AuguStar touts income potential with new Virtus IUL

AuguStar Life recently took its latest Virtus indexed universal life product to market, a version with much-improved income potential, the insurer said.

The Virtus IUL III is designed to "provide clients with a blend of accumulation potential, superior income distribution and protection features," AuguStar Life said in a news release. "It is an ideal solution for both personal and business financial planning needs."

Last summer, AuguStar launched Virtus Protection IUL, marketing the product as "protection-forward coverage with accumulation potential."

AuguStar Life and AuguStar Retirement are Constellation Insurance companies. Constellation rebranded the former Ohio National insurance company two years ago, promising an "innovative" product-focused approach.

The new Virtus continues AuguStar's natural IUL evolution, explained Mark Peterson, chief distribution officer for AuguStar Life.

“Our strategy has been to elevate our indexed product line to be among the best in the business,” Peterson said. “Additionally, financial professionals are looking for products with greater income and accumulation potential features that don’t sacrifice the protection benefits, and this product delivers in a big way.”

In addition to income and accumulation features, Virtus IUL III offers a variety of protection options, including level and increasing death benefit choices, a no-lapse guarantee and optional riders such as an accelerated benefit rider for chronic and terminal illness.

Peterson recently spoke with InsuranceNewsNet to answer some additional questions about the new product.

INN: How does this version differ from previous versions of Virtus?

Peterson: “What we did on this version of the product was to improve the illustrated income to really be one of the leaders in the industry around income. ... And we wanted to do it based on really straightforward indices, without having customized or engineered indices to do that. Really just sticking with a good old S&P 500 indices. We also have Russell 2000 and EuroStoxx, but really trying to create that potential strong income stream based on straightforward indices.”

INN: What does this product do for AuguStar?

Peterson: "It gives us a much more complete accumulation product that lets us really offer a good offering from both a cash value accumulation perspective and the distribution perspective, or the potential illustrated income perspective. And because there are different advisors that sell, some only look at accumulation, some look at the distribution potential, and some look at both. So it gives us a more complete product to bring to market."

INN: Is the product available in all 50 states?

Peterson: "We're not licensed in New York. And we're waiting approval in California, and until it's approved, our Virtus II products are available there. We're good in the other 48 states and in Puerto Rico."

INN: Who is this product aimed at from a consumer standpoint?

Peterson: "It's for people who need death benefit protection, but also want good, strong, cash value performance from both accumulation and distribution purposes. And who also are looking for more of that straightforward, more simple design and want to really have as good of an understanding of how the product is going to work as possible."

INN: How will you distribute this product?

Peterson: "We'll distribute this through our directly affiliated agents, and also through our third-party distribution, which is really in the brokerage IMO space, and that's where we've had a lot of our growth focused in the last year."

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InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.