When you purchase a universal life policy, you choose how much to contribute with each payment (premium), how much coverage you have, and for how long. You’ll have the flexibility to change these features if your needs evolve. Additionally, as the policy grows in value over time, you’ll have several options: take out some of the cash value (a partial surrender) to support you in the short term; borrow cash from the policy and repay it to maintain the death benefit; and/or leave all cash in the policy to maximize the potential death benefit that would be paid to your loved ones if you pass away.