Five products. One honest comparison.
Every product here is the right answer for someone and the wrong answer for someone else. Here is the whole menu with the tradeoffs out in the open.
Which type of life insurance should I buy?
Most families should start with term life, because it buys the most protection per dollar during the years a mortgage and children depend on your income. Permanent coverage, whole life or indexed universal life, earns its higher cost when the need never ends, and an annuity solves a different problem entirely: income in retirement rather than protection for survivors.
Term Life
Pure protection for a set number of years. The biggest death benefit per dollar, priced for the season when your family depends on your income most.
- Level premiums for 10, 20 or 30 years
- Often approved with no medical exam
- Convertible to permanent coverage later
Illustrative: healthy 35-year-old, $500K for 20 years, from about $22/mo
Whole Life
Permanent coverage that never expires, with guaranteed cash value that grows every year you hold it, on a schedule printed in the contract.
- Premiums locked at issue, for life
- Guaranteed cash value growth
- Dividends possible with mutual carriers
Indexed Universal Life
Flexible permanent coverage whose cash value tracks a market index. You share in the gains up to a cap; a 0% floor protects you from losses.
- Market-linked growth without market losses
- Adjustable premiums and death benefit
- Tax-advantaged access to cash value
Final Expense
A smaller whole life policy built to cover funeral costs, medical bills and the loose ends, so your family grieves without a price tag attached.
- Simple application, health questions only
- Fits a fixed budget, rates never rise
- Benefit paid directly to the people you name
Annuities
A contract that converts what you have saved into protected, guaranteed income. A paycheck you cannot outlive, shielded from market swings.
- Tax-deferred growth on your principal
- Lifetime income options are available
- Principal protection with no market downside
Every option, compared honestly.
| Feature | Most chosenTerm | Whole Life | IUL | Final Expense | Annuity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How long it lasts | 10 to 30 years | Lifetime | Lifetime | Lifetime | Contract term |
| Level premiums | Yes | Yes | Flexible | Yes | Single or flexible |
| Builds cash value | No | Guaranteed | Index-linked | Modest | Tax-deferred |
| Medical exam | Often none | Sometimes | Sometimes | Never | Never |
| Typical monthly cost | $ | $$$ | $$$ | $$ | Funded from savings |
| Best for | Family income years | Lifetime certainty | Flexible builders | Ages 50 to 85 | Retirement income |
Stop comparing. Start asking.
Fifteen minutes with a licensed agent replaces hours of tab-hopping. We will tell you what fits, what it costs and what to skip.