whole life
Definition
Life insurance which provides coverage for an individual's whole life, rather than a specified term. A savings component, called cash value or loan value, builds over time and can be used for wealth accumulation. Whole life is the most basic form of cash value life insurance. The insurance company essentially makes all of the decisions regarding the policy. Regular premiums both pay insurance costs and cause equity to accrue in a savings account. A fixed death benefit is paid to the beneficiary along with the balance of the savings account. Premiums are fixed throughout the life of the policy even though the breakdown between insurance and savings swings toward the insurance over time. Management fees also eat up a portion of the premiums. The insurance company will invest money primarily in fixed-income securities, meaning that the savings investment will be subject to interest rate and inflation risk.
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Related terms:
variable life, universal life, term insurance, combination plans, single-premium life insurance, cash surrender value, surrender value, vanishing premium policy, whole life insurance
'whole life' appears in the definitions of these other terms on BusinessDictionary.com:
life annuity, endowment insurance
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