What Should You Ask a Licensed Agent When Comparing a Term and a Whole Life Proposal?

The short answer

Bring questions about the documents, not questions about your life. An agent can tell you precisely what a contract guarantees, what a column assumes, and what a rider requires. Those answers are verifiable against paper. Use this page as a worksheet.

Questions about the proposal itself

Which rate class does this quote assume, and has underwriting been completed? A quoted class and an offered class are different things.
Is the premium guaranteed level, and for exactly how many years?
What is the policy's end date or maturity provision?
Which riders are included in the premium shown, and what does each one charge?
Is this a projection or a guarantee? Ask it directly about each figure you care about.

Summary: every one of these has a documented answer; none require you to disclose more than the application already did.

Questions about a term proposal

Is the policy convertible? If so, until what anniversary or attained age?
Which permanent products is it convertible into, and is that list fixed or subject to change?
Does the rate class carry over on conversion?
What happens at the end of the level period — does it terminate, or renew at attained age?
If it renews, where in the contract is the renewal premium schedule?

Background on these provisions is in how a term life policy works.

Summary: the conversion deadline and the post-level-period behavior are the two facts most worth writing down.

Questions about a whole life proposal

Where is the guaranteed cash value table in the contract?
Is the policy participating, and what dividend options are available?
What dividend scale does the illustration assume?
What are the surrender charges and how long do they apply?
What is the policy loan rate, and how does an outstanding loan affect the death benefit?
What are the non-forfeiture options if premiums stop?

Background in how whole life cash value works.

Summary: ask for the guaranteed table by page number — it is the most concrete document in the proposal.

Questions about a universal life proposal

What is the guaranteed minimum crediting rate, and what rate does the illustration use?
Is there a no-lapse guarantee, and what exact premium schedule does it require?
What are the current charges, and what are the guaranteed maximum charges?
For indexed designs: what are the cap, participation rate, and floor, and can the insurer change them?

Background in permanent policy types compared.

Summary: in universal designs, the lapse mechanics matter more than the projected values.

Documents worth requesting

A specimen policy or sample contract for the product being proposed.
The full illustration, including the guaranteed columns and all footnotes — not a one-page summary.
The rider descriptions for every rider named.
For variable products, the prospectus.
For an existing policy, an in-force illustration and a confirmation of beneficiary designation.

Summary: ask for the complete document set; summaries omit precisely the columns worth reading.

Questions this site cannot answer for you

Whether to buy, how much coverage to carry, which structure fits your household, whether to keep or replace an existing policy, who to name as beneficiary, and what any of it means for your taxes or estate. Those depend on your own circumstances and belong with a licensed insurance producer, a financial professional, or an attorney, depending on the question. State insurance departments maintain licensee lookups and consumer assistance functions for verifying that the person advising you is licensed in your state.

Summary: use this site for the vocabulary and the document map; use licensed professionals for the decisions.

A last practical note

Write the answers next to the questions and keep them with the proposal. Six months later, the thing you will wish you had recorded is not the premium — it is the conversion deadline, the assumed rate class, and which column was guaranteed. See the glossary for anything above that needs defining.