Permanent Life Insurance

Permanent life insurance is a term sometimes used for life insurance, such as whole life or endowment, where the sum assured is due to be paid out at the end of the policy and the policy accrues a cash value.

 

The earliest form of permanent life insurance was offered in the 18th century as a fixed premium fixed return product known as whole life insurance. There were untold variations on this theme over the years. One example, which became popular in the United States in the late 20th century, was "universal life insurance". This allowed the policy holder considerable flexibility as to the amounts and timing of premiums. Some versions also allowed the policyholder to partially en-cash the policy without the interest associated with the loan provisions in whole life policies. "Variable life insurance" or "linked life assurance" is similar, but the benefits are more directly linked to investment performance, thus shifting some risk to the policy holder.