Life Insurance

The policy could be a term policy, whole life (or a variation of whole life such as 20 year payment life, or life paid up at 65), endowment, universal life, or some other type. The type of policy will determine many other aspects of the policy, such as whether it has cash or loan values, the length of time you are scheduled to pay premiums, etc.

Permanent Life Insurance

Permanent life insurance is a form of life insurance where the policy is guaranteed for the life of the insured (assuming the policy is kept current and the premiums are paid). The four basic types of permanent insurance are whole life, universal life, limited pay and endowment.

Whole life insurance offers a level premium and a guarantee by the insurance company that the policy will earn cash value. Often referred to as permanent insurance, the death benefit guarantee for a whole life policy can be anywhere from age 100 to age 121. Once a policy has been issued both the death benefit and premiums remain the same and typically cannot be changed or altered.

Universal life insurance is another type of insurance product intended to provide permanent insurance coverage only with greater flexibility. A universal life insurance policy also earns cash value and since both the premium and death benefit are flexible the amount you pay can increase the cash values.