With joint life insurance, both you and your spouse can enjoy the benefits of permanent life insurance with a single policy—and often for lower premiums than you'd have with two separate policies.
Joint life insurance is a life insurance policy that's designed to cover two people—typically a married couple or business partners. These are typically permanent life policies, but term policies may be also be available. The policy only pays a death benefit when one of the people who are insured dies—it could be the first to die, or the second. Because of that this coverage is also sometimes called first-to-die joint life insurance or second-to-die joint life insurance.
If you're considering buying two separate permanent life insurance policies (one for you and your spouse or partner), a joint policy may be cheaper than what you'd pay for multiple policies.
Might be easier to qualify for coverage
A second-to-die joint life insurance policy can make it easier for an older or less healthy individual to purchase coverage that they may not qualify for on their own, especially if their spouse or partner is younger or healthier.
Could add financial flexibility to your plan
If your joint life insurance policy is a permanent policy, it will accrue cash value over time as you pay your premiums—which you can access for any reason, at any time, throughout your life.
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Questions about joint life insurance?We've got answers.
Northwestern Mutual offers survivorship life insurance—second-to-die policies.
No. While joint life insurance is often used by married couples, you don't need to be married to qualify for coverage. Domestic partners can also purchase a joint life policy, as can business partners.
With a joint life policy, the death benefit is paid when one of the covered individuals passes away. Depending on your policy, the death benefit may pay out when the first person dies or when the second person dies.
It depends. A joint life insurance policy can make sense if you and your spouse or partner cannot afford separate policies or if age or poor health would cause one of you to be ineligible for your own coverage. However, individual coverage can allow you to better tailor coverage for each person who is insured.
A joint policy also has some risk. If you and your spouse go through a divorce, or if you and your business partner go separate ways, it's important to have a plan in place for splitting up the policy. (Some insurance companies offer a "divorce rider" to account for this risk.)
The terms "joint life" and "survivorship policies" are sometimes used interchangeably. In general, joint life insurance refers to a policy that covers two people. It could be a first-to-die (pays a death benefit when the first person dies) or second-to-die policy (pays a death benefit only after the second person dies).
A survivorship policy, on the other hand, only pays out when both of the people who are insured die. (For this reason, survivorship policies are also known as "second-to-die" policies.)
With a first-to-die policy, no. Once the first partner or spouse has died and the death benefit is paid, the policy is no longer in effect. If the surviving spouse or partner still wants or needs coverage, they will need to purchase a new policy. Depending on their health and age, this could be significantly more expensive than if they were to purchase coverage when they were younger and healthier.
With a second-to-die policy the death benefit is not paid when the first person dies. So the policy and coverage remain in effect until the second person passes away.
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