America is a society that has become extremely comfortable with financing. It’s rare nowadays for someone to pay cash for large purchases like their home, a car, or education costs. It’s also, however, more popular than ever for people to finance small purchases. Credit cards are used to buy groceries, gas, meals, clothes—pretty much everything.

With such widespread comfort around debt, it’s not a surprise that it’s used to finance life insurance premiums as well. This strategy has, in fact, been around for over 20 years (even longer in the property and casualty marketplace). Life insurance premium financing is where an insured borrows money from a bank to pay their life insurance premiums. The borrower is then responsible for posting collateral for the loan and paying the interest on the debt.

Today, financing represents around 25% of all policy premiums for in-force insurance policies. However, many people still haven’t actually heard of premium financing before and it has to do with the history of the strategy. In the early 2000s, a time known as the “Wild West” in life insurance sales, premium financing was used incorrectly and with limited regulations. Many people lost money and got hurt by taking on investments that they didn’t fully understand. Because of the stigma and reputation of its past, premium financing remains out of the mainstream conversation for many.

Fast forward to today, where the pendulum has swung far in the opposite direction and premium financing is now under strict regulation. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners passed Actuarial Guideline 49 in mid-2015 to protect consumers from misleading illustrations by limiting the growth rate and by limiting the policy design options that advisors are able to use in marketing to their clients. Also, all carriers now require the insured to have skin in the game by posting collateral and/or paying interest on the loans.

With stronger protections in place, the benefits that make financing life insurance special are much more attractive: the guarantees and the flexibility and optionality of the design, both from the onset as well as throughout the life of the policy. Because of these guarantees, financing life insurance can be a lower risk strategy to compound your wealth. That’s why the fastest-growing segment for premium financing is high earners in their 30s–50s. Rather than purchasing insurance for a death benefit, investors are looking to maximize their investment growth and increase their wealth to establish a future tax-free income stream in retirement. With interest rates near all-time lows, the benefits of using debt in a thoughtful way have never been greater.

But, as with any investment strategy, premium financing has additional risks not present when purchasing a policy without financing, such as having enough liquidity to post collateral, interest rate risk, and market risk. Financed life insurance should be considered for someone who has a need for a large-premium life insurance policy or is interested in compounding their wealth. Specifically, for business owners, financing should be considered as a smarter way to protect their company with a buy/sell agreement or key-person policy while keeping more cash available for other ventures within their business. If the business is a C-corp, there are even greater strategies to amplify the benefits. Given the nature of premium financing, it’s recommended that you consult your professional tax and legal advisors before purchasing a financed policy.

In my role as a financial advisor at Morton Capital, I collaborate with our internal financial planning team as well as outside insurance professionals to review and evaluate our clients’ life insurance policies. Although we don’t get paid for selling insurance, reviews are an integral part of ensuring our clients have the appropriate risk coverage and are taking advantage of investment opportunities when they align with their goals and risk tolerance.

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Disclosures:

This information is presented for educational purposes only, and should not be treated as tax, legal or financial advice. This information should not be taken as a representation that the strategies described are suitable or appropriate for any person. All investments involve risk, including the loss of capital. You should consult with your insurance professional to thoroughly review all information and consider all ramifications before making any decisions regarding your insurance coverage.