Guide
Term vs. permanent life insurance
What each kind is for, what it costs, and why most families start with term.
Term insurance offers a set death benefit for a chosen duration—typically 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 years—in exchange for a fixed monthly premium. At term's end, protection expires or continues at substantially elevated rates. For the years when a family needs the most security at the lowest cost, term insurance is the economical choice.
Permanent coverage (whole life, universal life and variations) is structured to protect you for life and accumulates cash reserves. Premiums run significantly higher for equivalent death benefits, and reserves build slowly in the early years. This approach serves those with permanent responsibilities: a dependent requiring lifetime assistance, assets requiring liquidity for taxation, or a business requiring succession planning.
How to choose
Begin with what the need looks like. When a need has an expiration—a loan that gets paid down, children who become independent, a career stretch—term coverage aligns with that timeline perfectly. When the need persists indefinitely, perpetual insurance or convertible term might be right. Many carriers permit converting term to permanent during a conversion window without a new medical exam; each carrier's conversion rules are in the quote information.
What people in Sunnyvale often do
The go-to method is a 20- or 30-year term policy matched to the household's genuine obligations, with periodic reassessment when life changes. This keeps premiums low enough to secure adequate protection now—the point that counts. Should permanent insurance fit your situation, Susman Insurance Agency can explore those options.