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The following article provides some info on some of the questions that brokers and agents who work in the field of life insurance face every day, in order to help their customers understand the basic terms.

Q: Just what is the meaning of Whole life insurance?
A:Definition of Whole life Insurance A life insurance policy that combines a death benefit payment to the policyholders’ beneficiary along with a savings vehicle that accumulates the policy’s cash value. The cash value is determined by the return that the insurance company earns on its investments. The cash accumulates on a tax-deferred basis. Other types of whole life insurance that give the insured more options for selecting the underlying investment options are universal life policies, which typically invest in fixed-income securities and variable life insurance, which includes the options of investment in stock, bond, and money market accounts. Also called permanent life insurance. 

Q: Just what is meant by Adjustable life insurance?
A: Adjustable life insurance enables you to change coverage and or terms if your needs change.
It is a type of policy which allows (within certain limits) the policyholder to (1) raise or lower the face amount of the policy, (2) lengthen or shorten the protection period and the associated premium, and, 3) change the type of protection the policy provides.
Note that the term "adjustable life insurance" is frequently interpreted in a different way. It is at times used as a synonym for VARIABLE LIFE INSURANCE which is defined as,  
A form of whole life insurance, variable life insurance provides permanent protection to the beneficiary upon death of the policy holder. This type of insurance is generally the most expensive type of cash-value insurance because it allows you to allocate a portion of your premium dollars to a separate account comprised of various instruments and investment funds within the insurance company's portfolio, such stocks, bonds, equity funds, money market funds, and bond funds. Although most variable life insurance policies guarantee that the death benefit will not fall below a specified minimum, it is seldom guaranteed. In addition, because of investment risks, variable policies are considered contracts and thus regulated under the federal securities laws and must be sold with a prospectus.
Q: What about the number of policy-named beneficiaries?
A: Usually, a life insurance plan designates a recipient ( beneficiary ) as well as a conditional recipient. Any cash would go to the recipient when the insured dies. Nevertheless, in the event that the primary recipient had also died, the secondary recipient ( beneficiary ) would be given the insurance proceeds.
Nonetheless, more complicated situations are common. Either the first recipient or otherwise the contingent recipient might be one or two people. For example, the main beneficiary of life insurance protection could be several siblings while the contingent beneficiary might be a number of nieces and nephews. Furthermore, it`s possible to allocate specific percentages to every one of the recipients or otherwise contingent policy-named recipients (for example, one-fourth for Peter, half goes to Joan while 25 percent for Sam) providing that the allotments amount to 100 percent. You could also make your property the beneficiary, although this is not usually attractive due to likely unfavorable tax-related consequences. Suggest you contact your attorney for the above.  

Q: I have a hard time putting aside money. Should I buy life insurance as a type of compulsory investments?
A: You would almost certainly be better off through, using your extra cash to procure open-end funds or some other type of investment, and use your permanent life insurance allotment in order to get the most protection for your money. If you want compulsory investments to give you discipline, you may utilize salary withholding, or an arrangement that uses account debit in order to subtract the sum you want to put aside from your checking account.  

Q: Just what is meant by Marriage partner life insurance?
A: In determining whether your marriage partner needs life insurance or otherwise how much he/she might require, you might consider the following: In a double salary home, it is worthwhile to protect the earnings of both spouses. The loss of one income could be a serious financial blow on a household. In the event that a partner is unemployed, such as a stay-home parent, life insurance should also be looked into. If a non-earner dies, additional costs such as child care and household maintenance might be needed. Burial expenses in addition to final medical costs may be additional expenses. Spousal protection may be taken care of by term life insurance or some for of whole life Insurance.  

Q: My insurance rep recommended that I switch some of my term life insurance to whole life coverage. How does that work?
A: When you possess term life insurance, your contract includes a provision that allows you to switch the contract to whole life insurance (cash value insurance) such as whole life, variable life coverage, or worldwide life insurance. Convertible term insurance policies normally indicate that changes must take place in a certain time after a plan is issued or otherwise before a specific age. Once the plan is converted, you get all benefits of cash value life insurance, like lifetime protection, a fixed payment plan, in addition to the tax-friendly buildup of cash value. (You will put down a higher premium on the cash value life coverage.) In addition, you will not be obligated to provide evidence of eligibility on the time of conversion in most cases.