Posted by 
If you have trouble understanding the distinctions between term and whole life insurance, you’re not alone. Most people know that life insurance pays out in one single amount to their dependents in the case of their death, but they may need some help understanding the benefits and differences between whole life and term insurance.
What is Term Insurance?
Since term life insurance is a pure insurance product with no investment or savings component, it may be the easiest to understand. The guarantee of a death benefit for your beneficiary in the event that you die while the policy is in effect is the reason you purchase term insurance. Many see it as a means of ensuring that, in the event of their death, their mortgage will be paid off and the younger ones will be taken care of.
You should think about whether your family’s requirement for life insurance will alter before the term policy expires if you get a term policy to protect them. For most, this means the children are grown and independent, the house is paid for, and the surviving spouse has some money to support themselves.
Benefits of Term Insurance
Term policies are often the least expensive kind of life insurance, frequently by a significant margin, because they provide limited coverage for a set period of time. Term insurance is usually the best option if your only goal in purchasing a life insurance plan is to ensure your family’s financial security in the event of your death.
Term plans may be a particularly good option for single parents wishing to offer their child a safety net in the event of their death because they are frequently less expensive and can endure until your child reaches maturity.
The average monthly premium for a 42-year-old guy in excellent health looking for a 30-year term policy with a $250,000 death benefit is $33.24, based on Investopedia’s review of quotations from over 30 insurers. An equivalent female application costs $27.31.
Drawbacks of Term Insurance
Naturally, a number of things will affect the cost. The premiums will undoubtedly rise with greater death benefits or longer coverage periods, for instance. Furthermore, as the majority of policies need a medical examination, any health issues may also cause your rates to exceed the average.
You may realize that you have spent all that money on little more than peace of mind when your term insurance finally expires. Additionally, unlike other insurance types, you can’t use your term insurance investment to increase your wealth or reduce your tax liability.
What is Whole Life Insurance?
The two main ways that whole life insurance varies from term insurance are as follows:
– As long as you continue to pay your premiums, it never expires.
– In addition to the death benefit, it has some monetary value that can be used to cover expenses in the future.
The most basic type of permanent life insurance is called a whole life policy because, if payments are paid, coverage is guaranteed to last the entirety of the policyholder’s life. It’s not a pure life insurance product like term, because it has a cash value component. An insurance policy has cash value if a portion of your premiums can increase tax-deferred over time, meaning you won’t have to pay taxes on the profits.
The cash value of an insurance policy offers several advantages that you can take benefit of while you’re still living. It takes a few years to reach a useful amount. However, after that, you can take out loans or withdrawals against the cash worth of your insurance, use it to cover premiums, or even give it up in exchange for cash to help you in retirement.
Benefits of Whole Life Insurance
Whole-life policies often feature level premiums, ensuring a consistent monthly payment throughout the policy period. There are two categories of premiums. A portion of your contribution is allocated to the insurance component, with the remainder used to build your cash value over time.
A lot of insurance companies offer a guaranteed interest rate, but some organizations sell participation plans, which pay unguaranteed income that might boost your overall return.
Typically, cash value does not accrue until two to five years after coverage begins. Once it does, you can borrow or withdraw from the cash value amount, which increases tax-deferred. For example, you may wish to take out a loan to cover expenses like college tuition or house repairs.
Drawbacks of Whole Life Insurance
Unfortunately, the death benefit and monetary worth are not completely separate qualities. If you take out a loan against your policy and do not pay it back, your death benefit will be decreased by the same amount. For example, if you take out a $50,000 loan, your beneficiaries will receive $50,000 less, plus any interest, if the debt is still outstanding.
The primary drawback of whole life insurance is its significantly higher cost compared to term insurance. Term insurance with the same death benefit is typically five to fifteen times less expensive than permanent coverage. The comparatively high cost makes it difficult for many customers to make payments on time.
The complexity of whole life insurance is another possible disadvantage. For instance, if you can no longer afford the insurance or no longer need it, you can simply cease paying payments on a term policy. However, whole-life policyholders who choose to cancel their policy may be subject to a sizable surrender price, contingent upon their carrier. This fee often decreases over time until it eventually vanishes.
Conclusion
What kind of insurance is ideal for your family then? The answer is straightforward if term insurance is all you can afford: having some protection is preferable than having none at all.
Since whole life insurance has a cash value component, it offers more financial freedom than term insurance. The main difference between the two types of plans is that while both pay a death benefit to your beneficiaries, whole life also includes cash value coverage for an entire lifetime of coverage.