Guide
Term vs. permanent life insurance
What each kind is for, what it costs, and why most families start with term.
Term insurance pays out a fixed death benefit during your selected period—typically 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years—for a fixed monthly payment. When the term expires, the coverage ends or renews at significantly higher cost. It's the most cost-efficient way to purchase meaningful protection during your household's most vulnerable years.
Long-term coverage (whole life, universal life and variations) continues for your entire life and accumulates cash value within the policy. For the same death benefit, you'll pay substantially higher monthly rates, and early cash value growth is modest. This fits situations with permanent needs: a dependent requiring lifelong support, estate liquidity, or business continuity.
How to choose
Let your obligations, not available products, drive the decision. When your obligations have an endpoint—a paid-off mortgage, grown children, closed business—term insurance aligns perfectly. When some obligations never end, permanent insurance or a term policy with conversion options may be worth considering. Most carriers let you convert term to permanent without new underwriting during a specified window; check what each carrier offers.
What people in Arcadia often do
A practical approach: pick a 20- or 30-year term policy reflecting real household obligations and revisit it if circumstances shift. This approach maintains affordable premiums while ensuring adequate coverage when you need it most. If permanent protection becomes part of your plan later, Susman Insurance Agency can walk through those options.