Genworth Life & Annuity Insurance Review

NOTE: Genworth Life Insurance Co of New York is no longer selling new life insurance policies and it is unclear if the extension feature benefits mentioned below will still be available.
If you have a policy and aren’t sure what to do please visit: What Should I Do With My Genworth Life Insurance Policy?

I was contracted to sell life insurance for Genworth Financial Life Insurance, and have millions of dollars of coverage in force with them, so I believe I am an excellent resource of information for Genworth Life & Annuity Insurance Co.

RELATED: 5 Critical Tips You Must Know Before Buying Life Insurance

That’s why I was so disappointed to hear they will no longer be selling life insurance. In this review, I’m going to share both my personal experience with them, as well as a few facts about the company’s history and past ratings.

Quick Guide for this Genworth Life Insurance Company of New York

• Genworth Life & Annuity Insurance History
• Ratings & Review 
• Genworth Life & Annuity Insurance Extensions 
• “Conversion” Benefit
• Coverage Extension Feature
• Rules For Exercising the Coverage Extension Feature
• You Don’t Have to Convert or Buy a New Policy

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Genworth Life & Annuity Insurance History

Genworth Life & Annuity Insurance Company was created in 1955 by its controlling company, Genworth Financial Life Insurance, whose own life insurance experience dates back to 1871.

Now a multinational, Fortune 500 corporation, Genworth Financial Life Insurance holds more than $100 billion in assets and has a presence in more than 25 countries.

Genworth Life Insurance Rating & Review

Headquartered in Richmond, VA. Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance was rated “A” by both A.M. Best and Standard & Poors.  Click here for more info on Genworth History and Ratings.

As for my personal thoughts about Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance, let me start by saying that I have my biggest personal policy through them (750K) as well as 250K on my wife and 100K on each of my girls. I clearly couldn’t have recommended them enough. They had very fair underwriting policies and they were one of my “go to” life insurers.

However, now that they no longer sell life insurance I have to recommend other companies to clients that would have been well served by this great insurer. Click here to find out my recommendations for the top life insurance companies.

Read more: Genworth Life & Annuity Insurance Review

Genworth Insurance Extensions

Genworth policies provided some interesting extensions.

It is unclear what their offerings will be in the future, but I have decided to leave this information here for people who already have a Genworth Insurance policy in place.

We will be updating this information as we get it.

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“Conversion” Benefit

Genworth Insurance sold a term/UL hybrid policy which was similar to a term policy but was built on a universal life platform.

They offered a unique Coverage Protection Feature, which allowed the policyholder to extend coverage, similarly to a conversion.

So what’s the big difference? The price was known at the time the policy was issued, which was a fantastic benefit.

What Is the Coverage Extension Feature?

The  Coverage Extension Feature or “CEF”, was an added benefit that allowed Colony Term UL policyholders to extend the death benefit guarantee beyond the period originally chosen.

Remember, the Colony Term UL policy was built on universal life policy structure which had a no-lapse feature in place for a certain number of years. The overall result was this policy would act like Term coverage for the duration of the no-lapse guarantee.

Depending on which term you chose (15 or 20 years), Genworth Life and Annuity added a Coverage Protection Guarantee which stated that for the duration of the term selected, the policy will function the same as term coverage.  At the end of the term, the policy would then revert back to its universal life status, which meant you would need cash value to keep the policy in force.

If you allowed the term to expire, the premiums would have risen dramatically…possibly to the point where they would have become unaffordable.

That’s where the Coverage Extension Feature would come into play.

So let’s say you had a Colony Term UL 10 policy and decided 5 years in that you needed coverage for the rest of your life. In essence, the CEF feature would have allowed you to extend your death benefit guarantee to age 90,100, or 105, without proof of insurability. The result? No medical exams would be required to continue your coverage!

RELATED: Check Sample Life Insurance Rates by Age (No Personal Info Required)

A Few Helpful Rules For Exercising the Coverage Extension Feature

• The CEF must have been exercised for a Colony Term UL 10 in policy years 2-10, for Colony Term UL 15 in policy years 2-15, for Colony Term UL 20 in policy years 2-20, and for Colony Term UL 30 in policy years 2-30
• The CEF must have been exercised before the insured turned  76
• Coverage must have been projected to extend to age 90 (at a minimum)
• The CEF must have been agent-assisted
• The Specified Amount stay the same (in other words, you couldn’t start with a $500,000 policy, and later switch to $1 Million, or $100,000.)

Benefits of Coverage Extension Feature

Since the costs to extend coverage were fixed, the planned premiums beyond 10, 20, or 30 terms selected would have been known at the time of issue.

The cost to extend coverage would have been included in your policy.

You Don’t Have to Convert or Buy a New Policy

What a great feature right? If policyholders wished to extend their protection, it would have been as easy and simple as paying a new defined premium.

No underwriting, no complex paperwork, no surprises.

The benefit of the Coverage Protection Guarantee was that it minimized the risk for policyholders. While other carriers continue to offer conversion options, the policyholder is at their mercy as to what the product will cost down the road.

With Colony Term UL through Genworth Life Insurance, you would already be aware of the cost to extend coverage at the time of issue.

So in some ways, you might have called Genworth’s Coverage Extension Feature superior to the traditional term conversion available in most policies.

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