To be precise, the cash value is a part of your premiums that belong to you. You can use it for multiple purposes, for example, making a loan or paying your premium when your policy is still in force. When you decide to surrender your policy, the insurer will give you back your cash value, and this money is also known as surrender value. One thing to note is that if you decide to surrender your policy too early, you will have to pay a surrender fee. This means that the amount of surrender value you receive is the cash value after deducting the surrender fee. As time passes, when your policy has been in force for long enough, the surrender fee phrases out. At this time, cash value and surrender value refer to the same amount of money you will receive when you surrender your policy.