Types

There are several types of whole life insurance policies.^[2] New York State defines six traditional forms: non-participating (aka "non par"), participating, indeterminate premium, economic, limited pay, and single premium.^[3] A newer type is known generally as interest sensitive whole life. Other jurisdictions may classify them differently, and not all companies offer all types. It should be noted that there are as many types of insurance policies as can be written in their contracts while staying within the law's guidelines.

Non-Participating

All values related to the policy (death benefits, cash surrender values, premiums) are usually determined at policy issue, for the life of the contract, and usually cannot be altered after issue.

This means that the insurance company assumes all risk of future performance versus the actuaries' estimates. If future claims are underestimated, the insurance company makes up the difference. On the other hand, if the actuaries' estimates on future death claims are high, the insurance company will retain the difference.