Permanent life insurance provides life long protection. As long as you pay the premiums, the death benefit will be paid. These policies are designed and priced for you to keep over a long period of time. If you don’t intend to keep the policy for the long term, this may be the wrong type of insurance for you.

Permanent life policies are known by a variety of names: whole, ordinary, universal, adjustable, and variable life. Most have a feature known as cash value or cash-surrender value. This feature, not found in most term insurance policies.

Whole Life

Whole life or ordinary life is the most common type of permanent insurance. The premiums generally remain constant over the life of the policy and must be paid periodically in the amount indicated in the policy.

Whole life insurance policies are valuable because they provide permanent protection and accumulate cash values that can be used for emergencies or to meet specific objectives.

• Premiums are guaranteed not to increase over the life of the policy.
• The policy can be surrendered for the cash surrender value.
• Policy loans and withdrawals provide access to your cash value.
• Earnings, and certain withdrawals and loans, may qualify for tax-favored treatment.
• The policy can be changed to a reduced death benefit amount that is paid up.
• The policy can be changed to a reduced amount paid-up whole life policy.
• The cash values may be used to pay premiums for a certain period of time.
• The cash surrender value can be used to supplement retirement income.

Universal Life

Universal life allows you, after your initial payment, to pay premiums at any time, in virtually any amount, subject to certain minimums and maximums. You also can reduce or increase the death benefit more easily than under a traditional whole life policy. (To increase your death benefit, the insurance company usually requires you to furnish satisfactory evidence of your continued good health.)

• There is no set schedule for premium payments after the first policy year, so as your needs and goals change you may be able to increase, decrease or stop premium payments.

• A minimum death benefit is guaranteed regardless of funding option performance if you maintain Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefit premium payments at specified levels.
• The policy can be surrendered for the cash surrender value.
• Policy loans and withdrawals provide access to your cash value.
• Earnings, and certain withdrawals and loans, may qualify for tax-favored treatment.
• The policy can be changed to a reduced death benefit amount that is paid up.
• The cash values may be used to pay premiums for a certain period of time.
• The cash surrender value can be used to supplement retirement income.
• You can elect a Disability Waiver of Specified Premium Amount rider. In the event that the insured becomes disabled, this rider applies a predetermined amount of premium to the policy, within limits so that you can maintain coverage and continue to accumulate cash value.

Variable Life

Variable life provides death benefits and cash values that vary with the performance of a portfolio of investments. You can allocate your premiums among a variety of investments offering different degrees of risk and reward: stocks, bonds, combinations of both, or accounts that guarantee interest and principal. You will receive a prospectus in conjunction with the sale of this product.

• There is no set schedule for premium payments after the first policy year, so as your needs and goals change you may be able to increase, decrease or stop premium payments.
• A minimum death benefit is guaranteed regardless of funding option performance if you maintain Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefit premium payments at specified levels.
• The policy can be surrendered for the cash surrender value.
• Policy loans and withdrawals provide access to your cash value.
• Earnings, and certain withdrawals and loans, may qualify for tax-favored treatment.
• The policy can be changed to a reduced death benefit amount that is paid up.
• The cash values may be used to pay premiums for a certain period of time.
• The cash surrender value can be used to supplement retirement income.
• You can elect a Disability Waiver of Specified Premium Amount rider. In the event that the insured becomes disabled, this rider applies a predetermined amount of premium to the policy, within limits so that you can maintain coverage and continue to accumulate cash value.

Joint Survivorship Life

A Joint Survivorship or second-to-die life insurance policy insures the lives of two people, typically a husband and a wife. The death benefit is not paid to the beneficiary until the death of the second insured. These life insurance policies are generally available as either whole life insurance or universal life insurance policies, and premiums are often less expensive than buying two life insurance policies.

Joint Survivorship insurance policies are effective tools often used by wealthy individuals in estate planning. They can be used to pay for estate taxes. By removing the proceeds of a life insurance policy through the use of gifting policies and third party ownership, a life insurance policy can be used to pay for estate taxes. Careful planning by your tax and legal counsel, coupled with a properly structured second-to-die life insurance policy, can help you preserve your net worth.