X-Message-Number: 16048
Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2001 19:21:47 -0500
From: david pizer <>
Subject: Re: CryoNet #16043 - #16046

Mark Plus wrote;

>Since 1990 I have been using a whole life policy from New York Life to pay 
>for my cryonic suspension arrangements with Alcor, the current death benefit 
>being $116,000 (including paid-up additions).  I understand from talking to 
>my insurance agent that after having paid premiums on this policy for eleven 
>years, I can now opt to have all future premiums paid from out of the 
>dividends of the policy.  The death benefit would decline, but it would 
>never drop below $100,000.  Doing so would free up the $1200 a year that I 
>had been spending on premiums.
>
>Would it be better to continue to pay that monthly premium so that the death 
>benefit continues to increase, or should I instead take that money and 
>invest it in some other way that would be beneficial towards my long-term 
>survival, like accumulating a fund for my remote standby fees?
>
>I would welcome some suggestions.

I would continue paying the premiums.  You are building up cash value.  You
may be able to withdraw some of that cash value later and still keep the
$100,000 death benefit in force.

Alcor, or CI may come up with a very expensive and very much better way of
suspending you.  Say that option costs $200,000 instead of the lower prices
ones that don't use as expensive of chemicals and technology.  It would be
nice if your death benefit had risen to that level so you could purchase
the better and more expensive suspension proceedure at that time.

Another option, (which I used several years ago to advance my financial
position) is to trade the equity in this policy for a paid up policy with
better terms from another company.  Some insurance policies are predicated
on what the rate of return is at the time you buy the policy.  This rate
changes from time to time.  So when a more favorable rate (to you) comes
along as a result of inflation or deflation, you do a tax-free trade of the
equity in your policy for another one.  Here is an example:
	Say you have $50,000 cash value accumulated in a $100,000 death-benefit
policy and you are getting a 3% return.  An as financial times change you
can buy a $100,000 death-benefit policy for $25,000 one-payment-in-cash
that has a 4% return.  Then you trade your existing $50,000 cash value for
a paid up policy ($25,000 cost) and start getting 4% instead or 3% return,
and you get the extra $25,000 returned to yourself in cash.  One thing to
remember is that you have to still be healthy at the time of the trade or
the new company won't do it.   Another thing to keep in mind is to be sure
the company you do the trade with is as financially sound (rated) as the
one you have now.

Another option would be to continue to keep the same policy and let the
death benefit grow every year.  In a couple of years, the Venturists will
have two programs that may work for you.  (1). You assign everything over
the minimum amount that it costs for your suspension to a trust fund for
you (and the Venturist will help manage it) to be held in trust for you
until you are reanimated.  Example: Say you die in 40 years, and you have
been paying the same premium all the time, so that when you die the death
benefit is built up to $300,000.  Say Alcor charges you $50,000 for a
neuro.  The remaining $250,000 goes into a trust fund that the Venturists
and a deep pocket investment company co-manage for your benefit. (It really
going to the Venturists, but to *your* trust fund that Venturist co-manage.
 That $250,000 grows over the years and when you come back it might be
worth, say, 10 million dollars, or one million - who knows.  The point here
is that it will be nice to have some money available for you when you are
reanimated.

(2).  The Venturist are also going to have a back-up fund.  Example: you
die with $300,000 in death benefit.  $50,000 goes to Alcor for your
suspension.  $25,000 goes to a back-up fund in case Alcor ever goes out of
business that fund will be used to move you to a new suspension fund.  The
remaining amount $200,000 can go to a trust fund for your benefit when you
are reanimated.

I have recently created a trust fund where I am putting all my assets and
excess life insurance into it.  When I die, I hope it will be worth a lot
of money and appreciate to even more when I come back.  I am putting some
liquid assets into it (insurance proceeds) and a lot of bare land.  I
happen to think in a couple hundred years large chunks of bare land will
have appreciated more than anything else as human population grows, and
land gets scarce.  I am also putting lots of other assets into it to keep
it varied.  

The point here is since the premiums are so low, you might as well keep
paying them and accumulating money and find a way for you to get that money
when you come back + the appreciation.

One thing I have learned over many years studying the of philosophy of
money is that you never can have too much money :=)

Dave  

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