Finding and purchasing the right life insurance policy for your financial needs can be a complicated process if consumers do not compare free, instant life insurance quotes. There are term life insurance policies, permanent, whole, universal, variable, cash value, and hybrids life insurance, which include more than one insurance type in one policy.

Knowing what type of insurance you need requires a little research and an online life insurance quote if you want the best coverage and cheapest rates. TheLifeInsuranceQuote.com helps users compare multiple instant, free life insurance quotes online from the best companies that will meet your coverage needs.

Types of Life Insurance

To get a life insurance quote, a curious consumer first starts by entering their zip code to find life insurance companies offering free, instant quotes available for comparison. However, sometimes it is better to figure out what kind of policy is best for you and your family’s financial needs so you can determine the best life insurance to buy. Below, learn more about the different life insurance types.

Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance, also known as short term coverage, is a policy that provides coverage for a specific period of time, and requires renewal after each term period ends. Term life has no cash value or accrued (built up) equity, but pays a policyholder the face value of the policy if he/she dies. Term plans also may have a conversion clause, allowing a policyholder to convert the life insurance coverage to permanent insurance coverage in the future.

Another dimension to your term life insurance policy is deciding whether level term or decrease term coverage or premiums is ideal for your financial situation. The level term option states that a policy’s value stays the same through the life of the policy, whereas decreasing life insurance term policies decrease in coverage with time.

As is the case with health insurance, life insurance is also cheaper when you are young because insurance companies associate less risk with younger policyholders. Purchasing a policy at a young age can be beneficial as life insurance companies offer the option to renew without needing to qualify again. However, the downside is that policyholders will initially pay higher term life insurance rates for this option, making it essential that consumers compare term life insurance quotes to find the best policy, coverage, and rates before purchasing life insurance.

Permanent Life Insurance

Permanent life insurance, or cash value policies, offer policyholders the benefit of a cash payout as a death benefit, a savings plan for long-term financial stability, and tax benefits. Permanent policies require upfront fees to set up, but premiums are constant and fixed for the life of the policy, determined by your age when the policy is underwritten. The cash value is continuously deposited into the savings account portion of the policy, and overtime, accrues significant interest.

In the event of a death when the policyholder is young, the life insurance company will payout the death benefit. However, over time, more of the death benefit received will be pulled from the wealth accumulation of the savings account of the policy instead of the pockets of the insurance company.

Whole Life Insurance

Whole life insurance is basically a forced savings accounts. If a policyholder or family has difficult saving on their own, then requiring the family to put away money for the future may help more than a retirement account. The monthly premiums a policyholder pays to the insurance company includes insurance coverage as well as distribution to a savings account, which is invested on behalf of the policyholder by the insurance company.

Because insurance companies can pool large amounts of capital and have access to more investment opportunities, they usually reap higher returns than small investors. However, whole life policies are subject to management fees, but are typically covered by the above average returns on their investments. Consumers and applicants should compare whole life insurance quotes and learn more about whole life insurance pros and cons before buying a whole life policy.

Universal Life Insurance

Universal life insurance provides policyholders more control than whole life insurance in terms of allocating payments between insurance premiums and deposits into the savings account or investment piece of the policy. A saavy policyholder may expose himself to more risk and control how his money works for him, potentially using the returns or interest on the savings/investment portion to cover payments on the premiums.

Variable Life Insurance

Variable life insurance provides policyholders the option to decide how risky or aggressive they want their investments portfolio to be. One can pick from low risk, low return investment options like Treasury Bills or money markets, to high risk, high reward investments like securities (stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, etc). The death benefit for variable life has a specific minimum, but can vary beyond that. Within variable life insurance, policyholders can opt for a variable universal life insurance policy, a hybrid between variable life and universal life coverage.

Cash Value Life Insurance

Cash value life insurance allows policyholders to make payments where the premiums grow cash value over time while buying a standard death benefit payout. A noteworthy point about cash value insurance is that the policy has higher rates than other types of policies because a fraction of the premiums are invested into a tax-free, interest-bearing account that builds value over time. Cash value policies can be a great way to force families to save, while buying affordable coverage.

Life Insurance Quotes Online

Start your search and begin the process of buying cheap life insurance. Enter your zip code to start a life insurance quote now and compare free, instant quotes online to find the best, cheap life insurance rates, coverage, and companies.