What and why: You can increase the benefit amount of your policy — the amount payable upon the insured’s death and used for the long-term care benefit.* You might choose to do this if you want more financial protection: for instance, if you have recently gotten married or started a family.
What will happen: You may need to apply and answer health questions for underwriting. Your target premium will increase and the benefit amounts on any of your policy riders may also increase. If your employer is offering annual enrollments, you may have to wait for an enrollment period to apply for an increased benefit.
How: Contact Customer Care.
What and why: You can decrease the benefit amount of your policy — the amount payable upon the insured’s death. You might do this if you need less protection, or if your policy is projected to lapse earlier than you’d like, but you do not wish to increase your premium. If you can no longer afford your target premium, this may be strongly preferable to cancelling your policy and giving up the protection for your life insurance and long-term care benefits* you have built over time.
What will happen: Either your target premium will decrease or your policy will remain in-force longer, depending on factors such as your policy’s current value. A decrease in your death benefit may also decrease the benefit amounts on other riders, including long-term care.*
How: Contact Customer Care.
What and why: At any time, you may increase your premium (subject to IRS regulations) without changing your benefit amount. You might consider this if your policy is projected to lapse earlier than you’d like and you want to ensure that your policy will remain in-force for as long as you need it to — to not only insure you through your life, but also make sure you have the valuable long-term care benefits* should you need them.
What will happen: Your premium will increase, but your benefit amount will not — and your policy will be projected to remain in-force for a longer time period.
How: Contact Customer Care.
What and why: With Trustmark Universal Life policies, you have the ability to vary your premium payments, including paying less than your target premium. Missed or partial premium payments will have an effect on your policy’s value, but will not necessarily result in an immediate lapse of the policy.
What will happen: If you miss or underpay a premium, the full charge to maintain your policy is paid out of your policy’s value. Your policy will remain in-force as long as there is enough value to pay this charge. If you miss premium payments, the lowered value of your policy will gather less interest over time, meaning your policy may lapse sooner. Paying more premium in the future will extend the life of your policy.
How: No action required to skip a payment. To repay missed or partially paid premiums, contact Customer Care.
What and why: If you have riders you no longer wish to keep on your policy, you may remove some of them at any time. You might consider this option if you no longer need those riders, or if you want to pay less premium but maintain the same benefit.
What will happen: The rider(s) you removed will be terminated. Your target premium will decrease accordingly. You will not be able to add those riders back in the future.
How: Contact Customer Care, or fill out the Remove Riders form and send it to: Trustmark VBS, P.O. Box 7937, Lake Forest, IL 60045.
What and why: If you have a Children’s Term Insurance Rider, you may convert it into a new Universal Life Policy for your child when he/she becomes independent or when he/she becomes no longer covered under the rider. (In most states, the rider expires for each child on the first policy-issue anniversary date that comes after that child’s 23rd birthday.) You may convert the rider within 31 days of that date.
What will happen: A new Trustmark Universal Life policy will be issued for your child (without additional underwriting) when you submit both the application and the first premium payment. The policy benefit amount can be up to five times the death benefit on the children’s term insurance rider.
How: Contact Customer Care.
What and why: If you were a smoker when you purchased your policy and you have stopped smoking (not smoked for the past 12 months), you can contact Customer Care to have your rates changed to a non-smoker rate.
What will happen: Your premiums will be changed to non-smoker rates, which will be lower.
How: Contact Customer Care, or send a written and signed request to: Trustmark VBS, P.O. Box 7937, Lake Forest, IL 60045.
What and why: If you have any changes to your personal information (for instance, new contact information or a new legal name), please call our Customer Care team to update your information.
What will happen: Your information will be updated.
How: Contact Customer Care, or fill out one of these forms — Change Name or Change Age — and send it to: Trustmark VBS, P.O. Box 7937, Lake Forest, IL 60045. To change your address, contact Customer Care.
What and why: You can change the beneficiary and/or ownership of a policy at any time. You might change your beneficiary if your life situation has changed and you want a different person to receive the death benefit. You might change ownership of a spouse’s or child’s policy if you want them to take control of their own policy. Some states require a signature from your spouse to change the beneficiary and/or ownership on the policy.
What will happen: If you change ownership, the policy ownership will be transferred to the new owner. The owner is the only person who can make changes to the policy or receive information about the policy. If you change a beneficiary, your new designated beneficiary will receive the death benefit upon the insured’s death.
How: Contact Customer Care, or fill out one of these forms — Change Beneficiary or Change Ownership — and send it to: Trustmark VBS, P.O. Box 7937, Lake Forest, IL 60045.
What and why: If you’re no longer able to have premiums deducted from your payroll (for instance, if you have left your employer or if your employer has stopped taking deductions on your behalf), you should contact Trustmark to set up an automatic payment through your bank or to make payments by mail.
What will happen: You will no longer have automatic payroll deduction and you will be responsible for paying your premiums yourself, either through automatic bank draft, by calling in a credit-card payment, or by mail. If you miss payments, your policy will be affected.
How: Contact Customer Care, or fill out the Automatic Bank Draft/Electronic Funds Transfer form and send it to: Trustmark VBS, P.O. Box 7937, Lake Forest, IL 60045.
What and why: If your policy has built enough value, you may be able to borrow from it in the form of a loan. The loan is taken against the value of your policy. Loans are one way you can access the value of your policy while the insured is still living.
What will happen: Your policy’s value will be decreased by the amount of the loan and interest will be charged on your loan. If you do not continue paying your premiums while you have a loan, your policy’s value may be further depleted. If your loan balance exceeds your policy’s value, your policy will lapse. If the loan is not paid back by the time of the insured’s death, the outstanding loan balance will be deducted from the death benefit. You can pay back a loan at any point.
How: Contact Customer Care, or fill out the Request Loan form and send it to: Trustmark VBS, P.O. Box 7937, Lake Forest, IL 60045.
What and why: If you have an outstanding loan, you’re being charged interest on it daily, meaning that your policy may lapse earlier than you’d like. Your death benefit is also reduced by the balance of the loan. You can pay the loan balance back at any point to restore your policy’s value and your death and long-term care benefits.
What will happen: You can pay back a loan in increments or in full. Once the loan is paid in full, your death benefit will be restored to its full amount. You will no longer have to pay any more interest on a fully repaid loan. Your policy’s value will also be restored.
How: Contact Customer Care.
What and why: A partial withdrawal is another way to access your policy’s value. With a partial withdrawal, you can permanently withdraw money from your policy’s value. Unlike a loan, a partial withdrawal is not intended to be repaid.
What will happen: Your policy’s value will be reduced by the amount withdrawn plus a partial withdrawal fee. Your benefits will also be reduced by the amount withdrawn. For example, a policy with a $10,000 benefit, after a $1,000 partial withdrawal, now will have a $9,000 benefit. Your policy also may lapse earlier in life unless you pay more premium, due to the less interest earned by your policy’s reduced value.
How: Contact Customer Care, or fill out the Partial Withdrawal Form and send it to: Trustmark VBS, P.O. Box 7937, Lake Forest, IL 60045.
What and why: You may cancel your policy at any time if you no longer want coverage. If you are cancelling for reasons of affordability, you might instead consider reducing your benefit or removing an optional rider. Instead of cancelling, you may also consider simply not paying premiums and keeping your coverage until your policy value runs out.
What will happen: Your policy will terminate and you will no longer be charged premiums. If your policy has enough value, your cancellation may be considered a “full surrender,” and you will be paid the policy’s value minus a possible surrender charge. You may withdraw your cancellation within 30 days. After 30 days, you will not be able to withdraw your cancellation and you will never be able to reinstate your cancelled policy.
How: Contact Customer Care, or fill out the Request Life Surrender form and send it to: Trustmark VBS, P.O. Box 7937, Lake Forest, IL 60045.
What and why: If you have a policy that lapsed due to a lack of funding, you may apply for reinstatement within five years of your policy lapsing. You do not need to wait for an enrollment period. You cannot reinstate a policy you elected to cancel.
What will happen: You will be required to complete a new application for underwriting and a premium payment may be required. The policy will be in-force on the day that Trustmark approves your application for reinstatement.
How: Contact Customer Care.
*Long-term care is included with most, but not all, Trustmark Universal Life policies. Please check your own policy for details.