Whole Life Insurance: What to know

Whole Life Insurance is the most popular type of permanent life insurance that grows in value over time and protects beneficiaries when the policyholder passes away.

• What Is Whole Life Insurance?

  

  Whole life insurance is an insurance product and a tax-advantaged savings opportunity rolled into one plan.

  Whole life insurance policies offer a guaranteed death benefit to your loved ones and savings that the living policyholder can access later in life.

  Part of the monthly premium you pay can be invested and earn interest to grow the cash value of the policy, which a policyholder can borrow or withdraw.

  Any remaining cash value in the policy goes back to the insurance company when the policyholder passes away.

• How does Whole Life Insurance work?

  Policyholders need to pay a minimum monthly premium to keep their whole life insurance policy active. To build the policy’s cash value, a policyholder can pay more than the minimum. Any dividends from investments can be reinvested into the policy to earn more interest.

  A policyholder can withdraw or borrow from their savings, which will decrease the cash value of the policy. Withdrawals are tax-free up to the value of premiums already paid.

  If you don’t withdraw all of the savings from your policy, you can choose to increase the death benefit for your beneficiaries, use the savings to pay your monthly premiums, or surrender your policy to get the cash value and forfeit the death benefit.

  

• Who is Whole Life Insurance for?

  

  Whole life insurance is for anyone prepared to pay a set monthly premium for life insurance until they pass away.

  Whole life insurance can be a good opportunity for young people to begin saving money for expenses they may face during retirement. Purchasing a whole life insurance policy when while you’re young means you’ll pay lower monthly premiums and have more time to accumulate savings.

  People who are older or not sure if they can afford the monthly premiums may want to consider other life insurance options.

• How much does Whole Life Insurance cost?

  Whole life insurance premiums won’t change, but they’re often more expensive than other types of policies.

  An insurance provider will consider several factors to determine your premium, including age, gender, height, weight, health conditions, family health history, nicotine use, marijuana use, substance abuse, credit, criminal history, driving record, and dangerous hobbies.

  Compiled data for a whole life insurance policy that’s payable until the age of 99 show that the average 20-year-old pays $66 per month and the average 40-year-old pays $136 per month.

  

  20 Years Old

  Until the age of 99

  $66 per month

  

  20 Years Old

  Until the age of 99

  $66 per month

  

  40 Years Old

  Until the age of 99

  $136 per month

  

  40 Years Old

  Until the age of 99

  $136 per month

• Whole Life Insurance vs. Term Life Insurance

  Whole and Term Life Insurance are two popular life insurance options, but they offer different types of benefits.

  A whole life policy earns cash value over time and won’t expire, providing a guaranteed death payment for your beneficiaries.

  A term life insurance policy is temporary and only guarantees a death payment if the policyholder passes away before the policy expires. Term life insurance policies are usually between 10 and 30 years long. There’s no savings component to a term life insurance policy, but it does typically offer more affordable premiums.

  Sources

  https://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/wholelife.asp
  https://www.forbes.com/advisor/life-insurance/whole-life-insurance/
  https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/082114/6-ways-capture-cash-value-life-insurance.asp
  https://www.policygenius.com/life-insurance/whole-life-insurance-rates/