Life Insurance Types comparisons

Life insurance pays a lump sum to the people who depend on you if you die, but the four main policy types work very differently in cost, duration and whether they build savings. We compare term, whole, universal and final expense policies on coverage length, cash value, premium structure, typical cost, underwriting and the trade-offs of each. This is general education, not financial advice; speak to a licensed adviser before buying.

4 life insurance types · 3 published comparisons · Scoring weights: Overall 100% · Updated October 2026

Life Insurance Types comparison

Popular life insurance policy comparisons

Life insurance types in our database, ranked by VersusAnything Score

  • Term Life Insurance100/100Term life insurance covers you for a fixed period, typically 10 to 30 years, and pays a death benefit only if you die during that term, which makes it by far the cheapest way to buy a large amount of cover.
  • Final Expense Insurance67/100Final expense (burial) insurance is a small whole life policy, usually $5,000 to $25,000, sold without a medical exam to cover funeral costs and small debts.
  • Universal Life Insurance33/100Universal life insurance is permanent cover with adjustable premiums and death benefit, where cash value earns interest tied to market rates or an index depending on the variant.
  • Whole Life Insurance0/100Whole life insurance lasts your entire life with fixed premiums and a guaranteed cash value that grows on a set schedule, making it the most predictable but also the most expensive permanent policy.

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How we score life insurance types

Every life insurance policy is scored on the same rows: coverage length, builds cash value, premium structure, typical monthly cost (healthy 35-year-old, approx.), cost tier (1 = cheapest), medical exam, flexibility, main drawback. Measurable rows are normalised across the category and weighted (Overall 100%); rows without a sensible direction are explained, not scored. Full rules on our how we score page.