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Permanent life insurance

Designed for enduring protection and lasting financial impact.

How do you ensure your family's financial security lasts a lifetime? Permanent life insurance provides enduring protection that not only safeguards your loved ones but also builds dependable cash value over time, creating a foundation of stability that grows with you throughout life’s changes.

Find out how a UBS Financial Advisor can help you create and preserve your legacy with permanent life insurance

What is permanent life insurance

Permanent life insurance combines reliable protection with smart financial planning in an integrated solution. While term coverage is temporary, permanent insurance builds lasting value through tax-deferred cash accumulation that you can access as your needs evolve.

Beyond protection, permanent life insurance becomes a dynamic financial tool that adapts to your priorities. It can strengthen retirement planning, support business succession, or advance philanthropic goals, all while maintaining the flexibility to seize new opportunities throughout your lifetime.

Types of permanent life insurance

There are several types of permanent life insurance, each serving distinct purposes in your portfolio. These include:

Whole life insurance

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Whole life insurance is a permanent form of coverage, designed for those seeking long-term stability and protection across generations.

Here’s what it offers:

  1. Guaranteed death benefit with fixed premiums for stability
  2. Tax-deferred cash value that can supplement retirement income or provide liquidity
  3. Reliable funding to help cover estate taxes and preserve wealth for heirs
  4. A proven tool for business continuity through buy-sell funding or key person protection

Contact your UBS Financial Advisor to explore the options that best fit your goals.

If you don't have a UBS Advisor we can help find one.

Universal life insurance

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Universal life insurance is a flexible form of permanent coverage that combines lifelong protection with the ability to adjust premiums and benefits. It also builds tax-deferred cash value that can be withdrawn or borrowed against, although doing so may reduce the death benefit or impact policy performance.

Here’s what it offers:

  1. The ability to adjust premiums and benefits as your priorities change.
  2. Tax-deferred savings that can be accessed for liquidity, with potential implications for coverage.
  3. Greater flexibility than whole life insurance, allowing you to tailor protection and cash value growth to match evolving wealth, risk tolerance, and legacy goals.

Contact your UBS Financial Advisor to explore the options that best fit your goals.

Guaranteed universal life insurance

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Guaranteed universal life insurance provides permanent protection with predictable premiums. These policies are designed to deliver a guaranteed death benefit for life when premiums are paid as scheduled, focusing on efficient protection over cash value accumulation.

Here’s what it offers:

  1. Guaranteed lifetime coverage is secured when scheduled premiums are maintained.
  2. Premiums are typically more efficient than whole life insurance because cash value accumulation is limited.
  3. The policy supports estate planning by providing liquidity for taxes, debts, and legacy preservation.
  4. Term coverage can be converted to permanent protection through a practical and efficient approach.

Contact your UBS Financial Advisor to explore the options that best fit your goals.

Indexed universal life insurance

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Indexed universal life insurance provides permanent protection with the opportunity for cash value growth tied to a market index, such as the S&P 500. Policies credit interest linked to index performance, with caps on growth and a minimum rate that helps protect cash value in down markets.

Here's what it offers:

  1. The potential for market-linked gains while limiting downside exposure in negative years.
  2. Flexible funding and death benefits that can be adjusted as your needs change.
  3. Tax-deferred cash value growth that can be accessed for liquidity or retirement, with possible effects on policy performance.

Important considerations: Indexed universal life insurance policies are more complex than other forms of permanent coverage and can carry higher fees and constraints on growth. Ongoing monitoring is important to help keep the policy aligned with your goals and to reduce the risk of lapse.

Contact your UBS Financial Advisor to explore the options that best fit your goals.

Variable universal life insurance

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Variable universal life insurance strategically combines permanent protection with investment opportunities through professionally managed subaccounts. This structure offers enhanced growth potential while acknowledging inherent market exposure.

Here's what it offers:

  1. Flexibility to adjust premiums and death benefits as your financial objectives evolve.
  2. Access to diversified investment subaccounts designed for long-term growth potential, though market volatility may impact cash value accumulation.
  3. Tax-advantaged cash value growth with liquidity options through policy loans or withdrawals, while recognizing potential effects on coverage and overall performance.

Important considerations: Variable universal life insurance involves market risk, higher fees, and active oversight. We work with you to structure and manage the policy so it remains aligned with your goals.

Contact your UBS Financial Advisor to explore the options that fit your goals.

Private placement life insurance (PPLI)

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Private placement life insurance (PPLI) is a specialized form of variable universal life for qualified investors. It provides permanent protection within a tax-efficient structure for alternative investments and is often used to pursue growth, preserve privacy, and support advanced estate and tax planning.

Here's what it offers:

  1. Investment earnings are tax-deferred with tax-efficient access to cash value, and death benefits are generally income tax free (so long as there’s no transfer for value).
  2. Supports efficient wealth transfer and helps manage estate tax liability across jurisdictions.
  3. Enables access to alternative and institutional investments within a tax-advantaged structure.

Important considerations: PPLI is available only to qualified investors. It requires careful structuring and third-party oversight to maintain tax advantages, and involves setup and ongoing costs. It is generally suitable only for large, complex portfolios with specific planning objectives.

Contact your UBS Financial Advisor to explore the options that best fit your goals.

Survivorship life insurance

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Survivorship life insurance, also known as second-to-die insurance, insures two people under one policy and pays the benefit after the second death. It is a strategic estate planning tool often used to help preserve and transfer wealth across generations.

Here's what it offers:

  1. Provides estate liquidity to help cover taxes and preserve assets such as businesses or real estate.
  2. Offers a cost-efficient way to pass on or equalize inheritances, often structured within an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT).
  3. Supports the long-term financial needs of dependent after both policyholders have passed.
  4. Typically has lower premiums than maintaining two separate policies and may provide coverage for a less insurable partner.

Important considerations: Survivorship life insurance does not provide a payout after the first death, so it is not designed for income replacement. It is most effective as a strategic estate planning and legacy transfer tool.

Contact your UBS Financial Advisor to explore the options that best fit your goals.

How to get started

Ready to add permanent life insurance to your wealth plan? Here's how.

  • Start with an insurance review

    Your UBS Financial Advisor will help you look at your current policies, how they're performing, what they're costing you, and whether they still fit your long-term goals.

  • Define your priorities

    You and your Advisor will talk through your future priorities, your risk tolerance, and how much protection you need.

  • Receive a tailored recommendation

    Your Financial Advisor will help you identify insurance solutions that suit your needs and fit seamlessly within your overall wealth plan.

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Key questions to consider when exploring permanent life insurance

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Why choose UBS

With decades of wealth management experience and deep insurance advisory expertise, our Financial Advisors are skilled at navigating complex insurance structures and wealth considerations. From assessing policy design to supporting multigenerational planning, we help ensure your insurance strategy contributes meaningfully to the growth and preservation of your legacy.

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Our specialist expertise

Our team works closely with individuals, families, and business owners to offer thoughtful guidance, helping you plan ahead and stay prepared for life’s unexpected moments.
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We help you build financial security that protects what matters most today while creating lasting value for future generations.

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Our Financial Advisors deliver comprehensive strategies to optimize your portfolio performance and ensure your family's prosperity endures across multiple generations.

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We help you create comprehensive employee benefits that attract top talent while supporting your team's financial wellbeing and long-term security.

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Our approach embraces client diversity, providing tailored financial solutions and guidance that address each individual's distinct circumstances and objectives.

Insurance products are made available by UBS Financial Services Insurance Agency Inc. or other insurance licensed subsidiaries of UBS Financial Services Inc. through third-party unaffiliated insurance companies.

Important information about brokerage and advisory services. As a firm providing wealth management services to clients, UBS Financial Services Inc. offers investment advisory services in its capacity as an SEC-registered investment adviser and brokerage services in its capacity as an SEC-registered broker-dealer. Investment advisory services and brokerage services are separate and distinct, differ in material ways and are governed by different laws and separate arrangements. It is important that you understand the ways in which we conduct business and that you carefully read the agreements and disclosures that we provide about the products or services we offer. For more information, please review client relationship summary provided at ubs.com/relationshipsummary.

© UBS 2026. All rights reserved. The key symbol and UBS are among the registered and unregistered trademarks of UBS. UBS Financial Services Inc. is a subsidiary of UBS Group AG. Member FINRA/SIPC.

Approval code: 4849598 Exp date: 10/13/2026,