Length of Coverage

• One of the key differences in life insurance policies is the length of coverage that you receive. With some types of life insurance, you receive coverage for the rest of your life as long as you make the payments. For instance, whole life insurance, universal life insurance and variable life insurance can all last for the rest of your life. By comparison, with term insurance, you only buy coverage for a certain number of years.
  
  

Cash Value Accumulation

• Another difference in most life insurance policies is the cash value accumulation. With permanent types of life insurance, like a whole and universal, your policy accumulates a cash value that grows with investments. When you buy term life insurance, you only get a death benefit and your policy does not grow a cash value in any way. Some people like to use term insurance and invest the amount that they save on premiums because it gives them more control over their investments.
  
  

Cash Value Control

• Some policies have differences regarding what you can do with the cash value that accumulates. For example, with a whole life insurance policy, you simply pay your premium to the company and it handles the investment of the cash value for you. With a universal life insurance policy, you get to choose where your money goes once you pay the premium. You can choose between several different investments and take more control over the returns.
  
  

Additional Coverages

• When shopping around, you also need to look at the additional coverages that could come with your policy. Some life insurance policies have riders that provide additional coverage for you. For instance, you could get a policy with an accidental death and dismemberment rider that doubles the death benefit if you die in an accident. You could also get a joint coverage rider, which essentially puts a life insurance policy on your spouse. Review the policy to see what coverages you can receive before making a purchase.