Cash out my whole-life policy? Dear Don, I am 50 and my husband is 52. We have been in a whole-life insurance plan for nine years. I keep hearing it is better to get term life insurance. We are paying $900 each for $100,000 worth of coverage. My question is, is it too late to get out? We do not need the money. We have no debt of any kind except daily living expenses. Thank you. Dee Indemnity Dear Dee: Whole-life insurance policies have both an insurance component and a savings component. The mortgage debt to income ratio mortgage debt to income ratio insurance component is comparable to what you buy when you purchase a term life policy. In the early years of a whole life policy, most of the premium goes toward paying the salesperson's commission, but the policy begins building cash value with time. If you can't determine the cash (surrender) value of your whole-life policy from your statements, you'll need to ask your agent. As you get older, term coverage gets more expensive. If you have health problems, coverage becomes even more problematic or you may be unable to debt grants mortgage debt to income ratio find insurance coverage. With both of you over 50, term coverage may cost you more than your existing whole-life plan and won't have the savings component. Continued below The Consumer Federation of America Insurance Group offers a service that will evaluate your life insurance policy. You provide them with a Current Illustration or In-force Illustration of your policy that you request from your insurance company. The analysis costs $55 for one evaluation and $40 for each additional evaluation submitted at the same time. It's money well spent if it helps you canadian mortgage amortization calculator mortgage debt to income ratio decide whether your existing plan is worth maintaining. At your ages, rate guarantees and renewal provisions for a term policy are critical in being able to keep coverage in force for as long as you need it. Evaluating how much insurance you need, how that might change over time and how long you need insurance coverage will help you design an insurance plan that's right for you. Work with an agent to design the new coverage, and make sure it meets your needs before even considering cashing out of considering bankruptcy mortgage debt to income ratio the old policy.