MAIN Your Money Insurance Term Life Insurance

"Rent" vs. "buy" is the usual analogy given to compare term life and whole life.

Term life allows for 1, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 year policies.

Whole or permanent life insurance locks you into higher premiums until death do you part, and is usually considered the more expensive option.

Term life provide more flexibility and is more affordable for young families generally with lower salaries, who are raising children, or who are just beginning to pay off high ticket items like college loans or mortgage payments.

A bare-bones term life policy does have its drawbacks, however, especially when compared to whole life's added advantage of offering cash value for the policy.

Like buying a house, whole life allows the insured to build up equity over time, and at a fixed premium for the life of the policy. With term life, there's no cash value option available, and once your policy term expires your rates are likely to go up.

Before purchasing a policy, be sure to ask about rates - will premiums stay the same over the length of the term, or increase annually? Will you have to requalify for the policy each time it expires?

Also ask about other options including the possibility of a conversion to a permanent policy later (or, comparing another real estate analogy, "rent-to-buy").

On the Web, find out more about the basics of term life, its benefits and disadvantages, along with tips and advice on finding an affordable term life insurance policy that fits your budget...

The Basics of Term Life Insurance - Detailed intro to the subject from Insurance.com with a discussion on what it is, how to qualify, and a comparision between term and whole life, and the cash value debate.

The Benefits Of Term Life Insurance - Good overview with an opportunity to compare rates at InsWeb.com, and tool around the rest of the site for more in their Life Insurance Learning Center.

Which Type Of Life Insurance Should I Buy? - Clear factsheet comparing term and whole life, plus more on the pros and cons at Term Life Insurance Explained.

Term Life Insurance - A great newbie guide for young families from BabyCenter.com explaining the advantages and disadvantages, typical costs, an overview of the various types of term life policies, related rate comparison info.

Term Life Insurance - The 5-Minute Guide - Online brochure in PDF Acrobat format with facts on how much coverage you're likely to need, different policies to fit your budget, pros and cons, comparisons to whole life insurance, and contact info from People's.com.

also see -> Whole Life Insurance | Universal Life Insurance