Modern life insurance is a versatile financial instrument devised for the protection of families and businesses. Offering unparalleled safety, life insurance creates security and enhances wealth. Whole life in particular offers a lifetime of coverage with significant guaranteed values, tax benefits, and equity value protected from creditors in most circumstances.

Term, the other major type of life insurance, by contrast, is in force only for a limited time frame. Although its cost is very inexpensive when one is young, that cost rises significantly over time. Term provides no internal cash buildup or equity. The popular piece of advice heard often on the radio, "buy term and invest the difference", may succeed in the short-run but does not work for most consumers over the long-term. It requires considerable investing knowledge and the discipline to maintain investment positions. Moreover, term coverage may lapse or become prohibitively expensive to renew at a future time when a family may need insurance coverage the most.

Returning to whole life, its strengths lie in the contractually guaranteed values within a policy: level premium, face value protecting a life, and cash value which grows each year. Then there are possible dividends that a company may declare and the paid up additions that may accrue over time. A family is protected because a policy's benefits go directly to beneficiaries; they avoid capital gains tax, and in most cases, are protected from lawsuits. Also, during an insured's life, tax-free loans can be taken against a policy's cash value, can allow for self-funding of major purchases, and can result in a commensurate increase in the cash value of the policy when paid back.

In addition to family protection at a time of terrible tragedy, life insurance can also provide home mortgage payoff, education funding, and retirement annuities. For business purposes, life insurance can fund buy-sell agreements and business continuity planning. For tax planning, whole life can pay estate taxes, fund trusts for children, or provide bequests to charitable causes.

In sum, whole life insurance may be customized for your specific desires and needs. It is one of the safest and most comprehensive financial tools available today. All told, its guaranteed cash value, guaranteed face value, and guaranteed premiums provide policy owners with a solid foundation for financial protection and the ability to build wealth in a turbulent and uncertain world.