Is Universal life insurance the same as Whole life insurance?

Answer 1

Universal and whole life insurance are both types of permanent life insurance, which means that you'll be offered guaranteed coverage up until death, as long as you are paying regular premiums on time. Both these policies have an in-built cash value that you can access after a few years of accumulation that you can surrender for most of its value or borrow against.

In whole policies, premium rates you will pay are usually locked in for the rest of your life. Most whole life policies also have a non-guaranteed cash value element called 'dividends' which can enhance the value of the policy over time.

Universal Life policies differentiate three elements in a policy and treat them separately. These 3 elements are the death benefit or protection element, the expense element and the cash value element. With this separation comes flexibility that allows the insured to modify the premium in case there is a need. After provisioning for administrative charges, death benefits, riders and supplemental income, interest is credited to the policy based on its cash value. Read more about other types of permanent life insurance, compare life insurance coverage and find out which policy is the best for you on aggregator websites like AccQuote.com.

Denise Mancini

Disclaimer: I work for AccuQuote and this is my personal opinion.