funding discipline determines whether the policy holds
Placed by securities-registered partner.
Variable Universal Life invests cash value directly in market subaccounts. Because it is a security under federal law, it must be placed by a FINRA-registered representative — not through an insurance license alone. Remain does not place VUL directly. If VUL is the right chassis for your plan, we make the introduction to a securities-registered partner and stay involved on the insurance side.
A UL policy is only as good as the assumptions inside it.
If any of these describe your situation, the right UL chassis chosen carefully — or the existing policy reviewed honestly — can save decades of a plan from quietly going off track.
- i. You bought UL ten years ago when interest rates were higher, and you haven’t seen an in-force illustration since.
- ii. You’re choosing between GUL and IUL — and the carrier illustrations all look great on paper.
- iii. You need permanent coverage primarily for estate liquidity, not for cash accumulation.
- iv. You’re funding retirement and want a tax-advantaged accumulation vehicle that isn’t another 401(k) or IRA.
Universal life audits and placements, handled directly.
Remain Life Insurance Services, LLC pulls in-force illustrations from your existing carrier and stress-tests them against realistic interest-rate and cost-of-insurance scenarios — catching shortfalls in time to fix them, or confirming a policy is on track — and handles new placements directly.
Request a UL audit, or speak with a Remain advisor directly.