AXA Equitable Enhances Flagship Universal Life Insurance Coverage

NEW YORK, April 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company announced today enhancements to its flagship universal life policy, Athena Universal Life(SM). The latest updates follow a 2009 redesign, when AXA Equitable became an innovation leader by combining long-term guarantees with cash value accumulation potential in one product.

"In the last two years, market volatility has subsided and investor confidence has returned," said David O'Leary, executive vice president and head of Financial Protection at AXA Equitable. "Now was the right time to expand on an already strong product by placing more emphasis on providing clients greater access to features that offer protection and growth."

Among the new enhancements, AXA Equitable has made changes to the charge structure that now allow clients to pay a lower annual premium.

The company has also removed the minimum premium and reduced the minimum policy face amount required to access the Cash Value Plus Rider (CVPlus Rider), a feature that helps individual clients finance life insurance and business owners offset the impact of premium outlay. The CVPlus Rider was previously available only on policies carrying a face amount of $1 million or greater. Policyholders now may select the rider on coverage of $250,000 per life for one or two lives insured, or $100,000 per life for three or more lives insured.

Athena Universal Life's signature features – strong cash accumulation potential and long-term no lapse guarantees often lasting beyond life expectancy – continue to differentiate it within the industry.

"Athena remains one of the most innovative and compelling offerings," said O'Leary. "By marrying the latest updates to the bedrock of the hybrid design, we continue to provide clients with the right product strategy that addresses their evolving life insurance needs."  

For more information on AXA Equitable's Athena Universal Life, please visit http://www.axa-equitable.com/life-insurance/universal/athena-ul.jsp.

Athena Universal Life(SM) is issued by AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (AXA Equitable), New York, NY, and is distributed through affiliates AXA Distributors, LLC and AXA Network, LLC and its subsidiaries.

Athena Universal Life(SM) is a service mark of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company.

© 2011 AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company. All rights reserved.

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About AXA Equitable

In business since 1859, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (NY, NY) is a leading financial protection company and one of the nation's premier providers of life insurance, annuity, and financial products and services. The company's products and services are distributed to individuals and business owners through its retail distribution channel, AXA Advisors, LLC (member FINRA, SIPC) and to the financial services market through its wholesale distribution channel, AXA Distributors, LLC. Find AXA Equitable on Facebook and Twitter or visit the company's multi-media newsroom The Source @ AXA Equitable.

AXA Equitable, a subsidiary of AXA Financial Inc., is part of the global AXA Group, a worldwide leader in financial protection strategies and wealth management. "AXA Group" refers to AXA, a French holding company for an international group of insurance and financial services companies together with its direct and indirect consolidated subsidiaries. For more information, visit www.axa-equitable.com.

SOURCE AXA Equitable