Life Insurance Products

Life Insurance - Term Life

Term life insurance is the simplest form of life insurance available. Essentially you enter into a contract with an insurance company for a specified period of time - the 'Term' of term life. You pay a monthly premium and in return, the insurance company agrees to pay out a specified death benefit to your beneficiary if you die during the term of the policy. If the term expires, then the policy is dissolved. This policy does not accumulate any cash value. Most companies will lock in rates for ten years for term life insurance although there are a few that will only give a couple of years of guaranteed rates.

Life Insurance - Whole Life (also known as Permanent Life)

This is the simplest form of life insurance that covers your entire life. It's also referred to as permanent life insurance. It's similar to term life insurance in the sense that it provides a set payoff for a set premium. The key difference is that there is no term. The policy remains in effect for your entire life unless you elect to dissolve the policy early in which case you receive the accumulated cash value of the policy. Typically, this will be less than the death benefit. This is because the death benefit is based on an assumption about how long you will live. If you cash out before that predicted term, the policy's value will not have grown to that level. 

Life Insurance - Universal Life

With universal life, the insurance company invests the premiums you pay into their choice of bonds, mortgages and money market funds. As the cash value accumulates over time, it is used to pay for the cost of your set death benefit. No matter how badly the investments perform, you're guaranteed a certain minimum return by the insurance company. If your investments perform really well, you could get a higher than expected cash benefit.

Life Insurance - Variable Universal Life

If you buy variable universal life insurance, then you're in control of how your premiums get invested. The cash value and ultimate death benefit depend on how good your investment choices are. Fortunately, the insurance company does guarantee a minimum payout to protect you in case you make really horrible investments.