Safeguard your loved ones with life-insurance coverage that endures.
Life-Insurance 101 (What Is It?)
Life insurance sets aside money that will pass to your loved ones tax-free when you die, replacing lost income and easing final expenses. Coverage amounts and pricing vary by age, health, policy type, and the benefit you choose.
Types of Life Insurance We Offer
Whole-life coverage issued on a child with lifetime level premiums. Cash value grows from an early age and guaranteed purchase options protect future insurability.
Key features
• Builds cash value for college or a first home
• Locked-in child-rate premiums never increase
• Parents and grandparents often use as a legacy gift
Good fit for
• Families who want to secure coverage and start savings early
Modest permanent coverage designed to pay funeral costs, medical bills, and small debts. Applications are brief and medical exams are rarely required. Graded death benefits pay limited amounts in the first policy years for non-accidental death.
Key features
• Typical face amounts from five thousand to fifty thousand dollars
• Quick approval with yes-or-no health questions
• Premiums stay level for life
Good fit for
• Seniors who wish to remove the financial burden of final expenses from loved ones
• Anyone who needs lifetime coverage but has health concerns
Uses the universal-life chassis but credits interest based on an external index such as the S and P five hundred. A floor, often zero percent, shields cash value from market loss while a cap or participation rate limits upside.
Key features
• Market-linked earnings without direct stock exposure
• Principal is protected from market downturns
• Flexible premiums and death benefit like traditional universal life
Good fit for
• Savers seeking tax-advantaged growth with downside protection
• Clients who like the idea of market participation and lifetime coverage
One policy covers two people and pays after the second death. Premium per dollar of coverage is lower because the insurer’s risk period is longer.
Why it matters
• Often funds estate taxes or keeps a family business intact
• Can provide for a special-needs heir while delaying the payout until both caregivers pass away
Good fit for
• Couples focused on legacy planning rather than immediate income replacement
Pure protection for a set number of years at the lowest starting cost. Premium stays level for ten, twenty, or thirty years and the policy pays the full benefit if death occurs during that period.
How it works
• Choose a length that matches a mortgage or child-rearing years
• At the end of the term you may renew, but the price rises with age
• Many contracts let you convert to permanent coverage without a new medical exam
Good fit for
• Young families needing high coverage for income replacement
• Business loans or key-person protection that will phase out over time
Permanent coverage that lets you raise or lower both premium and death benefit within policy guidelines.
How it works
• Premiums flow into a cash-value account earning declared interest
• Monthly cost of insurance is deducted from that account
• Skipping payments is possible when the account holds enough value
Good fit for
• Households with variable income
• Business owners who may need to adjust coverage as companies grow
Combines universal-life flexibility with investment sub-accounts that operate like mutual funds. Cash value and even the death benefit fluctuate with market performance.
How it works
• Policy owner selects sub-accounts for cash value
• Growth potential is unlimited, but losses reduce value
• Requires a prospectus and a properly licensed advisor
Good fit for
• Investors comfortable with market risk who want tax-deferred growth
• High earners seeking an additional retirement income stream inside a permanent policy
Lifetime protection with premiums that never change and cash value that grows every year. The policy can pay dividends that you may take in cash, leave to accumulate, or use to buy additional coverage.
Key features
• Guaranteed death benefit and fixed premium
• Cash value available for policy loans at any time
• Dividends may enhance growth or offset out-of-pocket premium
Good fit for
• Estate liquidity, legacy gifts, final expenses
• Savers who prefer steady growth and predictable guarantees
How Life Insurance Works
01
Apply
We evaluate age, health, and lifestyle.
02
Underwriting Review
The insurer studies your file, may order a brief medical exam, and then assigns a rate class that locks in your premium.
03
Policy issued
Once approved you select the face amount and first premium date. Coverage starts as soon as that first payment clears.
04
Build Value
You pay scheduled premiums. Permanent policies credit interest or index returns so cash value can be accessed later through loans or withdrawals.
05
Claim and Payout
When the insured passes, the beneficiary submits a simple claim form and proof of death. Most approved claims in Texas fund within ten business days, income tax free.
- Cash to settle funeral bills right away
- Instant liquidity for estate taxes or to equalize inheritances when a house or business is hard to divide
- Ongoing income stream keeps rent, utilities, and groceries paid
- Optional riders let you tap funds early for chronic illness or major medical costs
- Death benefit is income-tax free and cash value grows tax deferred on permanent policies
Things to Consider
Before purchasing life insurance, it’s important to review:
• Coverage amount and how long you need it
• Premium cost today and over time
• Access to cash value or living benefits
• Fees, riders, and loan terms
• Financial strength of the insurer
A good policy should fit your life, not force your life to fit the policy.
Is Life Insurance Right for You?
Ask yourself:
• Would someone struggle financially if I pass away
• Do I want to leave a tax-free legacy
• Could a policy double as a savings tool
• Do I prefer guaranteed growth or market potential
Let’s walk through your answers – together.
FAQs
Most term and whole-life policies require one, but some amounts qualify for accelerated underwriting.
In Texas, most approved claims fund within ten business days.
Term premiums stay level for the chosen term; permanent-policy premiums are fixed once issued.
Yes—whole and universal life build cash value you can borrow without a credit check.
Most planners start with ten to fifteen times your annual income, then adjust for debts, college costs, and existing assets. A quick needs analysis can fine-tune the number for your family.
Yes. You can update or add beneficiaries at any time with a simple form. The change takes effect as soon as the carrier records it.
Most policies include a thirty-one-day grace period. Pay within that window and coverage stays active. Permanent policies may also use cash value to keep the policy in force.
In nearly every case the death benefit passes to your beneficiaries income-tax free. Estate taxes could apply to very large policies placed inside your taxable estate, but proper planning can avoid this.
Why Powell Investments for Life Insurance?
At Powell Investments we treat protection as the foundation of every financial plan. Families and business owners across Texas know Phil Powell as Mr. Annuity™, but they also count on him for life insurance guidance they can trust. We explain every option in clear language, present numbers you can rely on, and stay with you from the first quote to the final claim.
With us you do not just buy a policy. You build a safety net for the people who depend on you most.
