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Prudential Life Insurance Policy Help

Beneficiary changes, billing, premium increases and coverage reviews

Prudential has been writing life insurance for well over a century, which means a great many Prudential policies in force today were bought decades ago by someone who is no longer quite the person who signed for them. Beneficiaries move. Marriages end. Level term periods run out. A premium that was comfortable at thirty-five is not always comfortable at sixty-five.

Common reasons people call about a Prudential policy

• Beneficiary changes. Adding a spouse or child, removing an ex-spouse, naming a contingent beneficiary, or correcting a designation that was never recorded properly.
• Billing and payments. A draft that failed after changing banks, an unfamiliar charge, updating the card or account on file, or confirming premiums are still being paid on an older policy.
• A policy that belonged to a parent. Confirming whether a policy still exists and what it is worth.
• Cash value and policy loans. Finding out how much cash value has accumulated, borrowing against it, or getting a statement of value for a benefit application.
• Premium increases. A term policy reaching the end of its level period, or an older universal life policy that now needs larger payments to stay in force.
• Coverage that no longer fits. A premium that has become expensive, or an amount of coverage that no longer matches the situation it was bought for.

Before you call, if you have them

• The full legal name of the insured person, including any name used earlier in life
• Roughly what year the policy was bought, and the decade is enough if the year has gone
• Whatever letter or statement is in hand, including a premium notice if the question is about billing or value
• The name of the bank the premium is drafted from, never the account number

If you have none of these, that is normal and it is not a problem. A full name and an approximate year is a workable place to begin. This page asks for no policy number, no date of birth and no Social Security number, and the insurance company handles identity checks with you directly on its own line.

If the premium has become expensive

Giving up coverage is permanent. It ends, and if health has changed since the policy was issued, replacing it later can cost considerably more or may not be possible at all. Before letting a policy lapse or surrendering it, these are the options worth pricing:

• Reduced paid-up coverage. Many permanent policies allow you to stop paying premiums entirely and keep a smaller death benefit for life.
• Policy loans or withdrawals. Where cash value exists, it can sometimes cover premiums or free up funds without ending the coverage. A loan that is not repaid reduces the death benefit.
• Lowering the face amount. Reducing coverage reduces the premium while keeping the policy in force.
• Term conversion. Many term policies include the right to convert to permanent coverage without new underwriting, but only within a stated window.
• A 1035 exchange. Cash value can often be moved into a different policy or an annuity without triggering tax.

Which of these exist depends on the specific contract. A licensed independent agent can price them against your actual policy at no cost, so the decision is made with the numbers in front of you.

What happens when you call

• You call and a licensed agent answers. No phone tree and no script. You explain what you are trying to figure out.
• You go through the policy together. What it covers, what it costs, what the cash value is doing, and whether the beneficiaries are still right.
• You get the options in plain English. Keep it as it is, adjust it, or look at alternatives. There is no cost and the decision is yours.

Questions people ask