If you have built up cash value in your whole life insurance policy, you typically can withdraw a limited amount of this money to use for your own purposes. Most withdrawals up to the amount of premiums you’ve paid into the policy will not trigger a taxable event. Withdrawals over that amount will be subject to taxes, however.
It’s also important to remember that the amount of money you withdraw from your cash basis will reduce your death benefit. And if you withdraw the full amount of cash value, your policy will expire.
Instead of withdrawal, you may decide to take a loan. But the loan itself will not be against the cash value. Instead, you will borrow from the issuer, and your policy will be used as collateral. You might owe interest payments on these funds.