is life insurance that cannot be cancelled for any reason except fraud, so long as the owner regularly pays his premiums. Any such cancellation must occur within a period of time (usually two years) defined by law. A permanent insurance policy accumulates a cash value up to its date of maturation, reducing the risk to which the insurance company is exposed as well as the policy’s expense to the company. Such policies will be more expensive to older people than to younger ones. The owner can access the money in the cash value by withdrawing money, borrowing the cash value, or surrendering the policy and receiving the surrender value.
The four basic types of permanent insurance are whole life, universal life, limited pay, and endowment.