What is the Difference Between Term and Whole Life Insurance Policies?

If you're shopping for life insurance coverage you may be wondering about the pros and cons of the two basic types of life insurance policies: Term Life Insurance and Whole Life Insurance.

The main differences between the two come down to price, length of time you are insured, how long your premiums are guaranteed to remain level, and cash value.

Since term insurance is temporary coverage it costs a lot less than whole life insurance which is guaranteed to last your entire lifetime.

Usually, you can choose a term (duration) of coverage from 10, 15, 20 or 30 years, for a term life insurance policy.

And, term life is pure protection, meaning it only provides life insurance, no investment feature, while whole life builds up some cash value inside the policy over time.

Learn more about the differences between term life and whole life insurance policies.