Protect Your Family and Loved Ones Who Depend On You

Term life insurance covers you for a fixed period of time, such as 10, 20 or 30 years, and pays out if you die during the term. If you outlive the term and your coverage ends, your beneficiaries don’t receive any money. The death benefit and your insurance premiums are guaranteed to stay the same throughout the term. Annual renewable term is an even lower cost option in which the rate increases each year up to age 75.

Whole life insurance is the most common type of permanent life insurance and costs more than term life. This is because most policies offer coverage that’s designed to last a lifetime and pay out regardless of when you die. Whole life insurance also has a cash value component. A portion of your premiums are paid into the account, and it grows over time. Once you’ve built up enough cash value, you can borrow against the account or surrender the policy for cash. Although it’s more complicated than term life, the way whole life insurance works is more straightforward than other types of permanent life insurance. Premiums remain the same for as long as you live and the cash value account grows at a fixed rate. The death benefit is also guaranteed, unless you take out large cash value loans. While you don’t need to repay loans if you borrow against your policy, your insurer will subtract any outstanding loans from the final death benefit paid out to your beneficiaries. Most whole life insurance policies are “participating” policies, which means you may earn dividends based on the company’s financial performance. You can use your dividends in a few different ways including boosting your policy’s cash value.