Whole Life vs. Universal Life Insurance: What's the Difference? (2024)

Whole life and universal life insurance policies are similar in that they’re both lifelong, permanent insurance coverages that also carry cash values. But they have distinct differences. The major differences are premium costs, flexibility and the accumulated value of the policies.

Whole life policies have more expensive premiums, but they allow policyholders to build up money from their premium payments in a cash fund available for future use. Over time, policyholders can take their money out as a lump-sum payment or as a loan against the cash value.

Some whole life insurance policies pay out a share of the insurance company’s profits as scheduled dividends, which increase the cash value of the policy.

Universal life insurance is more flexible than whole life but carries fewer guarantees of increased cash-in value or lower premiums. Universal life policies accumulate their cash-in value, but not at a pre-set rate or amount.

Value varies because policy growth is usually tied directly to the performance of money market funds, an investment fund provided by the insurance company, or an index fund such as the S&P 500. As markets rise and fall, the policy cash-in value moves up and down as well.

One defining characteristic of whole life policies is consistency. Financial terms don’t change.

Policyholders know at the beginning exactly what their monthly or annual premium payments will be for the life of the policy. This is also true for the dollar value of death benefits.

Whole life policies are usually inflexible about changing the amount of premiums and death benefits.

Insurers offer various whole life policies, but the main two are participating or non-participating.

A participating whole life policy pays annual dividends to the policyholder or accumulates value for a future cash-in. Dividends are not guaranteed.

A non-participating whole life policy doesn’t share in the profits of the insurance company and won’t pay any dividends, but it guarantees the full policy amount upon on the death of the policyholder.

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Universal life’s selling point is its flexibility. It treats the three key parts of a policy (premiums, cash value and death benefits) separately, making for many options for a policyholder.

Initial premiums are often lower for universal life policies than they are for whole life policies, but they’re usually not guaranteed to stay at the same rate for the duration of the policy. They can rise. The disadvantage of universal life policies is their volatility.

Some insurance companies offer universal life policies that counter unpredictability by guaranteeing a specific coverage amount and premium with no cash-in value. This can be a lower-cost option than whole life.

Some policies link future premium amounts to how much cash value accumulates. If the value reduces, there may be an increase in premiums. This usually happens after a review at a specified time in the future, such as after five or 10 years.

Once the policy accumulates a cash value, you may be able to suspend premiums for a time. However, that brings a risk that the cash value runs out and the policy lapses with no value. It’s also possible to cash-in part or all the cash-in value in the future.

Choosing between a whole life policy and a universal life policy depends on your priorities. Are you more concerned with cost, cash value or flexibility?

Whole life is attractive if you foresee a future financial obligation to meet, whatever the premium price. Obligations may include paying off a large debt, such as a mortgage or a car loan, or leaving money for dependents after your death.

If guaranteed premiums are important, whole life may also be the answer, although it’s worth comparing with guaranteed universal life insurance if a future cash value isn’t important.

If flexibility is important, universal life is the option. Policyholders can reduce or increase their coverage amount once the policy is in place, although increases are usually subject to providing new medical evidence. Increased coverage comes with more expensive premiums.

If you have either type of insurance in place and are considering a different policy, don’t cancel your existing policy first. The reason? Price.

Because you’re older today than when you bought your insurance, premiums for a new policy are likely to be more expensive than when you were younger (assuming the coverage amounts are equal). This will certainly be true if your health is worse now than it was when you purchased your existing policy.

Check with your current insurance company to see if you can alter your policy to meet your additional needs. For example, if you have a universal life policy, you may be permitted to increase the death benefit. You should also be able to increase the premiums to build up the cash value more quickly if that’s your priority.

Sometimes you’ll be better off buying a second policy to meet your new needs while keeping your existing one in place.

The obvious alternative to universal or whole life insurance is term life insurance, but term insurance is not an apples-to-apples comparison because it has zero cash value until you die — and term polices have a fixed duration.

Some life insurance companies offer convertible term insurance, which lets you convert the death benefit value to permanent insurance, such as whole life or universal life, without having to provide medical evidence. Premiums at the time of conversion will be based on your older age, but at least you won’t have to worry about not being eligible for coverage because of worsened health.

Term insurance is beneficial only if death benefits are the goal. If building up reserve money is the goal, other kinds of investments may be better options than term insurance.

Consider whether to maximize your contributions to retirement plans, such as a 401(k), an individual retirement account or a health savings plan. Any contributions you make to these plans build wealth over a lifetime and save you in annual income taxes.

Other insurance-based alternatives include adjustable life insurance and a 1035 exchange, which allows a policyholder to transfer funds from an existing policy (or from an annuity or an endowment) to a new policy without having to pay taxes.

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8 Cited Research Articles