Term Life / Whole Life /Universal Life

 

Term Life It's a contract: At its most basic level, a term life policy is an agreement between the person who owns the policy (the owner) and an insurance company: The owner agrees to pay a premium for a specific term (usually between 10 and 30 years); in return, the insurance company promises to pay a specific death benefit to beneficiary.

Whole Life or whole of life assurance, sometimes called "straight life" or "ordinary life", is a life insurance policy which is guaranteed to remain in force for the insured's entire lifetime, provided required premiums are paid, or to the maturity date and a cash value component that can be accessed or borrowed against.

Universal Life a type of permanent life insurance, which means it offers lengthy coverage and builds cash value over time. Policies typically last until a certain age, such as 95 or 120. This coverage offers flexibility that other permanent policies — like whole life insurance — don't.