Best Whole Life Insurance

Whole life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance designed to provide coverage for your entire lifetime, as long as premiums are paid. In addition to the death benefit, a portion of your premium goes into a cash value account that grows at a guaranteed rate. This makes it highly predictable: your premiums never increase, your death benefit is guaranteed, and your cash value growth is guaranteed.

The cash value in a whole life policy grows tax-deferred. Once you accumulate enough cash value, you can borrow against it or withdraw from it. You can use these funds for anything—supplementing retirement income, paying for a child's wedding, or covering emergencies. However, any outstanding loans or withdrawals when you die will be subtracted from the death benefit paid to your beneficiaries.

Term life covers you for a set period and is very inexpensive. Whole life covers you forever, builds cash value, and is significantly more expensive—often 5 to 15 times the cost of a comparable term policy. Whole life is best for people with lifelong financial dependents, complex estate planning needs, or those who want to ensure a guaranteed inheritance regardless of when they die.