What is Permanent Life Insurance? Should I Choose Permanent Life Insurance Or Term Life Insurance?

What is permanent life insurance? Is it better to purchase a permanent life insurance policy or a term life insurance policy? Is it possible to find low cost permanent life insurance? It is important for those searching for life insurance coverage to do a permanent life insurance comparison to decide if a whole life policy, a term life policy, a universal life policy, a variable life policy, or even a combination of the above may be a good choice for their needs.

Life insurance can be a term relatively unknown for the younger generations of this country. While the old and retired people of this great nations plan financially to leave their dependents with money so they can get through; the younger generations have not done much to protect themselves or their families in case of an accidental death. Life insurance in the United States is not as common as the other types of insurances (car, homeowners, health) because it is not required. Every state requires you to have car insurance, if you own a house you should have homeowners and the rule of thumb is for you to have health insurance if you want to pay lower premiums and stay healthy (which has now started to decrease because people don't have the money to buy independent policies). Life insurance on the other hand is the insurance of the wise! This is because the person with the policy is not only thinking about the present, but is thinking about the future and what it may hold to their dependents of family.

Permanent life insurance (also called universal and whole life insurance) is one of the main kinds of life insurance and one that can be the difference between burden and stability after a head of the household dies unexpectedly. The definition of a permanent life insurance policy is that it simply consists of a policy that is for the entire life of the person being insured, guarantees payout at the end of the policy, and most importantly accrues value. This is of supreme important because with these insurance policy you are guaranteed money at the end of the road and best of all your family will have the stability that many families lack after a person contributing some income dies unexpectedly.

Although permanent life insurance is a good way to save yourself and your family some trouble at the end of the road, many people simply decide to get term life insurance instead. When comparing term life insurance vs permanent life insurance many opt for term simply because of the cost. The reason for this is that premiums for term life insurance are cheaper based on the fact that the insured is not guaranteed money at the end of the policy. This policies are simply for ten or twenty years and if the insured does not decease in that certain amount of time, the family will not see a single penny. Since the burden of paying money at the end of the contract is gone from the policy when we speak about term life insurance, families save money because the premiums are cheaper.

It is important to mention that at first the amount of money received by the family will not be as much because they will be paying for the agent and all the fees, not to mention that they will be paying the life insurance company for their commitment to insure the person. With time however, the cash accumulates due to the amount of the premium you are paying. That extra cash is deposited into a saving's component, which is also known as the policy's "cash value". As the savings increase with the payments, the quantity that your family gets at the end of the road will increase. It is important to know that the policy is called permanent life insurance because as long as you pay your premiums and maintain the policy accurate, you will be allowed to have this kind of insurance for your entire life!

It is important to know that permanent life insurance is divided into three groups: whole life, variable life, and universal life. When we speak about a whole life policy we speak about a type of life insurance that offers both insurance and investment, with the advantage that premiums are leveled. Variable life insurance is the most expensive of all kinds of permanent life insurance because it allows the policy holder to allocate a portion of the savings accounts into other things such as stocks, bonds and investment funds. Last but not least the universal life type of permanent life insurance is a very common one as well. Universal life insurance separates the investment and death portions of your policy and it allows the insured to build his savings faster with the help of some sort of equity investments. As time goes by, universal life insurance can also allow you to change your premiums and death benefits to suit your current living situation.

As you can see permanent life insurance does not sound too bad compared to term life insurance. The policies are simply a little bit more expensive due to the fact that the beneficiary will in fact receive some money when all is said and done due to the savings part of the policies. Although many people just don't see the good thing of having life insurance through their whole lives because once a person is retired there is no need for such income, the truth is that permanent life insurance can help you out in the long run. It is not bad for you to protect yourself for life, especially if you are married or if you have a son or daughter that is not doing too well economically. Permanent life insurance policies can be a great help to some families and the truth is that if you search and shop around you can find a policy that is right for you!

Make sure and compare life insurance quotes for both term life and permanent life policies from a number of different competing companies to find the best rate. Speak with an experienced life insurance agent to help you decide if a permanent life insurance policy is best for your specific life coverage needs. Get started finding the best life insurance policy today!

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Permanent Life Insurance - Worth the Money?

Buying life insurance requires a lot of thought and planning. For most people, the choice is between a permanent insurance policy and a term life policy. Here's a bit of information on permanent life insurance to help you make a better-informed decision.

Permanent life explained

Permanent life insurance will remain in effect until the insured dies, after which the death benefits will be paid out to the beneficiaries. The premiums on permanent insurance are designed to remain equal throughout the life of the insured. Premiums are high because permanent life policies develop cash values that can be accessed by the insured through surrenders or through loans against the policy.

The cash values in permanent life insurance policies typically include two components:

A guaranteed cash value, already referred to above. The cash value grows based on a pre-set schedule, and grows to a sizeable amount upon maturity of the policy (typically at age 100).
Most permanent insurance policies additionally have a non-guaranteed cash value element, typically made up of dividends or earnings on the cash value, which can enhance the value of the insurance policy over time.

There are many permanent life policies in the market today with varying features and varying degrees of control over the cash value component of premiums.

Permanent vs term life

In sharp contrast to all the cash-value possibilities that permanent life can offer, term life insurance policies only offer you the death benefit, and only cover you for a particular number of years, called the 'term'. Because of the absence of cash values and the temporary nature of this policy, term life premiums are more affordable.

Permanent life insurance can be substantially more expensive than term life insurance, but the death benefit is guaranteed as long as premiums are paid. On the other hand term life policies can buy you the same amount of death benefit as a permanent insurance policy, at a fraction of the premium cost.

The pros and cons of permanent life insurance

The drawbacks of permanent insurance are:

With most permanent life insurance policies, you don't have a say in the investment portfolio to which your cash value component is linked.
Because of its investment component, the best benefits on a permanent life policy are gained in the long term. So this is not a great life insurance policy for someone who wants a stopgap life insurance policy.
If you fall short of funds the cash value portion of permanent policy can be borrowed against. This attracts interest, so it is advisable not to borrow against a permanent life policy unless it's a last-resort effort to access money during a tough financial situation.
The investments of most permanent insurance policies are by nature very conservative (variable permanent life policies are the exception) with a strong possibility that if you were to invest the same amount of money elsewhere, you would earn much more on your investments. In fact there is a school of thought that advocates that permanent insurance may not be worth the money at all when compared to the benefits of buying term and investing the difference in premiums (between term and permanent).

Let's move on to the advantages of permanent life.

If you have difficulty exercising discipline in money matters, permanent insurance is a great option because it offers you 'forced savings'. If not for the policy, you probably would have difficulty investing money so consistently into an investment avenue.
Permanent life is a life-long insurance policy and the premiums are consistently level. Though it can be quite a pinch in the first few decades of your policy, as the years pass, it can get more affordable.
When you outlive a term life policy, you will need to buy more insurance, predictably at higher premiums. This problem does not arise in permanent insurance because the policy is lifelong, and premiums are consistently equal.

Is permanent life insurance right for you?

It all boils down to the life insurance needs at your current stage in life. If you are very young and have several financial obligations such as small kids, their college education to think of, mortgages, loans, etc. then permanent policies may not be right for you just yet because of their high premium costs. Term life would be a lot better. On the other hand, if you are older, and are mostly done with your financial obligations you will need a life insurance policy to cover you for the rest of your life, and that's where permanent life seems the more feasible choice.

How long do you plan to keep your insurance policy? If you want to be insured for several decades, you have to think of permanent insurance and not term, because even though term premiums are low, they will increase each time your policy expires, and you take out a fresh policy.

However, one must also consider the fact that permanent insurance investments grow conservatively. Therefore, those who are looking at great returns on their investments are better off buying term and investing the difference (that they save on premiums) in tax-deferred investment vehicles like IRAs, Roth IRAs and even educational accounts like the 529s. The general opinion is that if one can make sound investments elsewhere with this savings in premiums, the returns would be much greater returns than a permanent life policy could provide. If you look at it from this angle, permanent insurance doesn't really seem worth the money. The choice however, should totally depend on individual considerations.

Finally...

You need to spend some thought on how much your coverage should be. With permanent life especially, you don't want to be over insured because defaulting on your premiums can cancel your policy. You don't want to be under insured either, and put your family through tough times. So use an online life insurance needs calculator for an accurate estimate of how much life insurance you will need.

Shop around before you buy your life insurance. You can do this online in a hassle-free manner by getting quotes from a reputed online insurance agency. Check if the website is BBB-accredited, and you can be assured of its authenticity.

About AccuQuote: AccuQuote is a leader in providing term life quotes to people across the United States. In 1986 it began operating with a single goal: to make the process of buying term life insurance as easy as possible for its customers. Their experienced professionals consistently deliver the most affordable term life insurance rates by comparing thousands of life insurance policies from dozens of top-rated carriers.

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Life Insurance Policies: Term vs Permanent

When it comes to purchasing life insurance, deciding which kind of policy to buy can be a challenge. But by learning about the characteristics of available life insurance policies and working together with an experienced life insurance agent, you'll be able to choose the right policy to protect your loved ones.

Term Life Insurance

As the name suggests, term life insurance provides coverage for a certain period of time, as specified in your policy. This means that a death benefit will only be paid out if you die within your policy's term. Because of this central characteristic, term life insurance policies tend to be much cheaper than permanent life insurance policies--making it a very appealing option to young adults or families who can't spend a lot on life insurance.

Though term life insurance comes in two forms--level term (pays the same death benefit no matter when you die during the term) and decreasing term (the death benefit decreases throughout the duration of the policy)--level term policies are by far the most popular.

According to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) common types of level term policies are:


Annual (least popular)
5 year
10 year
15 year
20 year (most popular)
25 year
30 year


Many term life insurance policies are renewable, which means that you may be able to reinstate your policy after the term ends, although reinstatement may be contingent on passing a medical exam and will likely involve an increased premium. Additionally, the I.I.I. reports that most insurers will not renew a policy ending after 80 years of age.

Premiums for term life insurance are typically based on your age and health status at the time the policy is written. Some insurers guarantee your premiums to stay the same throughout the length of the term, but others may not make that guarantee (and increase your premiums throughout the term)--so be sure you're aware of premium provisions before signing a policy.

Life insurance tip: Buying life insurance when you're young and healthy will help you secure low premiums. Not a spring chicken? Take care of your health--stop smoking and exercise regularly to get the lowest insurance premium.

Permanent Life Insurance

Unlike term life insurance, permanent life insurance pays a death benefit whether you die they day after you sign the policy or 50 years later. Permanent life insurance policies are also appealing because of their ability to grow tax-deferred over a certain length of time--which can result in a large chunk of change. This cash value can be used in a variety of ways, providing additional benefits to policyholders and their families.

Because of these characteristics, permanent life insurance policies tend to be more expensive than term policies, which may not be conducive for young adults or families with income limitations.

Life insurance tip: Some term life policies can be converted to permanent life insurance policies, so if you're interested in a permanent policy but can't afford the premiums, ask your agent about term policies with this feature.

Permanent life insurance policyholders also have a wide array of policy options to choose from. The four common types of permanent life insurance are whole, universal, variable and variable-universal.

Whole life policies are the most common form of permanent life insurance and offer both a death benefit and the additional benefit of a savings account. If you buy a whole life policy, you agree to pay a certain amount for a predetermined death benefit. And, unlike a term life policy, whole life policies have the potential to earn annual dividends--which will earn interest if you let them accrue.

Universal life policies offer more flexibility, allowing you to vary how much you pay and when you make premium payments (with some limitations, of course). You may also be able to obtain a larger death benefit, provided you pass a medical exam, and like whole life policies, your universal policy may earn cash value over time.

Variable life policies incorporate a death benefit with a savings account that you can invest in stocks, bonds or mutual funds. While this may increase the value of your policy, it's important to remember that if your investments don't perform well, your death benefit will decrease. To avoid this, the I.I.I. says you can ask about variable policies that guarantee that the death benefit will not fall below a certain amount.

Variable-universal policies combine the features of variable and universal life policies, meaning that you have the investment options of a variable policy and the flexibility of premium payments of a universal policy.

Which Policy is Right for You?

Now that you have some idea of what policy options appeal to you, take the time to speak with a licensed life insurance professional that can answer questions and help you come closer to your life insurance decision. Because when you have all the facts, it makes finding affordable life insurance that much easier!

About InsureMe
Megan L. Mahan is a copywriter and insurance information expert with InsureMe in Englewood, Colorado. InsureMe links agents nationwide with consumers shopping for insurance. Specializing in auto, home, health, long-term care and life insurance quotes, the InsureMe network provides thousands of agents with insurance leads every year. For more information, visit InsureMe.com.

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