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Life Insurance: Whole Life Vs. Term Life

by Susan Reynolds

Life insurance is an important thing to have, and one that can provide you with much peace of mind. You can feel more relaxed about the future if you know that your loved ones will be protected in case anything happens to you. But, you might not know where to begin shopping for a life insurance policy. In fact, you might not know anything about life insurance at all. The basics come down to this: there are two types of life insurance, whole and term, the difference between the two being that term policies are only for life coverage.

Whole life insurance policies remain in place as long as the premiums are paid, or until the covered person reaches the age of 100 years. These types of policy begin to build up a cash value that increases as long as they exist, starting usually after the first year the policy is paid for.

For a whole life policy, the premium remains the same cost (in contrast to renewable policies where the price can change). The cash value of the policy is also guaranteed, therefore making it safer, but these policies require the whole of the premium to be paid in order to keep them active.

Whole-life insurance policies are well-suited towards long-term goals due to the permanence of their protection, the fixed premiums, and the building cash value. This cash value can be received in full at any time the policyholder chooses to cancel their whole life insurance policy.

With certain whole-life insurance policies, there is the possibility of gaining more cash value than what the company guarantees that you will receive. You are able to get loans to borrow from this amount. However, the guaranteed cash value depends on the life insurance market as a whole as well as your own interest rates. The company’s future financial ups and downs may also affect the amount of guaranteed cash value. However, variable life insurance policies lack a guarantee at all, making whole-life policies generally safer. Advocates of whole-life policies suggest that you insure that your rates can compete well with your other investments.

Whole-life insurance policies offer more security than term policies, due to fixed premiums and a guaranteed value. There is also the ability for you to earn dividends, added to your policy based on your insurance company’s market performance and profits. Whole-life policy interest rates are usually adjusted annually as opposed to monthly (as with term policies) and there are many policy options offered, allowing you to choose one that bests suits your needs.

Whole life insurance is more expensive than term life insurance because it is offering coverage for a life-time with attractive features such as flat premiums and guaranteed cash values. Purchasing whole life insurance should be carefully considered and you should be sure you can afford it over time. If you decide you cannot afford coverage, at least buy term life insurance.

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