Standard Life and Casualty
Secure Advantage Final ExpenseNot available in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Minnesota, New Mexico, Washington. Call us and we will tell you what we can place there.
Every benefit below is transcribed from Standard Life and Casualty Secure Advantage Final Expense brochure SFE-BR 0921, and from the carrier's replacement notice REPNOT-1. Benefits, amounts and riders vary by state; the policy issued to you governs.
No waiting period for full coverage Included
The brochure says so in terms: this is an immediate death benefit whole life policy. A death from natural causes in the first years pays the full face amount, not a return of premium.
This is the first question to ask about any final expense policy and the reason it is the first line here. A GRADED policy pays back the premiums instead for the first two or three years. Both kinds are sold, both are called final expense, and the difference is the entire value of the policy if somebody dies early.
Up to $50,000, and the ceiling falls with age Included
Maximum benefit by issue age: $50,000 from 0 to 49, $25,000 from 50 to 80, and $15,000 from 81 to 85.
Somebody buying at 79 can take $25,000; the same person waiting until 81 can take $15,000. Age bands move on a birthday.
Rates and cash values are guaranteed Included
The premium never rises, the death benefit never falls, and the cash value is guaranteed rather than projected. Nothing in the policy depends on an interest rate or a dividend the company can change later.
That is what makes it comparable between companies on price alone. Ask any competing quote whether the same three things are guaranteed.
It builds cash value, and that is a real thing you own Included
As a permanent whole life policy it accumulates a guaranteed cash value you can borrow against or surrender.
Borrowing reduces the death benefit by what is owed, and surrendering ends the cover. A final expense policy is bought to pay for a funeral; treating the cash value as savings usually defeats the purpose of buying it.
Benefits are income-tax free Included
The brochure states the death benefit is income-tax free and asks you to consult your tax consultant for qualifications.
That is the general rule for a life insurance death benefit paid to a named beneficiary. We are not tax advisers and neither is the brochure — if the policy is going into a trust or an estate, take advice before you buy.
Accidental death benefit rider Optional rider
An optional rider paying an additional amount where death is accidental.
The brochure names the rider and does not print its schedule, so nothing about what it pays is published here. Ask for the rider's own terms in writing.
Secure Advantage Final Expense on its own page, with its own enrollment link.
What this kind of care costs
None of the figures below is a policy benefit and none of them is ours. They are third-party research quoted in the company's brochure, and each one is shown with who produced it and when, because a statistic is only true of the year it was measured in. They are here because the policy above cannot be judged without them.
| What | Cost | Source |
|---|---|---|
| What a funeral costs in the United States “And can quickly escalate from there,” as the brochure puts it. Get a written price list from a funeral home before deciding what a policy needs to cover — federal rules entitle you to one. | $7,000 to $12,000 | Trust & Will, Funeral Costs 101, cited in the 2021 brochure |
| What Social Security pays toward a death A one-time lump sum, paid to a surviving spouse who was living with the deceased, or who was living apart but receiving certain benefits on their record; failing that, to a child eligible on that record in the month of death. It is the single most useful figure on this page and it is why final expense insurance exists. | $255 | Social Security Administration, If You Are The Survivor, 2021, cited in the brochure |
| Out-of-pocket medical spending in the five years before death The same study is quoted as leaving one senior in four approaching bankruptcy. | more than $38,000 | Journal of General Internal Medicine, via the National Council on Aging, NCOA article dated 9 November 2020 |
| Average personal loan balance carried by people aged 55 to 73 | $19,253 | Experian, second quarter of 2019 |
| Senior households holding a credit card balance, 2001 | 24.2% | National Council on Aging, article dated 9 November 2020 |
| Senior households holding a credit card balance, 2016 | 34.2% | National Council on Aging, article dated 9 November 2020 |
| Older adult households owing on a mortgage, a home equity line of credit, or both | 29.2% | National Council on Aging, article dated 9 November 2020 |
Confirm these 4 before you sign
None of these appear in the sales brochure, and each changes what the policy is worth to you. Ask for them in writing, in the policy and the outline of coverage for your state, and do not take our word or anyone else's for it.
- Which states it is written in comes from the carrier's agent material, not from the brochure. The brochure says only that benefits and riders vary by state. The carrier's tip sheet lists the states, and that sheet is marked for agent use, so we will not present it to you as a cited fact. We have used it in the direction that can only help you — if it says a state is not on the list, this page treats the policy as unavailable there. Ask us and we will confirm your state with the carrier in writing before you fill anything in.
- In Florida the age bands and the maximum are different. The brochure's bands would give a 40-year-old up to $50,000. The carrier's Florida column runs from 0 to 85 at a maximum of $25,000 throughout. That is less than the consumer brochure promises, which is exactly why it is here rather than left to be found at application. Confirm the Florida figures before you apply.
- There is a minimum as well as a maximum, and health questions can decline you outright. The carrier's agent material sets a minimum face amount as well as the maximum the brochure prints, and describes underwriting that can decline an application on the answers alone rather than rate it. None of that is in the consumer brochure. Tell us your situation before you apply and we will tell you whether it is worth applying.
- If this would replace a policy you already hold, read the replacement notice first. The carrier's own replacement notice says it plainly: you will pay acquisition costs, there may be surrender costs, and you may be able to change the policy you already have to meet your needs at less cost. Using the value of an old policy to pay for a new one is a replacement too, and it reduces what the old one would have paid. Nobody at this agency benefits from you not asking that question.
- Issue ages
- 0 to 85, with the maximum benefit falling as the age rises: $50,000 from 0 to 49, $25,000 from 50 to 80 and $15,000 from 81 to 85. Applicants aged 50 to 85 complete a different application from younger ones.
- Renewability
- Permanent whole life. The brochure states that the death benefit, the premium rate and the cash value will never change, whatever happens to interest rates or anything else.
- Policy form
- 4-790 (10). Form numbers and benefits vary by state.
Required disclosures from Standard Life and Casualty
Benefits and riders may vary by state and may not be available in all states.
This is not a complete disclosure of plan qualifications and limitations. Please access our website to obtain a completed list for the Final Expense product at disclosure.manhattanlife.com. Please review this information before applying for coverage. The amounts of benefits provided depend on the plan selected. Premiums will vary according to the selection made.
This brochure only provides a brief description of the important features of your policy. Only the actual policy provisions will control; therefore, it is important that you READ YOUR POLICY CAREFULLY.