Explore Your Life Insurance Options With an Independent Agent in the Kansas City Metro Area

Whole life insurance policies offer lifetime coverage. These policies typically have higher premium payments than term life insurance because the coverage is permanent. Generally, you pay fixed premium payments, so your provider can’t raise your premiums as you get older or if you become ill.

Whole life policies also carry a “cash value”, which makes them unique from term life policies. A portion of your premiums fund a cash value component of the policy, which your life insurance company pays interest to. Most providers guarantee a minimum annual interest rate. Usually, the only way to withdraw your full cash value while you are still alive is to cancel the policy, although you may be able to access just a portion of your cash value without canceling it by taking out a policy loan. Many people use whole life insurance as a way to protect the wealth that they want to transfer to their loved ones after they pass away.

Term life insurance offers protection for a specified amount of time, such as a five, ten, fifteen, twenty, or thirty-year term. These policies are typically more affordable than permanent life insurance policies, especially when you’re younger. With most term life policies, you pay a fixed premium amount for the entire coverage term. Your life insurance company will base your premium payments on your age (when you buy the policy), and general life expectancy. Some policies require a medical exam. After that period, you may renew your policy, but the premiums will be adjusted for your current age and health factors. In some cases, you can convert a term policy into a whole policy in order to continue coverage.

Universal life insurance is designed to provide coverage for your entire lifetime. While whole life policies are fixed, universal life policies are flexible. They may allow you to adjust your coverage and premium payments based on your changing needs and circumstances throughout your lifetime. People often turn to a life insurance company for an estate planning strategy and may use a universal life insurance coverage because it not only helps protect the wealth that you intend to pass on to your beneficiaries, but also because it is more flexible than traditional whole life insurance.

Fixed Indexed universal life insurance allows the policy owner to accumulate tax-deferred cash value within the policy while maintaining the specified death benefit. If you want permanent protection but are also interested in possible interest credits tied to an external market index, a fixed indexed universal life insurance policy may be right for you. With these policies, part of your premium payment goes to your insurance protection and part goes to your cash value, which can earn interest if the selected index, such as the S&P 500 or NASDAQ-100, experiences a gain as of your policy’s anniversary.

Policy loans and withdrawals will reduce available cash values and death benefits and may cause the policy to lapse or affect any guarantees against lapse. Additional premium payments may be required to keep the policy in force. In the event of a lapse, outstanding policy loans in excess of unrecovered cost basis will be subject to ordinary income tax. Tax laws are subject to change. You should consult a tax professional.