What Does Cash Value Mean In Regards To Life Insurance? 
That is a great question ! Simply put , there are two values to your whole life policy - the face value , or death benefit , which is what the policy would pay should you pass -LRB- minus fees or loans -RRB- , and the cash value . The cash value is the amount of money that accumulates within the policy as it grows . This is the amount that you can borrow from , or the amount -LRB- minus loans or fees -RRB- that the company would pay out to you should you surrender the policy . There is no cash value in a term life policy . I hope that helps - thanks for asking ! 