Tuesday, April 10, 2018

The Difference Between Term and Whole Life Insurance

The assumption can be made that there are plenty of people walking around with no idea what the difference between term and whole life insurance is. Many people who look into getting life insurance will think term life insurance. Actually, just as many, if not more will look at buying whole life insurance.  The major difference between term life and whole life insurance is one has a set term and the other is considered permanent (having a cash/investing component that can actually be used as a loan). Most of the term life companies offer terms like 10 to 30 years.  At the end of the set term, the policy will expire. At this point, get a whole life plan or just renew the term.  If you plan to renew, your policy rates will most likely increase.


Term life insurance vs. whole life insurance is a very important piece of a family’s financial portfolio. For most, term life insurance is a building block of comfort. Whole life insurance is the actual foundation.  Life insurance allows the family members that are left behind to maintain their lives after a devastating death in the family.  It is critical to families that do not have multiple incomes.  Beneficiaries have varied needs and at that point, the difference between whole life and term insurance is not very important. For them, knowing that an insurance payout is on its way eases the stress of taking care of their loved one’s burial services and final expenses.

With regard to whole life insurance, some may be unclear on some specifics. When cash values become insufficient, policies lapse.  Whole policies build cash value via an investment component, but policy owners need to be sure they understand all of the components that make up the build of their policy. The cash value portion supplements the policyholder’s premiums in the future. If the cash value is taken for whatever purpose and the policy holder decides to or does not have time to replace it, at some point they are going to need funding added to keep the policy active.

The bottom line is that the difference between term and whole life insurance is pretty straightforward. Both can offer good protection for your family if you pass on. It is up to you as to which policy you should buy. Ultimately, make your premium payments so that your policy stays active. Either insurance policy is going to pay benefits to the surviving beneficiary when the policyholder dies. Each of these types of insurance will take care of the ones you leave behind as long as it is in force at that time. Life insurance is significant to your financial package. Always check into the policy face value options that are available.  Never forget that there are people or even a person that you love depending on you if you should die. If you leave them without the benefits from your life insurance, it may be like watching a sinking ship. Do not wait; decide and purchase a policy that fits your family protection plan.

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