Is whole life better than term life insurance? Whole life provides many benefits compared to a term life policy: it is permanent, it has a cash value investment component, and it provides more ways to protect your family's finances over the long term.
A whole life policy provides a set amount of coverage for your entire life. As long as you pay premiums, your beneficiary will receive the benefit amount upon your death. As mentioned above, whole life policies also build up "cash value" from part of the premium being invested.
Policygenius reports that whole life insurance can cost six to 10 times more than a comparable term policy. That greatly increases the odds that you won't be able to afford your premiums at some point down the line. If that happens, you may have no choice but to drop your coverage, leaving your loved ones vulnerable.
Whole life insurance guarantees payment of a death benefit to beneficiaries in exchange for level, regularly due premium payments. The policy includes a savings portion, called the “cash value,” alongside the death benefit. In the savings component, interest may accumulate on a tax-deferred basis.
If you outlive your term life policy, you usually don't get any money. ... Return of premium (ROP) term life gives you back the premiums. The downside is you'll pay more than a regular term life policy. If ROP interests you, compare policies with and without that rider to see whether the extra cost is worth it.
Whole life insurance has both pros and cons:
Cons of Whole Life Insurance
The corollary to whole life being more expensive is that whatever amount you spend on insurance will buy you a much lower death benefit than you could get with a term policy.
Whole life insurance policies are the best option for some people, especially those who will always have dependents due to disabilities and the like. But if you're paying for an expensive policy you don't really need, cashing out may be the best option, even if you have to pay fees and taxes.
Generally, you can withdraw a limited amount of cash from your whole life insurance policy. In fact, a cash-value withdrawal up to your policy basis, which is the amount of premiums you've paid into the policy, is typically non-taxable. ... A cash withdrawal shouldn't be taken lightly.
Yet No Comments