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Permanent Life Insurance is designed to offer protection for the lifetime of the insured. Premiums are generally higher than for Term insurance, but the premiums may be designed to remain the same for the entire coverage period.

Types of permanent life insurance:

1. Whole Life - the premium and the death benefit will stay level for the lifetime of the insured. In addition, the policy builds cash value which is usually equal to the death benefit at maturity of the policy, which is usually at age 100. Whole life has no flexibility after it is issued. If insurance needs or ability to pay changes in the future, the policy may not be adjusted to satisfy changing needs.

Variable Whole Life - the same basic product as Whole Life except that the cash value of the policy is invested in the stock market through sub-accounts. Sub-accounts are similar to Mutual Funds, but are inside the life insurance policy. As with any stock market investment, the sub-accounts are not guaranteed and may lose value.

Universal Life - both the premium and the death benefit may be adjusted throughout the life of the policy. A Universal Life policy may use a relatively low premium if coverage is desired for a limited time (like term insurance) or could use higher premiums to keep coverage in force for a longer period of time and also build cash values. Universal Life policies are very flexible and may be designed to suit the insured person's needs.

Variable Universal Life - the same basic product as Universal Life except that the cash value of the policy is invested in the stock market through sub-accounts. Sub-accounts are similar to Mutual Funds, but are inside the life insurance policy. As with any stock market investment, the sub-accounts are not guaranteed and may lose value.

Indexed Universal Life - the same basic product as Universal Life except that the increases in the cash value are linked to the performance of one or more outside indexes, such as the Standard & Poors 500, the Dow Jones, the NASDAQ and others. Unlike Variable Life, the policy cash values are not actually invested in the stock market. The rate of interest credited to the cash value is determined based on the performance of the index. The cash value is guaranteed and will not decrease even if the index decreases.