Is Whole Life Insurance Recommended? 
It depends on the need -LRB- not a very direct answer I know ! -RRB- - the reason for this is because everyone has a different purpose for why they 're buying life insurance . There 's no one shoe fits all policy in this industry . What you need to look at first is what you need the coverage for - it 's helpful to discuss this with an independent agent who can walk you through this and help you determine the structure that 's going to be most suitable for you . If you 're only interested in buying coverage to cover a certain debt for a limited time , you may want to look at term insurance - in that type of situation , you may just be throwing excess money away . If you 're buying coverage for estate planning purposes , you would want to look at permanent coverage because you 're planning for the long run and it 's not something you want to be cheap about . With permanent insurance , there 's two main types - Whole Life and Universal Life -LRB- there are sub-categories with in that - e.g. guaranteed universal life , current assumption universal life , indexed universal life , participating whole life , non-participating whole life , and others -RRB- . Permanent life insurance is designed to provide coverage for the rest of the insured 's life and build cash value . Under a guaranteed universal life -LRB- GUL -RRB- program , the policy can be structured to keep premiums level and provide coverage up to a specified age -LRB- e.g. to age 90 , to age 100 , or even up to age 121 -RRB- under the `` dial down '' process . Whole life features level premiums and death benefits and builds cash value at a faster rate -LRB- participating WL policies may pay dividends that can be used to increase the death benefit or decrease the premiums over time - non-participating WL policies do not feature this ability -RRB- - the trade off between this and guaranteed universal life is that to increase the cash value faster , the premiums will be substantially higher -LRB- can often be 2-3x the premiums of GUL programs on many occassions -RRB- . Regardless of the permanent coverage type , the carrier takes back the cash value upon the death of the insured , and pays out the death benefit proceeds . Therefore , GUL policies allow you to maximize your death benefit and minimize your premium dollars that you pay for the coverage . Some agents/brokers/advisors will ALWAYS suggest you buy whole life - others will NEVER suggest buying it . While it 's helpful to shop around , getting too many hands in the cookie jar can create a very confusing situation for the client.Each type of coverage has a benefit for certain situations . You need to trust the agent you 're working with to compare your needs , premium budget , the benefit level , how long you need it for , and other factors , to help you figure out what 's best for you whether that be whole life or another type of coverage . 