Differences Between Term Life Insurance And Whole Life Insurance

There are many types and variations of life insurance policies. Mostly they have are term insurance or whole life insurance or sometimes a combination of the both.

For example, universal life insurance which is a type of permanent life insurance, allows you to adjust the premium and the coverage to the amounts you need. This type of insurance accrues cash value which earns interest.

For someone who wants to have control over the financial and investing aspect of their insurance, the variable life insurance policy will be the best option.

Description of a Term Life Insurance Policy

A term life policy provides insurance over a specific period of time, and expires after the coverage period ends. They come in different lengths, including 5, 10, and 20 years. After the policy expires, there is no accumulated cash value, and no benefits to be paid; death benefits are only paid if you die while the policy is active. Term insurance could be described as a policy that’s designed to expire before you do.

The premiums on term life policies start out low but can increase substantially as your age increases. This makes term life the best type of policy to purchase when you’re young and the term of the policy is long. Although the shorter term renewable policies would be less expensive in the beginning, the premiums start to increase significantly after middle age.

In a term life policy that renews annually and carries a $200,000 death benefit, the annual premiums might look like the example below. Remember, these are just examples to show the differences in cost with age:

$300 / year age 35

Age 50: $900/year

$2,500 / year age 65

What’s a whole life insurance policy?

The most common type of insurance sold in the market today is the whole life insurance policy. A whole life insurance policy is valid till you die or until you reach the age of 100. But it must be taken care that you pay all the premiums as scheduled. Whole life insurance is otherwise known as the permanent insurance. Level premiums, level face amounts, guaranteed values, and a relatively high degree of safety compared to others are the main differential characteristics of a whole life insurance policy. The guaranteed cash value through the whole life insurance builds a huge benefit for the owner. This is very beneficial for the user, because this cash can be accessed during emergencies, and for other needs as well as a alternative source of retirement income.

Whole life insurance includes both insurance and savings: whole life policies are often used in long-term financial planning. The level premiums of whole life policies also mean that the premium will never change. This gives you the peace of mind of always knowing how much your premium will be; it will not increase as you grow older.

The risk factor in this policy is entirely different from the auto policy. In the auto policy the insurance company hopes that the driver will never encounter an accident and will be safe. But on the hand the when issuing a whole life insurance policy, the company is sure that the policy will be claimed one day.

Shopping for life insurance is now quite simple to do online. You can compare companies and policies to make sure you get the best premiums for the policy that meets your needs. It’s well worth the time to get several quotes, and to see how the companies are rated with the Better Business Bureau. It’s also important to look into the financial standings of the companies you’re considering before you sign up for any type of life insurance policy. If you do your research, you will easily get the best whole life insurance policy online.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator a leading South African Life Insurance and Life Cover portal. For more information on the different types of life insurance visit our website.