Did you know that you can use your Oregon Term Life Insurance to meet chronic illness and other expenses? Changes in federal tax laws have made the prepayment of death benefits under a life insurance policy possible. Some new life insurance policies have a feature which provides access to a part of the death benefit, which can then be used as living benefits; we can show you which companies have the best options for this.

Chronic illness means the inability to perform at least two of six activities of daily living (eating, bathing, continence, dressing, using the toilet, or transferring) or severe cognitive impairment that requires substantial supervision from another person to protect from threats to health and safety. A life insurance policy with a chronic or critical illness rider or a long term care rider can provide policyholders with benefit payments to help cover their care and living expenses. At Oregon Term Broker, we will show you proven strategies to keep your premium costs as low as possible now, and at the same time ensuring you will have the option to convert the policy to pay you cash, even if you survive an illness or disability. You can use the benefits in any way you want, regardless of actual expenses incurred for treating the chronic illness.

Important “Accelerated Benefits Riders” available at no additional premium can include:

Chronic Illness Rider

For purposes of this rider, chronic illness means that a doctor has certified that the insured is either unable to perform two of the six daily activities of living without assistance (bathing, continence, dressing, eating, toileting, and transferring) or is cognitively impaired (deterioration or loss in intellectual capacity). Benefits are available after the rider is in force for two years. If a chronic illness exists and after a 90-day waiting period, you may:

• Request to accelerate a portion of the death benefit each month to use as you wish, or receive a lump sum payout

• Leave the policy intact for your beneficiary.

Critical Illness Rider

This gives you the option of receiving your death benefit early if a person covered under the policy is critically ill. For purposes of this rider, critical illness is defined as a heart attack, stroke, cancer, a major organ transplant, blindness, or having been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) or end stage renal failure. If one of these illnesses exists, you may:

• Request the full acceleration of the policy’s death benefit and use the lump-sum as you wish,

• Choose to leave a portion of the policy’s death benefit intact for your beneficiary, or

• Leave the entire policy intact for your beneficiary.

Long-Term Care Rider (LTC Rider)

LTC rider gives you the option of receiving your policy’s death benefit early if a person covered under the policy is chronically ill. This rider provides up to 2% of the death benefit each month for nursing home or home health care and up to 1% for adult day care after a 90-day waiting period. With this rider the monthly death benefit payments are not discounted and you will receive benefits as a reimbursement for long-term care expenses paid. Because of this, the LTC rider benefits are received on a tax-free basis. Also, there is no requirement that the rider be in force for two years before benefits can be received. There is an additional charge for this rider but the premium remains level as long as the policy remains in force. Policy premiums or monthly charges are waived while LTC benefits are being paid.

Extension of Benefits Rider (EBR)

This pays a monthly benefit up of to 1% of the initial face amount of the policy for nursing home or home health care and up to .5% for adult day care for the rest of the insured’s life as long as they remain chronically ill. This monthly payment is based upon actual long-term care expenses incurred and must be used to pay these expenses. Benefits are received tax-free. EBR is available with an Inflation Protection option that increases the monthly benefit by 5% compounded for each year that the insured’s coverage is in force, starting at policy issue. There is an additional charge for this rider but the premium remains level as long as the policy remains in force.

Accelerated Death Benefit Rider

In case of terminal illness gives you the option of receiving your death benefit early if a person covered under the policy is terminally ill. If this situation exists, you may:

• Request the full acceleration of the policy’s death benefit and use the lump-sum as you wish

• Choose to leave a portion of the policy’s death benefit intact for your beneficiary, or

• Leave the entire policy intact for your beneficiary.

Other Available riders may include:

• Disability Income Rider

• Waiver of Target Premium Rider

• Other Insured Rider

• Over loan Protection Rider

• Guaranteed Insurability Rider

• Children’s Term Rider

• Accidental Death Benefit Rider

• Unemployment Rider