Tool — illustrative
Term or permanent?
Term is dramatically cheaper until it is not. This shows where the crossover sits and what happens at renewal — the part that surprises people twenty years after they bought the policy.
Term and permanent insurance comparison
Cumulative premiums paid
— Where the cheaper option changes handsCost is one input and not the deciding one. The real question is whether the need has an end date. A mortgage and children at home end. A tax liability on a business or a cottage does not, and it grows. Buying permanent for a temporary need wastes money; buying term for a permanent need means the coverage expires at the exact age it becomes unaffordable to replace.
This is an estimate, not advice and not a quote. It uses published 2026 figures and simplifies heavily. Nothing you enter leaves your browser — there is no server, no account, and nothing is stored or sent. Your actual position depends on how each asset is titled, what your documents say, and rules that change every year. Confirm anything that matters with a lawyer and an accountant.
These are your numbers, not our quotes. This tool does no underwriting and contacts no insurer — it compares figures you typed. It also ignores the cash value building inside a permanent policy, which is a real asset and a genuine part of the comparison, so it understates the case for permanent. Ask us for actual quotes across the insurers we represent before drawing a conclusion.
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