There many different types of life insurance available and over the years different options have become a lot more complicated but the two main types of life insurance are whole life and term life. Each type has its pros and cons and in this blog post we are going to examine those.

Some of the well-known talking heads on television are adamant that people should never get anything other than term life insurance because term life insurance rates are so much cheaper and the amount of money you can save can be invested whereas with whole life insurance the greater expense is not justified by the cash value that the policy builds. People like Suzy Orman and Dave Ramsey will tell you that although whole life insurance builds cash value there are various fees and commissions associated with the investments made through your whole life insurance policy and that you're far better off investing the money yourself and going with a less expensive life insurance policy.

What the television experts say may be accurate for a lot of people but I don't usually like advice that consists of blanket statements that suggest that one solution is right for everybody. Whole life insurance is more expensive than term life insurance but there are advantages that may make it a better choice for some people.

Let's look at some of the pros and cons of whole life insurance. On the plus side, a whole life insurance policy never expires and has a guaranteed death benefit. It will builds cash value over time. It can be borrowed against if you need cash at some point in the future. A whole life policy also has a number of different tax benefits and can be very beneficial in estate planning.

The main drawback of a whole life insurance policy is that it is considerably more expensive than a term life insurance policy so you need to determine what your goals are for the insurance policy and that will help you decide which type of insurance is right for you. For example, if your goal is to make sure that your mortgage gets paid for, then a term life insurance policy would be perfect for this. If you have 15 years remaining on your mortgage you just have to make sure that your term life insurance policy did not expire until after your mortgage is paid off. However, if you have a lot of expensive assets, real estate, maybe a family business etc. the estate planning benefits of a whole life insurance policy may make it a better option for you.

Now let's take a look at the pros and cons of a term life insurance policy. The drawbacks of a term life insurance policy are pretty much the opposite of the pros of a whole life insurance policy. A term life policy has an expiration date, when you reach the end of the term you know longer have life insurance. It does not build cash value and does not have the same tax benefits that a whole life policy does.

The major benefit with a term life policy is the price. It is far less expensive than a whole life insurance policy and as we mentioned earlier the cost savings would allow you to make other investments if that is what you wanted to do.

All of the top life insurance companies will have several different options for you to choose from. In addition to whole and term there are universal life insurance policies, variable life insurance, and various hybrids of the two. Term life insurance is great for a lot of people and a lot of situations but there are circumstances where a whole life insurance policy may be better for some people. It's important to thoroughly investigate the different options you have available and to have a good understanding of your goals so that your insurance policy will do what you need it to do.

After you've decided which type of life insurance is best for you and how much life insurance you need, you should spend some time shopping around to find a company that offers the coverage options you're looking for at the best possible price. You can get whole life insurance quotes, term life insurance quotes, actually any type of life insurance quote online quickly and easily and comparing what the different companies offer and how much they charge for their coverage options will help you get the best possible plan at the most affordable price.