Insurance

For insurance to qualify as a gift, whole life or certain universal life insurance policies should be purchased as follows:

1. The Owner and Beneficiary of a gifted life policy must read "The University of Georgia Foundation." Designation to a specific school, college, department, or fund should be made in a planned gift agreement, not in the policy application. The original policy should be forwarded to the Foundation.
2. The insured must be at least 21 years of age.
3. It is preferred that the insured be the donor or the donor's spouse. Any exceptions should be reviewed prior to acceptance.
4. The policy must carry a minimum face value of $25,000 at all times. An exception to this rule will be made only for fully paid-up policies.
5. If a donor is transferring ownership of an existing policy, they must provide the Foundation with the most recent annual summary and an in-force illustration for review before the gift is made. The policy's cash surrender value at the time of transfer is a tax-deductible charitable contribution as allowed by law.
6. If a donor is taking out a new policy with the Foundation as owner, the policy application and illustration must be reviewed by the Foundation before the gift is made.
7. The Foundation should receive annual statements and premium notices from the insurance company. Premiums must be made payable annually.
8. Premiums should be paid by the donor directly to the Foundation, with the Foundation making payment to the insurance company. In this way the donor's premium payments are tax deductible charitable contributions as allowed by law.
9. Accumulated cash values may not be utilized to pay premiums:
   1. This means for Universal (Flexible Premium or Adjustable) Life policies that cash value must not decrease from one annual statement to the next.
   2. For Whole Life policies, the premium should never be paid by loan. Annual dividends can be applied to completely pay premiums or to reduce the premium with the donor paying the remainder.
10. If there are any questions regarding life insurance policies qualifying an individual for recognition by the Heritage Society, please direct them to the Foundation, 1 Press Place, Suite 101, Athens, Georgia 30601, telephone (706) 542-6677.