Whole life insurance Definition
Whole life insurance provides for a set face amount (death benefit), a level premium, and a cash value table included in the policy guaranteed by the company. The primary advantages of whole life are guaranteed death benefit, guaranteed cash values, fixed and known annual premiums, and the fact that mortality and expense charges will not reduce the cash value shown in the policy. The primary disadvantages of whole life are premium inflexibility, death benefit inflexibility, cash value accessibility is limited, and the internal rate of return in the policy may not be competitive with other savings alternatives.