Securian Financial, the US insurance and retirement products provider, has enhanced its VUL Defender variable universal life insurance product, combining greater cash value potential and investment flexibility with improvements to underwriting, digital capabilities and policy servicing.
The updated product retains what the company describes as one of the market’s most competitive guaranteed death benefits, while introducing more competitive premiums and an optional No-Lapse Guarantee Agreement (NLGA), available for an additional charge. Subject to its terms and conditions, the agreement is designed to maintain coverage to age 100 and beyond.
The enhancements come as insurers look to modernise product offerings and customer experiences in response to changing policyholder needs. Securian is encouraging financial professionals to reconsider traditional assumptions about life expectancy and assess whether clients’ protection strategies can accommodate longer lives.
VUL Defender offers more than 75 investment allocation options, with no investment allocation restrictions when the NLGA is added. Optional protection for terminal illness, chronic illness and long-term care provides further flexibility, while improvements to underwriting, digital capabilities and servicing are intended to make the product easier for advisers and their clients to manage.
The product was originally launched in 2015 with a focus on providing a competitive guaranteed death benefit. The latest update builds on that proposition, combining long-term protection with greater investment choice and stronger cash value potential.
Although the announcement does not detail new AI features, the improvements to underwriting and digital servicing reflect the wider technology-driven shift in insurance towards more streamlined processes and better adviser experiences. For insurers, digital tools can help reduce administrative friction and support more efficient policy servicing, although the company has not attributed these particular enhancements to AI.
Securian Financial serves more than 23 million customers across the US and Canada through partnerships with employers, financial professionals and affinity groups. The company has operated for more than 145 years and provides insurance and retirement products to individuals, families and businesses.
The updated product is available in most US states and the District of Columbia, excluding California, Connecticut, Georgia, Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming. Minnesota Life Insurance Company issues the product outside New York, while Securian Life Insurance Company issues it in New York.
Securian Financial head of life and annuity product development Ben Roth said, “Life expectancy has evolved, and the way we help clients plan needs to evolve with it. Permanent life insurance is often purchased with a very long-term objective—to provide protection and ultimately leave a legacy. If that’s the goal, financial professionals should ask themselves a simple question: Is the protection strategy guaranteed to last as long as the client might? We believe securing a no-lapse guarantee to age 100 and beyond leads to a better planning conversation and offers clients peace of mind that they should not be dealing with a potential coverage lapse when they’re least able and prepared to do so.”
Roth added, “VUL Defender has always been about protection. The evolution of VUL Defender takes that promise further—with stronger long-term value, greater flexibility and an experience built around how financial professionals and clients want to do business today. It is protection built for performance and for longer lives.”
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