Whole Life Insurance
Policies Available in Monticello, GA

What is Whole Life Insurance

Get a whole life policy if you want to have access to a guaranteed cash value account. This includes guaranteed fixed premiums and life insurance protection as long as you live.

Whole Life Insurance, also called a Traditional Life Insurance, is a type of Permanent Life Insurance, along with Universal Life, Indexed Universal Life and Variable Universal Life.  Permanent Life Insurance policies normally provide a savings along with their death benefits.  Whole Life Insurance provides permanent coverage for the life of the holder, with a guaranteed death benefit for beneficiaries at death.

Although Term Life Insurance is less expensive, it usually expires before the end of the holder’s life.  Unlike Term Life Insurance, Whole Life Insurance policies provide coverage for the full lifetime of the policy holder, as well as a savings that grows at a guaranteed rate, as long as payments continue to be made.  Because of the advantage of its savings opportunities, as well as an ongoing coverage, Whole Life Insurance is a strong competitor of Term Life Insurance.  Many times, depending on the insurer, Term Life Insurance policies can be converted to Whole Life Insurance, without requiring additional medical exams or other qualification processes.  This can be another factor to make switching to a Whole Life policy attractive for those who might not be able to afford a new Term Life policy, or for those who could use the savings option from which they can draw

Tax Treatment of a Whole Life Insurance Policy

Whole Life Insurance policies are normally given favorable tax treatment.  The payout cash value is generally tax-deferred.  This means that the holder isn’t required to pay taxes on earnings from the policy as long as the policy is active.  Since insurance policy loans aren’t considered taxable income, money taken out of a Whole Life Insurance policy isn’t subject to taxes.  In general, the total of all premiums paid can be withdrawn without being taxed.

Savings of Whole Life Insurance

The savings, called the “cash value”, accrues alongside the fixed death benefit, and is accumulated from the sum of the premium payments.  Tax-deferred Interest may even accumulate on the savings portion of the policy.  This cash value component of the policy is an integral part of a Whole Life Insurance policy.  During the holder’s lifetime, this cash value that accrues from a Whole Life policy can be invested.  The holder can also borrow from the savings portion, as well as simply withdraw against it.

Whole Life Insurance PUA

Some Whole Life Insurance policies are eligible for dividend payments.  These are accrued as the policy holder remits payments above the scheduled premium payments.  These additional payments are known as “paid up additions” (PUA).  The dividends accrued from these payments can be reinvested into the savings portion and can even earn more interest for the holder of the policy.  In some policies, the policy holder can elect to have the dividends apply toward additional death benefits, which can increase the death benefit of the policy.  Over the time of the policy, there can even accrue a positive return, providing a living benefit to the policy holder, or equity, as the cash value can become larger than the total amount of premiums paid.  Riders can also be added to the policy to prevent the decrease of the death benefit if the holder becomes disabled or ill.

Borrowing From a Whole Life Insurance Policy

Normally, there is a waiting period when a policy is initially created during which borrowing against the policy’s savings portion isn’t permitted.  This is because sufficient cash must be accumulated in the policy’s funds.  Typically, the policy and coverage can be terminated by the insurance provider if the total amount of unpaid interest on the loan, in addition to the outstanding loan balance exceed the policy’s cash value.  Whether for a withdrawal or a loan, to access the accrued cash value of the policy, a request must be made by the holder.  If loans aren’t paid, the death benefit of the policy will usually be reduced by the loan’s outstanding balance.  Because of loans or withdrawals over time, the death benefit can be reduced, or even wiped out, depending on the insurance policy.