Can Term Life Insurance Be Cashed In? 
No . Term insurance is exactly what its name implies , you a buying protection -LRB- some might say renting it -RRB- against the possibility of death occurring during a specified period of time . Term Life Insurance is the least expensive form of life insurance because of its defined duration and because it does not contain any cash build up provisions . Some life insurance companies `` enhance '' their term life products with an option called `` Return of Premium '' but the policyholder pays extra premium above and beyond the cost of the basic term life insurance policy for this privilege . Essentially you are loaning the insurance company your money interest free for them to invest for 10 , 20 or 30 years while simply returning the original money you paid in at the end of the policy 's term . I wo n't argue whether this is a good or a bad investment of money , many people are lousy savers so this approach would give them some money at some future date . However , if you look at the price difference between a pure term life policy and a term life policy with the same death benefit amount and the Return of Premium feature and you invested that difference in a mutual fund or the stock market over the same time frames I suspect the vast majority of people would end up with more money by going down the investment route . You should definitely discuss this with a financial planner or other impartial advisor before making the decision to purchase term life insurance with or without the return of premium option . As an insurance sales person , I definitely believe in the value of life insurance , both term and permanent . But the commissions earned are higher when we sell you a term life policy with the return of premium provision simply because the premiums are higher . If your agent does n't at least touch on these issues with you , perhaps you should visit with another life insurance agent . 