Term vs. Whole Life Insurance

Many people are confused about the differences between these types of life insurance policies.

Term Life Insurance -

The simple explanation is that term life insurance is just raw, basic insurance. It pays cash to the beneficiaries upon the death of the insured person. Until that death occurs, the policy has no actual cash value. You can't borrow against a term life policy and if you stop paying the premiums, you'll have nothing to show for the premiums you've already paid.

The big advantage of term life insurance is that it's the lowest cost way to get a large amount of coverage. For a few dollars, you can get many thousands of dollars worth of insurance.

If you need a lot of life insurance coverage, but you don't want to invest a lot of money for a policy, term life insurance may be your best choice.

Whole Life Insurance -

Whole life insurance does build an ongoing cash value. The longer you keep the policy, the more value it has. And this is real, cash value that you can borrow against if you get in a bind for cash. Although whole life insurance is more expensive than term life insurance, the returns you can get, in the form of increased cash value over the years, can be substantial.

In many cases, the cash value of a whole life policy can actually exceed the total of all the premiums you have paid for the coverage. This is because the insurance company invests the money they collect as premiums and, after deducting their cut for operating expenses and profit, the rest is applied to the cash value of your policy.

Depending upon the details of your particular policy, there may come a time when you'll no longer need to continue paying premiums, but you'll still retain the coverage of the whole life policy. This is referred to as 'paid up whole life'.

Which is best for you?

It all depends upon your particular circumstances. If you're just starting out in life with a new family and you don't have much money, term life insurance might be your best choice. You'll get the most amount of protection for your family at the lowest cost.

On the other hand, if you can afford the higher premiums of a whole life policy, you'll be money ahead in the long run, due to the increasing cash value that builds up over time.