Portland, Oregon Life Insurance
Portland Whole Life Insurance, Variable Life Insurance, Universal Life Insurance
There are two general types of whole life policies: participating policies, and interest rate sensitive policies. Participating policies get a dividend, or refund, when the company has profit. Interest sensitive whole life is granted interest on the cash values in the policy, and is typically issued by companies who pay dividends to shareholders. This creates a conflict of interest for such companies, where on the one hand they need to pay good interest so they can continue to sell policies, but on the other hand they must pay dividends to the shareholders. Mutual life insurance companies combine the interests by having the policy owners as the owners of the company as well, eliminating the conflict of interest. MetLife is an example of a company that has done well by its policyowners, but as it is subject to the conflict of interest, it may not do so in the future.
The primary advantages of whole life are guaranteed death benefit, guaranteed cash values, fixed and known annual premiums, access to cash values, and the fact that mortality and expense charges will not reduce the cash value shown in the policy. The primary disadvantages of whole life are premium inflexibility, and the internal rate of return in the policy may not be competitive with other savings alternatives on a tax free basis.
You can talk to a licensed Portland area agent about Whole Life Insurance, Variable Life Insurance or Universal Life Insurance. The agent will provide you with a free no-obligation, no-pressure quote and consultation.