If you have decided that whole life insurance is the route you want to take, you need to be well-aware of both its pros and its cons.

Whole life insurance covers you for your entire life, as opposed to term life insurance which only covers you for a certain number of years. However, with that additional coverage comes additional costs. Isn't that the way things always happen? With whole life insurance, not only are you paying for the cost of the insurance, but you are also paying for the cost of investment. Some have referred to the investment costs as “forced savings,” and, admittedly, there are ways of saving for retirement that make more sense to some. As you get older, the cost of insurance coverage gets higher and the cost of investment gets lower. If you decide to cash in your whole life insurance policy, you may be paid in cash or in insurance that has been paid-up. Yet, with commission fees, market fluctuations, and hypothetical numbers that agents use for illustration purposes, it is not so easy to know how much you will cash in.

Still, there are many wealthy people who opt to purchase whole life insurance policies, and for a good reason. Whole life insurance policies help them in estate planning. By setting up an insurance trust through whole life insurance, they can make sure the proceeds of their insurance policy are used to pay their estate taxes. This is helpful, as estate taxes would otherwise be left to be paid out-of-pocket.

After understanding whole life insurance, it might not seem as safe and secure as its name sounds. Yes, you will be covered for life, but there are also additional costs for coverage that some people just do not need. If you have the extra money to invest in whole life insurance, by setting up an insurance trust, you won't exactly be wasting money, either.

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