Three buckets — asset value fills, the loan fills against it, the benefit pays out

Year 1 — paying premiums
Three-bucket illustration Bucket one holds asset value, filled by premiums and index credits and drained each year by the cost of insurance. Bucket two holds the policy loan balance, which fills once income begins and compounds. Bucket three is the death benefit, with the loan balance deducted off the top and the remainder going to the family. Premiums in + index credits each year Tax-free income Cost of insurance buys bucket 3 repays the loan tax-free to family loan deducted $0 1 · Asset value $0 2 · Loan balance $0 3 · Death benefit

Assumptions

At year 1

Bucket 1 — asset value
$0
after charges
Bucket 2 — loan balance
$0
borrowed so far
Bucket 3 — death benefit
$0
base plus corridor
Family keeps
$0
death benefit − loan balance
Policy lapses
Never
within the horizon

Asset value, loan, and net asset value

Asset value Loan balance Net asset value

Net asset value is the asset value minus the loan — what you could walk away with if you surrendered the policy and settled the loan. The dashed marker follows the year on the slider above.

Year-by-year schedule

Year Premium Charges Loan taken Asset value Loan balance Net asset value Death benefit Family keeps

Charges are the premium load, the annual policy fee, and the cost of insurance for that year. Loan taken is the amount drawn that year; the loan balance compounds and is never repaid. Family keeps is the death benefit after the loan is deducted.

Illustrative only — not a projection of any specific policy. Assumes a level crediting rate with no zero years, a 110% corridor on the death benefit (it is always at least 10% above the asset value), loan interest that compounds and is never repaid, and simplified charges. A real illustration varies the crediting rate, applies an index cap and floor, and uses the carrier's own cost-of-insurance table. Lapse is flagged when the loan balance passes the asset value; at that point the outstanding loan generally becomes taxable income.