Guide
Term vs. permanent life insurance
What each kind is for, what it costs, and why most families start with term.
Term life provides a set death benefit if death occurs during the term—typically 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years—with a fixed monthly cost. After the term expires, the coverage stops unless renewed at rates that are substantially higher. It's the cheapest way to purchase a meaningful amount for the years when your family depends on your paycheck.
Permanent life (whole life, universal life and variants) is intended to run your entire life and accumulates a cash value within the policy. The per-month cost is significantly higher for the same death benefit, and cash value growth is slow in the early years. It fits situations where a need never goes away: an adult who will always require support, money needed for the estate, or a business continuity scenario.
How to choose
Work backward from what you actually need, not from what type of product sounds right. If there's a finish line—a paid-off mortgage, independent children—term gets you there affordably. If the need never ends, permanent insurance or a term policy convertible to permanent might fit the bill. Conversion options exist at many carriers to flip term into permanent without new medical underwriting; the quotes show each company's conversion rules.
What people in Delano often do
A sound plan is a 20- or 30-year term scaled to what your household actually owes, adjusted as your circumstances shift. It keeps the monthly cost low enough to buy sufficient coverage now, and that's what counts most. If lifelong protection is part of your picture, Susman Insurance Agency can explore permanent policies.