RISK 3

Opportunity Risk

Many clients have money that is “stranded” in low-interest bearing accounts for which they don’t have an immediate use in mind.

Clients may have a goal of long-term growth to benefit their families, or the funds may represent important assets for an emergency or other future liquid need. Permanent life insurance can be an attractive alternative to the low-interest bearing account.

It may be possible to use permanent life insurance to “rescue” the stranded money from the low-interest account and provide a valuable solution to meet your clients’ short and long-term needs. The advantages of permanent life insurance include:

  • Leveraging a single premium into a larger, generally income-tax free death benefit4
  • Control and access to cash value for unexpected or immediate needs5
  • Access to a portion of the death benefit for living needs1
  • Potential growth of cash value

There are two main criteria for identifying clients that may be affected by opportunity risk.


  1. Death Benefit Need -- the client does not have enough life insurance coverage. Be sure to conduct a thorough needs-based analysis and determine if death benefit coverage is necessary before proceeding.

  2. Stranded Money – The client has funds that are no longer meeting their current needs. These funds may be in savings, Certificates of Deposit (CDs)6, annuities7 or other vehicles. Each of these vehicles serves a purpose, so the critical question to ask is whether or not your clients’ needs have changed. Additionally, it’s important to remember that removing funds from a CD or annuity may result in penalty, surrender charges, or income taxes.4

Key Point

Permanent life insurance could leverage dollars held in a low-interest bearing account into a larger, generally income-tax free death benefit.4