Term life insurance provides coverage for a specified amount of time. Term periods can be wide ranging, from 1 year to 20 years, sometimes even 30 years. During this time, coverage will be provided at a guaranteed rate. At the end of the term, the policy will either terminate or be renewed (at a higher premium). This is called “renewable” term life insurance, and is based on your age at the time of renewing.
Another term option is called Decreasing Term Life Insurance. This is a policy in which the face value of the policy decreases from the date the policy begins to the date the policy ends, while the premium remains the same. Decreasing Term policies are often used to build cash to pay for things such as a home mortgage or a child’s college education.
Whole life insurance is just as it sounds. It provides a guaranteed premium with a guaranteed cash value for the rest of your life. The cash value of a whole life policy accumulates “tax-deferred,” meaning you will not pay income taxes as it accumulates. While premiums are normally higher at the outset, due to the cash value feature, it can be very beneficial later in life as you age and your health deteriorates. Unlike term policies, where your age and health will be taken into consideration for a renewal, Whole Life policies guarantee your premium for life.
Universal life insurance is a form of permanent life insurance, but you have much more flexibility in building the policy. With a Universal Life policy, your premiums are not guaranteed, and you can normally begin with a lower premium than Whole Life insurance. Premiums and values are based on projections of assumed interest rates, mortality costs, and your insurance company’s expenses and investments. This could be very beneficial to you because if your insurance company’s investments grow at a high interest rate, that increase is passed on to you. Like Whole Life insurance, the cash value of your policy will accumulate tax-deferred.