There are three main types of Life Insurance with different benefits.

Whole life insurance is known as permanent insurance. As premiums are paid, a portion goes into the policy's cash value that can be accessed by the policyholder in the way of loans or withdrawals. It is more expensive than term insurance with an equivalent death benefit, but Whole Life premiums are level and do not increase as they do with term insurance.

Whole life insurance is designed to last an entire lifetime, usually to age 95. As long as premiums are paid, the coverage is guaranteed. An added benefit is that many whole life policies pay dividends. These dividends can be taken in cash, used to purchase additional life insurance, left to accumulate interest, or to reduce the premium you pay for the policy. Another benefit of this type of insurance is that the cash value that accumulates on the policy is tax-deferred in most situations. There also several types of whole life insurance policies that can be customized to your specific needs.

Term insurance is the least expensive because it does not build cash values. You can purchase a plan that covers you one year, five years, ten years, twenty or even thirty years. As you complete each time period, most of our policies give you the option to renew the policy at a higher rate until the policy's age limit is reached. To help you distinguish between term and permanent insurance, think of it as the difference between renting and buying something. Selecting term insurance is like "renting" a policy for a selected time period. When you select permanent insurance, you "own" the policy for your "whole" life (up to age 95 as long as premiums are paid according to the terms of the policy). Term insurance can be extremely helpful in covering obligations such as mortgages, business debts and conventional loans where the term is limited. While most term policies give you the option to convert to permanent insurance, keep in mind that the conversion may depend upon your health at the time of conversion. If you become ill or disabled, it may not be possible to buy affordable life insurance, so keep that in mind when deciding what kind of life insurance to purchase.

Universal Life offers flexibility by allowing you to adjust your premium depending upon your ever-changing life insurance needs. This policy offers tax-deferred accumulation of interest in most situations, and current interest rates are credited to your account value. Within certain guidelines and limits, you are allowed to adjust the policy to meet your needs. You can increase or decrease the life insurance protection amounts to coincide with your current obligations. You can also adjust your premium payments and levels when your resources are low. For example, when you start a family or purchase your first home, your financial resources are limited. You can adjust your premium payments and insurance level to fit your budget. Later, when you are interested in building up the value of your policy, you could increase your premium to fulfill the goals you set. When you’re older, you continue the program as is, or you could opt to change your premiums and/or your coverage.

To estimate just how much insurance you might need, please go to our calculator page.

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