You've heard of life insurance, where you get a payout if you die, but what is this 'Whole Life Insurance' term that gets bandied about? Put simply, whole life insurance is insurance that stays in place for the entire duration of your life. The only thing you have to do to guarantee that it stays current is to keep up with the premiums scheduled by your company.

A whole life policy will pay out the agreed amount no matter when you die, and it will also increase in value over time. Sounds pretty simple thus far, and indeed it is. Whole life policies have a little extra built in when compared to other policies however, in the form of dividends.

Dividends become payable if insurance business is good, and if the policies are being drawn on as expected or at a lower rate than expected. Basically, if not too many people are dying, and the company is making plenty of money, then the company will pay some of the premiums back to the policy holder.

You don't usually get to spend this money as cash however, it can normally be used only to pay for term insurance, in the purchase of more insurance, or to cover your premiums. However, unlike other insurance policies, it can often be borrowed against as the investment grows.

These policies tend to be more expensive than other forms of life insurance, like term insurance which covers you only for a specific period of time. In fact, whole life insurance will tend to cost you more than it will pay out in the first few years, so it is worth taking a realistic look at your own likelihood of mortality before investing in these types of policy.

Whole life policies offer a superior level of cover and security, but it is security that you will definitely be paying for. Whether or not this type of policy is for you will depend very much on your personal situation, and your willingness to invest early for maximum benefit.

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