Whole Life Insurance Policies

Is Whole Life Insurance Right For You?

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Let us take a look at whole life insurance policies and see if you can benefit from buying one. What are whole life insurance policies all about anyway?

Description

This policy guarantees that upon your death regardless of how you die, other than by suicide, the life insurance company will pay the sum insured to your beneficiary. Whole life lasts for the rest of your life even if you life to age 100. The premiums are level, as well as the face amount, for the duration

Cash Values

This policy has guaranteed cash values. Here is how this policy works. After your policy has been in force for a while a certain amount of cash is applied to your policy. This happens each year. The older the policy the higher the guaranteed cash value. Interest is also added to this cash value. Cash values are really a return of premium.

Dividends

If you have a participating whole life policy you will earn a dividend at the end of each year if your insurance company manages to do a good job keeping expenses down and investing in profitable ventures. Dividends are not guaranteed but are based on the performance of the life insurance company.

Dividends can be applied to your policy in many different ways.

• They can be used to Purchase Paid Up Additions - These are fully paid up whole life policies added to your original policy. These paid up additions increase the amount your beneficiaries are paid when you die.

• They can be left to accumulate interest.

• They can be used to reduce premiums. This means that your premiums will be less than what you initially contracted for.

• They can be paid to you in cash each year.

Whole life insurance costs more than term insurance simply because it is guaranteed for a longer period than term insurance.

Most people buy modified versions of the whole life policy created by different life insurance companies. The intent of the modified versions is to offer a product that costs the consumer less without the life insurance company putting themselves at too much risk.

Take a look at a more detailed description of the whole life insurance policies.