If you’re asking, “Should I buy whole life insurance?” you’re in the right place. Whole life’s benefits include coverage that never expires and slow but steady cash value growth. On the downside? You’ll pay more than you would for a simpler, cheaper term policy. So…should you buy it? The right answer depends on your budget and your family’s financial needs.
➡️ Want to talk to a real person about whole life insurance? We’d love to help! Call us at 800-823-4852 and get expert guidance from a licensed life insurance agent.
Request a Free QuoteShould I Buy Whole Life Insurance?
Here’s the cold, hard truth: You’re the only person who can answer that question. We can’t do it for you – all we can do is make a suggestion based on what we know about you. And if there are other companies or agents out there who say they can make the decision for you, they’re not acting in your best interest.
Whole life insurance might be right for you if:
- People depend on your income
- You’re looking ahead to expenses like retirement, healthcare, kids’ tuition, and more
- You don’t like the idea of paying something for nothing
- You don’t like the idea of losing money to the stock market
- Monthly payments ranging from $50 to a couple hundred dollars per month won’t break your budget
When you call and talk to one of our life insurance experts, we’ll ask a few questions to get familiar with your needs and finances. Based on your answers, we can make recommendations and show you quotes from different policy types to help you make a decision. If the points above apply to you, let’s talk about whole life insurance.
➡️ Find out how affordable whole life insurance can be! Call us at 800-823-4852 and get expert guidance from a licensed life insurance agent.
Request a Free QuoteDo People Depend on Your Income?
If so, you definitely need some form of life insurance. The number one reason to buy any policy, no matter the type, is for the death benefit. After you pass away, your loved ones will get a 100% tax-free lump sum payment to help them through their tough times.
There are no restrictions on how your beneficiary(ies) can use that money. If it’s a small amount, they can use it to pay any final medical expenses you had, as well as for your funeral and burial. If it’s a large amount, they can do things like pay off the mortgage or pay school tuition. Although whole life insurance has more to offer than just the death benefit, that should always be your top consideration when buying any policy.
➡️ Want to talk to a real person about whole life insurance? We’d love to help! Call us at 800-823-4852 and get expert guidance from a licensed life insurance agent.
Request a Free QuoteWant to Avoid Paying Something for Nothing?
The number one problem with term life insurance is this: it expires.
If you outlive your term, you may feel like you’ve paid something for nothing. We tell our clients that they’ve actually bought peace of mind, but sometimes they just can’t escape feeling like they didn’t get enough for their money.
Whole life avoids that problem because it doesn’t expire. As long as you stay current with your payments, that policy remains in force as long as you live. It doesn’t matter if your health gets worse. It doesn’t matter if your income level changes later. You locked in your rate and your coverage when you bought your policy, so you don’t have to worry about any of that anymore. Whole life covers you for your whole life – who’d have thought, right? But that’s what so many of our clients appreciate. It’s simple and effective, and sometimes, that’s exactly what you want.
➡️ Want to talk to a real person about whole life insurance? We’d love to help! Call us at 800-823-4852 and get expert guidance from a licensed life insurance agent.
Request a Free QuoteAre You Looking Ahead for Possible Future Expenses?
Whole life insurance has something called a “cash value” component. Think of this as an enforced savings account. Part of every payment you make goes into a cash value account. Your insurer will pay a small, guaranteed rate of interest, allowing that money to grow over time. There’s no income tax charged on your cash value while it grows, so it’s a similar tax-deferred benefit to what you’d get in a 401(k), for example.
The longer you own your policy, the more your cash value account will grow. Some of our clients end up with thousands of dollars, while others end up with tens of thousands of dollars. It all depends on the cost of your coverage, and how much goes into that cash value account. That money can be accessed several ways: withdrawals (“partial surrenders” in insurance-speak), policy loans, as a way to automatically make future payments, as well as a full surrender (if you cancel the policy).
For most insurers, your cash value is a “use it or lose it” component of your policy. That means they will not pay it out to your beneficiaries with the death benefit. That makes it ideal for you to spend later in life – as supplemental retirement income, to pay unexpected medical bills, to check off a bucket-list item, or to put a child through college.
➡️ Want to talk to a real person about whole life insurance? We’d love to help! Call us at 800-823-4852 and get expert guidance from a licensed life insurance agent.
Request a Free QuoteWant to Avoid Stock Market Losses?
Cash value is not, in and of itself, a retirement planning tool. But it can supplement traditional retirement accounts like a 401(k) or IRA. And because whole life insurance is not an investment, there’s no risk. Your cash value growth is guaranteed. Of course, this also means you don’t have the opportunity to make large amounts of money, as you might in the stock market. But that’s exactly what some people want.
If you already have money in traditional investment accounts, whole life’s cash value is a safe place to put additional money. There is no chance of an investment loss, no matter what the market does. If the downturns of 2001, 2007-8, and 2020 caught you by surprise – or dented your 401(k) – you know how damaging they can be to your account’s long-term growth potential.
A so-called “bear market” happens when the stock market declines at least 20%. On average, they last about 15 months, according to the Schwab Center for Financial Research. A so-called “pullback” happens when market declines less than 20%. Pullbacks of greater than 10% have happened in 10 of the past 20 years. Yes, the market has recovered. Yes, over time, you are likely to recoup those losses. But what happens if your retirement falls during one of those bear market years? Your money is least productive when you need it most. That’s when having a backup option like a cash value account makes sense.
➡️ Want to talk to a real person about whole life insurance? We’d love to help! Call us at 800-823-4852 and get expert guidance from a licensed life insurance agent.
Request a Free QuoteWhat Does Whole Life Insurance Cost?
The exact rate will be different for everyone, but in general, you can expect whole life to cost 5 – 10 times more than a term life policy.
We can’t give you a more exact number because life insurance pricing is based on particular details about you, as well as how much coverage you want. Here are a few things that affect your rate:
- Age: the younger you are, the cheaper you are to cover
- Sex: women cost a little less than men to cover since, statistically, women usually live longer
- Current health: the healthier you are, the less you cost to cover
- Family health history: if you have a history of certain diseases in your immediate family, you may cost more to cover
- Job: dangerous jobs like flying and firefighting cost more to cover
- Hobbies: dangerous hobbies like rock climbing and scuba diving cost more to cover
To see sample rates for whole life compared to term life, click here. Or call us and let us give you a customized quote so you have more exact amounts to work with as you make your decision!
As you can see, the answer to the question, “Should I buy whole life insurance?” depends on a lot of things, including your long-term financial needs and goals and your risk preferences. We can’t answer the question for you, but we can show you prices and policies to help you make the best possible decision for your family.
➡️ Want to talk to a real person about whole life insurance? We’d love to help! Call us at 800-823-4852 and get expert guidance from a licensed life insurance agent.
Request a Free Quote