What Is The Difference Between Universal And Term Life Insurance? 
Universal Life insurance , also known as UL , is a form of permanent life insurance . A UL can be designed to last your entire lifetime . Because age is a critical element in the formula for figuring the cost of Universal Life , if you purchase a UL when you are young , the low rate you pay can be locked in for life . Term life insurance has a definite end . If you purchase 20 year term life insurance it will last 20 years . If you were to die 20 years and one day later , your coverage would have lapsed and no death benefit payout would occur . If after the first 20 year term you decided to get another term policy , you have to re-qualify by having another medical exam performed . Your age and possibly even changed health conditions would cause the cost of this new term policy to be considerably higher . Some types of UL policies can have a cash build-up inside them adding a savings component to the policy . The cash value grows tax deferred and can be used along life 's path for just about anything you deem appropriate including college education and even a retirement income stream . Speak with a qualified independent insurance agent to learn which type of life insurance will work best for your individual situation . 