Navigating Life Insurance
Term Life Insurance
Term Life insurance is life insurance that you pay for during a specified length of time or term. Premiums are guaranteed for 1- to 40 years depending on your needs. This is the most affordable type of Life Insurance because there is no cash value, only death benefit protection.
Universal Life Insurance
Universal Life is insurance that has the potential to accumulate cash value. Yu can increase or decrease the dollar amount of your premium payments and make additional lump sum payments to your policy. Since an Universal Life policy accrues cash value, you can use this cash value for any purpose. You have the option to skip premium payments if your account has accrued sufficient value because the insurance cost will be deducted from the accrued value.
Whole Life Insurance
Whole Life Insurance is life insurance that you own for your entire lifetime. The amount of the death benefit or face amount can be selected to meet your needs.
Premiums, or payments, are fixed and can be paid monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. As more premiums are paid, your policy accumulates a cash value that grows on a tax-deferred basis. In essence, whole life is like buying a house versus renting it. The monthly cost is higher than it would be for a term life policy, but with each payment made you gain equity. As funds withdrawn from the cash value will reduce the death benefit.
Index Universal Life Insurance
Similar to Universal Life, this type of Life Insurance can be used to accumulate cash value. The difference is that your returns can be base of the performs of indices such as he S&P 500, NASDAQ 100, and others. In addition to tax benefits, if the indices fall, your account is protected because the “floor” on your return is 0% (not negative). This is the most popular “cash value” insurance on the market today.
