What's the difference between term, whole, and universal life insurance?

Term life covers you for a set period — 10, 20, or 30 years — and pays out only if you die during that window. It's pure protection with no savings component, which makes it by far the cheapest. Whole life is permanent: it lasts your entire life and builds cash value at a fixed rate, but premiums can run 8–12 times higher than term for the same death benefit. Universal life is also permanent but more flexible — you can adjust premiums and death benefit, and the cash value grows based on interest credited by the insurer. For most families, term covers the years when others depend on your income at a fraction of the cost. Permanent policies make sense mainly for estate-planning or lifelong-dependent situations. Run the numbers for your own situation at wealthserene.com/tools/insurance-calculator.