When you have to meet with a life insurance agent you may want to know ahead of time the type of life insurance policy you are interested in purchasing.     There are many different types of life insurance; whole life insurance, universal life insurance and term life insurance.

We want to help you become an educated life insurance consumer of whole life insurance so we will be focusing on whole life insurance.

Why Buy Whole:

The Loan Features:

If you own a whole life insurance policy you have a built-in loan feature that you may not be aware of.

• Unlike term life insurance policies, whole life policies accumulate cash value.
• This cash value is yours, you do not have to die to take advantage of the cash value.
• The guaranteed cash value is referred to as the living benefit of a whole life insurance policy.
• The cash value from a whole life insurance policy can be used for whatever you, the insured chooses.
• You can borrow the cash value.
• The cash value can be used as collateral.
• It can be withdrawn from the policy; if withdrawn it could be taxed.
• Before withdrawing your cash value, talk with your accountant.
• There are many, many uses for the cash value in a whole life policy.
• The insured can turn to the cash value as an emergency fund.
• To fund a child’s college education
• To pay off mortgage or any other debts.
• To pay unexpected medical bills, to pay off credit card bills.
• Sometimes policyholders plan ahead and use the cash value from their policy as a savings vehicle to fund their retirement.

The Guaranteed Death Benefits:

As long as you continue to make the premium payments, the policy guarantees the death benefit.

• The guaranteed death benefit in a whole life insurance policy provides the insured with peach of mind knowing the financial support for their loved ones will be there when they are not.
• The death benefit is payable to the beneficiaries upon the death of the insured.
• The beneficiaries in a whole life policy are very important and should be updated often as live situations change … marriages, divorces, deaths, additional children.
• The beneficiaries can be changed often and quite easily, usually with a letter to the insurance company.
• Always have a primary and contingent beneficiary listed.
• If the insured and the primary beneficiary were to die at the same time, the contingent beneficiary would be the next person designated.

With all of the positive features built into a whole life insurance policy it may be an insurance policy worth asking your life insurance broker about.