Life insurance can be one bear of a subject. It’s really complicated for most folks especially if you’ve not had any experience working with finance products of this nature.

For one, there is so much terminology that is “foreign” to the English language. Usually when I think of something that is Universal, I think of motion picture movie companies. But Universal life insurance is a whole different animal.

When looking at purchasing a life insurance policy, you’ve got to consider many different things in order to purchase the policy that is going to be right for you. When you are younger, a whole life policy can be very inexpensive, while at older ages, it can be darn near unaffordable. The farther along that you are in approaching your senior years, the smaller the policy that is attainable. It is possible to get a whole life policy later in your elderly years, even if you’re over 80, but it can be pricey.

Finding a good company to deal with can be troublesome. It’s a good idea to avoid door to door salesmen and better to buy direct. The average consumer can expect to save upwards of $300.00 per year by avoiding agent commissions and dealing directly with a company.

With some companies that specialize in senior life having very aggressive sales tactics, it can leave the average senior wondering if they’re buying for their families or for the agent. With agent commissions on senior policies being upwards of 40% or more, there is an obvious incentive for the agent to steer consumers towards those products that produce the higher commissions.

Whether or not you are young or old, you should know the difference between term and whole policies.

Term life is temporary and does expire at a certain age, depending on your policy. When it renews, it costs more and the premium amounts jump.

Whole life is permanent and lasts for the rest of your days. The premiums stay the same and most commonly, payments are made until death. It is the most secure type of policy to have as you never have to worry about losing your coverage (unless you stop making premium payments, of course). Even so, there are some policies that have a waiver of premium option and this benefit varies from company to company.

Life insurance is a good thing. But be careful what and from whom that you purchase it. It can be a wonderful investment or a terrible disaster if purchased incorrectly.