Whole life insurance rates are usually higher than premiums for comparable amounts of term life coverage. However, there are a couple of caveats to this first-glance arithmetic.
First, term insurance renews at the end of its level-premium period at higher rates, while whole life premiums remain fixed throughout the insured person’s lifetime. Term insurance durations commonly range from 5 to 30 years with older applicants usually constrained to shorter terms.
In addition, whole life policies accrue cash values and policy loan capabilities that can offset higher premium costs.