Term, until you have enough for your death benefit needs, then a little whole life early in life, like for a kid, isn't a bad idea. It takes a long, long time for "permanent" policies to pay out those rosie numbers, keep a whole life policy, particularly a mutual insurer's policy, for 30-40 years and it becomes a much better value. But if you can buy term and invest the difference, you will likely come out ahead. BUT....not if you need life insurance no matter how old you are, young or very old, in order to save the farm from the tax man upon the last spouse's death. There are all kinds of good financial planning reasons why whole life can be the ONLY solution for some people, because they simply can't have life insurance that runs out. And buying whole life later in life will make your eyes water. For many, it's pay now or pay later.
Try to compare 20 and 30 year term, which locks in guaranteed coverage and cost for that period of time. Smoker rates are almost double nonsmokers. You can get annually renewable term, which goes up in price each year based on your age, but the cost in your older years can be prohibitive. So buy lots of term insurance for as long as you can. If your line of work could easily disable you, buy disability waiver of premium also. And if you have kids, insure your wives too.
As others have mentioned, the quoted cost, the advertised special is pretty hard to qualify for, sometimes only ten percent of those applying can qualify. If your labs are all in range, which sure isn't the case for many of us, with or without medication, and you aren't more than about 30 pounds overweight, you should be able to qualify for what's called "cheap term", the bare bones most bang for the buck policies that about half a dozen market leaders beat each other up selling, at very competitive rates. Try to qualify for it, if you don't, you'll pay 20-100+% percent more. Sometimes the testing done for life insurance opens up a can of worms, sometimes alerting the person they have a real problem and better tend to it. MUCH better to get a physical, and recent labs, and really know what your health is ahead of time, before all your medical records are put online for all companies to see, which they will be when you apply to most companies, even if they don't write a policy for you. If you are high risk, ok, look for the best deal in the high risk category. There are lots of good companies competing for your business. But you have to find them, and a good independent agent who works for you, or a fee based financial advisor who is paid only to make sure the advice you get is good, and relevant, will find the company that wants your business. Too often the agent tries to jam an applicant down the wrong company's throat, and they find you indigestible, and quote a much higher premium than another company that actually wants your business. Mostly because they understand your risk better, or at least they hope they do. Term insurance is like hamburger, shop around, and make sure the company is A rated.
I'm a retired Certified Financial Planner. Now happily digging in the dirt. Hope this generic info helps a few people. Drew
