Life Insurance Basics
Term vs. permanent, how premiums and cash value work, and the words on a policy.
How Life Insurance Works: The Contract, the Premium, the Payout
A plain-language look at what life insurance is, who the parties to a policy are, how insurers set premiums, and what happens when a claim is paid.
Read · 7 min read →Life Insurance BasicsTerm Life Insurance Explained: Level, Renewable and Convertible
How term life insurance works, the main kinds of term policies, what happens when the term ends, and the trade-offs to weigh before you buy one.
Read · 6 min read →Life Insurance BasicsWhole Life Insurance Explained: Level Premiums, Cash Value, Dividends
How whole life insurance works, why its premiums stay level, how cash value and dividends build, and what to weigh before committing to a policy for life.
Read · 6 min read →Life Insurance BasicsUniversal and Variable Universal Life: How Flexible Policies Work
How universal life and variable universal life policies credit and charge your cash value, why flexibility brings lapse risk, and what to ask before buying.
Read · 6 min read →Life Insurance BasicsCash Value Life Insurance: How It Grows and How You Can Use It
What cash value is, how it builds in whole, universal and variable policies, and how loans, withdrawals and surrenders affect your coverage and taxes.
Read · 6 min read →Life Insurance BasicsReading a Life Insurance Policy: Key Terms and Provisions
A guided tour of a life insurance policy: the data page, the parties, the provisions that protect you, cash value terms and how benefits can be paid.
Read · 6 min read →