* It is a life insurance policy that offers death protection for the insured person's whole lifetime.
* An insurance payout is made to the contract's beneficiaries when the contract holder dies.
* It includes an investment part which may gather a cash value that the policyholder can borrow against.
* It presents a withdrawal clause which allows the contract holder to terminate her coverage and collect the cash surrender value.
* The policyholder typically pays a level premium which does not rise as the person ages.
* The earnings on the cash value of the policy gathers tax-deferred.
* The insured person may borrow money against the policy's cash value in the form of a policy loan.
Different types of whole life insurance policy:
* Single premium whole life insurance.
A limited payment whole life insurance policy with one relatively large premium payment due at issue. The policy is fully paid up and no further premiums are required. Due to the single premium payment the policy will have an immediate cash and loan value.
* Indeterminate premium whole life insurance.
An indeterminate premium whole life policy is similar to ordinary whole life plan of insurance except that it provides for adjustable premiums.
* Level premium whole life insurance.
Level premium whole life insurance features premium payments that are level and are required to be paid as long as the insured is living.
* Limited payment whole life insurance.
If you want to pay premiums for a limited time, the limited payment whole life policy gives you lifetime protection but requires only a limited number of premium payments. Limited payment plans can provide for the payment of premiums for a set number of years.
* Non-Participating whole life insurance.
A non-participating whole life policy has a level premium and face amount during your entire life. Since the policy is non-participating it does not pay you any dividends.
* Participating Whole Life Insurance
A participating whole life policy pays dividends. Dividends may be paid out in cash.
* Child whole life insurance.
Parents or grandparents may consider buying child life insurance. Child life insurance premiums are substantially less expensive. Child life insurance guarantees your child life insurance protection for the rest of their lives. However, you may want to be careful about using whole life insurance to support a college tuition.
Wealthy people may sometimes use whole life insurance policies as an estate-planning medium. They may set up an insurance trust to apply the earnings of the policy to their estate taxes when they die. That may save their inheritors the sizeable cost of settling the estate.
That was a closer look at the definition of whole life insurance and the whole life insurance policy. You may still want to find more specific answers about life insurance. I suggest you to look for the answers to your questions either online or feel free to ask your local life insurance company lawyer.
