Transamerica Life Canada has announced significant enhancements to its EstateADVANTAGE universal life insurance plan. The revised plan now provides improved customized income protection and estate preservation solutions to advisors for their clients.

The new EstateADVANTAGE universal life plan features more competitive level cost of insurance rates, a new low fee deferred bonus version, an improved accumulation bonus, interest options with guaranteed management expense ratios and new built in living benefits

The plan’s competitive Level COI rates remain constant and payable until age 100. There is also an Annual Renewable Term (ART) COI rate that starts out low to maximize savings and rises as the policyholders’ age increases. In addition, depending on the health and lifestyle of the policyholder, a discounted COI on face amounts of $250,000 and above is available subject to Transamerica’s Preferred Underwriting Classifications.

The new Low Fee Deferred Bonus plan is designed for clients in the estate planning stage of life who do not have enough time to benefit from long-term universal life bonuses, as well as for policyholders desiring higher early cash values and more liquidity.

In exchange for deferring the bonus until year 30 of the policy, clients receive more value immediately such as guaranteed MERs decreased by 1.25% and a 0.5% boost on fixed rate interest options including a 2.5% minimum return on terms of five years or longer.

The improved accumulation bonus is now being credited from year two of the policy and unlike many universal life plans in the Canadian market is fully guaranteed, unconditional and does not vary based on the interest option selected. The bonus is paid every year the policy is in force starting in year two and increases as savings accumulate. A combination of the more competitive Level COI rates and the improved accumulation bonus to reward savings leads to a significant increase in fund accumulation.

Policyholders now have a choice of two types of imaxx interest options, imaxxFund and imaxx TOP Portfolio interest options. Each imaxxFund interest option is linked to one mutual fund within a family of eight core mutual funds: one of which is the imaxx Canadian Fixed Pay Fund, the first income trust fund in Canada available in any UL plan. I maxx TOP Portfolio interest options offer a line-up of four asset allocation portfolios comprised of a selection of Canada’s finest mutual funds.

The total annual fees including the underlying MERs for the imaxx interest options and all other available index interest options are guaranteed never to exceed an annual maximum. This accountability feature is unique to Transamerica within the Canadian universal life market.

New built in Living Benefits enable policyholders upon disability or diagnosis of a critical condition to gain access to a lump sum or recurring payments from the total fund value of their policy. In addition, there are no age restrictions.

“With our enhanced EstateADVANTAGE offering, advisors have the capability to improve tax-sheltering of interest accumulation for their clients,: said Joe Kordovi, AVP, pricing actuary, life marketing and product development, in a news release. “The improved accumulation bonus offers younger clients great value as it rewards savings while our low-fee deferred bonus option helps mature clients who have less time to benefit from long-term universal life bonuses,” he added.