A permanent life policy protects your family when you're gone — and builds guaranteed cash value you can access while you're alive. Premium locked at today's age, never increases.
Prefer to schedule? Book a 15-minute call with the next available producer →
A permanent life policy stays in force for life — as long as premiums are paid. It pays your beneficiary income-tax-free at the end. And it builds guaranteed cash value in the meantime — value you can access during your lifetime.
The honest comparison
Most Americans pick term because it's cheap, or a savings account because it's familiar. Both have a hole. Here's the straight side-by-side.
Term life insurance
Lowest cost per month
Permanent life · Cash value
Locked premium · Lifetime coverage
Cash savings account
Low-interest · exposed
What's in the policy
No projections, no "be your own bank" pitch. Just what's guaranteed in the contract.
The premium you sign up for at issue is the premium you pay 30 years from now. It doesn't increase as you age — unlike term policies that re-rate at renewal.
Your policy shows a schedule of guaranteed minimum cash values for every year you hold it. Not projections — contractual guarantees you see at signup.
Once cash value accumulates, the policy lets you borrow against it — no credit check, no income verification. You set the repayment.
The benefit goes directly to your named beneficiary — generally not subject to federal income tax. They use it for whatever they need.
If you're diagnosed with a terminal illness, you can advance a portion of the death benefit while still alive — built into the policy at no extra cost.
If you become totally disabled and can't work, the carrier waives your premiums and keeps the policy in force. Coverage stays. Cash value keeps growing.
Built to leave alone
Not all permanent life is built the same. Some policies move with the market. Some let you skip premiums — until you can't. Some look incredible in the illustration and disappointing in year 20. We picked the other kind.
Some permanent policies show a beautiful projection at signup — based on assumed crediting rates the carrier can change later. This isn't that. The cash value table in your contract is what you get. Guaranteed by the contract, not projected by a chart.
Some permanent policies let you flex premium up or down each month. Sounds great — until underfunding eats the cash value and the policy lapses. Yours is one number, fixed at issue, every month for life.
Some policies cap how much the cash value can grow when markets move — and the cap can be reduced by the carrier in future years. Yours grows at a guaranteed minimum rate stated in the contract. The carrier doesn't get to lower it.
Some financial products reward people who monitor them annually and tweak. Most people don't. This one is designed to be set, paid, and left alone — coverage in force, cash value building, no required maintenance.
The honest fit
This isn't for everyone. Here's the straight version.
Permanent insurance rewards locking in young. The younger and healthier you are at issue, the lower your premium stays — for the rest of your life.
If you've watched term premiums spike at renewal, or you're tired of paying for coverage that builds nothing, permanent is what term wishes it was.
Cash value in a permanent policy grows at a guaranteed minimum rate. It doesn't go down when the market does. That's not a market-return claim — it's how the contract works.
Two goals — life insurance and long-term value — handled by one policy with one premium. Less complexity, same result.
Term life is cheaper monthly and may make more sense. Permanent rewards consistency — if budget is tight, you'll be better served elsewhere. We'll tell you that on the call.
Simple by design
No paperwork to mail. No pressure to buy.
Tell us your age, goal, and state. Takes about 60 seconds — no sensitive data.
A licensed agent in your state walks you through the specific policy — premium, guaranteed cash value table, and riders.
If the numbers make sense, you're covered. If they don't, no obligation. Simple as that.
Straight answers
A 401(k) and IRA are tax-advantaged retirement accounts you fund through the market. A permanent life policy is insurance with a cash value feature. They serve different purposes — and they're not mutually exclusive. The policy adds tax-advantaged cash accumulation alongside a guaranteed death benefit, with no contribution limit and no penalty for accessing the cash value before age 59½.
Yes — the policy contract includes a table of guaranteed minimum cash values you'll see at issue, year by year. Guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurer, which is contractually obligated to honor the table as long as you pay premiums. (Non-guaranteed values may also appear, but the guaranteed column is what we mean here.)
Permanent life comes in several flavors. Some let you flex premiums and tie cash value growth to a market index — upside in good years, underperformance in flat ones. The trade-off is complexity: caps the carrier can change, projected growth that depends on assumed rates, and a premium structure that requires monitoring. For most people — who want to lock something in and not think about it — the simpler, fully-guaranteed kind tends to beat the projection in real-world outcomes. That's the kind we focus on here.
Many permanent policies show two columns at issue: guaranteed (what the contract obligates the carrier to pay) and projected/illustrated (an estimate based on assumed crediting rates, caps, or dividends that aren't contractually fixed). Projected can change — guaranteed cannot. When we say "guaranteed cash value" on this page, we mean the contractual minimum the carrier must honor.
The trade-off is premium. Permanent policies cost more per dollar of coverage than term — because part of every premium builds cash value inside the policy. If your only goal is the lowest possible monthly premium for the next 20 years, term is cheaper. If you want lifetime coverage and a place to build value alongside it, this is the trade.
Once cash value accumulates, you can take a loan from the carrier using the cash value as collateral. No credit check, no income verification. The policy stays in force and you set the repayment schedule. If you don't repay, the loan plus interest is deducted from the eventual death benefit.
Death benefits from life insurance are generally not subject to federal income tax when paid to a named beneficiary (IRC §101). It's not a loophole — it's how life insurance has been treated for decades. Estate tax can apply to very large estates; your agent and a tax professional can walk through your specific situation.
We currently offer coverage in 49 states. Coverage is not available in New York at this time.
Your premium is based on your age today. The sooner you lock it in, the lower it stays — for the rest of your life. Take 60 seconds and see what you qualify for.
See if I qualify