What Life Insurance Can You Cash Out? 
There are two main types of life insurance . The first is term life insurance which has no cash value . Think of it as renting . The second type of life insurance is cash value life insurance . The most popular go by names like , whole life , universal life , indexed universal life and variable life . All of which have cash value that builds with time . If you have one of these types of plans , look for the pages marked `` illustrations '' . You will find a cash value column explaining how much cash is built up in a given year . Most policies allow you to take a `` cash loan '' against them and keep your coverage in force . You may also cash out completely or roll the cash value to another plan . You will find the average policy will not have cash value until coverage has been in force for about 5 years . 