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Whole life insurance calculator

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Use this whole life insurance calculator to compare premiums paid with what you could receive at surrender. Enter two policy years from your illustration to see how the guaranteed and illustrated values differ.

Sample illustrationPolicy year 15

Cash surrender value

Guaranteed
$28,500
Illustrated total
$34,500

Both figures describe the same year. Compare the columns without adding them together. Read the example

Read two policy years

Fictional figures are prefilled. Replace them with the figures in your policy illustration.

Your illustration’s basis

Use end-of-year rows from one illustration. Enter the actual money paid or scheduled from your pocket since the policy was issued.

Use this method only for an unchanged out-of-pocket payment from issue through a known final paying year. Use cumulative totals for irregular payments or partial years.

Enter the amount the owner pays at each interval. Keep dividends used to fund premiums out of this amount.

Use the payment schedule on the illustration.

For 10 years of premiums followed by no more out-of-pocket payments, enter 10.

Check the policy anniversary and treatment of loans and withdrawals. If the columns assume different payments, compare one column at a time using its own premiums.

Find the figures on your illustration
Earlier policy year

Use the anniversary number, from 1 to 120.

Sum all amounts paid from pocket through this anniversary.

Copy the guaranteed surrender column after applicable deductions.

Copy the complete value under the illustrated assumptions, including its guaranteed portion.

For separate reference, use the total benefit shown for this policy year.

Later policy year

Use the anniversary number, from 1 to 120.

Sum all amounts paid from pocket through this anniversary.

Copy the guaranteed surrender column after applicable deductions.

Copy the complete value under the illustrated assumptions, including its guaranteed portion.

For separate reference, use the total benefit shown for this policy year.

Use the insurer’s net surrender amount. If loans or surrender charges are already reflected, subtracting them again would understate it. Leave the field blank when only gross cash value is shown.

Illustrative policy rows

Surrender value at each anniversary

Edit illustration rows

Both surrender columns match the entered premium and policy assumptions.

Cumulative outlays are the totals entered independently for each anniversary.

Cumulative premiums and net surrender values at the two entered anniversaries
FigureYear 5Year 15
Cumulative out-of-pocket premiums$15,000$30,000
Guaranteed net surrender value$9,000$28,500
Guaranteed value less premiums−$6,000−$1,500
Illustrated total net surrender value$10,500$34,500
Illustrated value less premiums−$4,500+$4,500
Illustrated value less guaranteed value+$1,500+$6,000

Which entered years reach the premium total?

Guaranteed. Year 5 — below premiums paid. Year 15 — below premiums paid.

Illustrated. Year 5 — below premiums paid. Year 15 — above premiums paid.

These checkpoints show only the selected anniversaries. To identify the first year a surrender value reaches premiums paid, review every policy year from issue under the same assumptions.

Illustrated death benefit

These figures describe a benefit for beneficiaries upon the insured’s death under the illustrated assumptions. The surrender calculation uses only the net surrender column.

Year 5
$100,000
Year 15
$105,000

The differences compare nominal amounts. They omit taxes, earlier distributions, the time value of money and the protection the policy provided. Read the method.

How to read a whole life illustration

Use this whole life insurance cash value calculator alongside the insurer’s year-by-year table. A surrender decision, a premium budget and the amount your family would receive at death each call for a different figure from that table.

Which document should I ask for?

If you are shopping

Ask the insurer for a dated, complete illustration of the specific whole life policy and death benefit you are considering. Request the annual premium schedule, guaranteed and non-guaranteed values, the selected dividend option if applicable, and the page that defines each column. California’s guide to sales illustrations

If you already own a policy

Ask the issuing insurer for a current in-force illustration based on your policy as it stands today. Confirm the current loan balance, dividend election, remaining premiums and cumulative premiums you paid from your own funds. For a surrender today, request a dated net surrender amount directly from the insurer. Texas Office of Public Insurance Counsel on in-force illustrations

Copy across one anniversary at a time

Start with the guaranteed column and check the payments and conditions it assumes. Then read the illustrated total. For a participating policy, that total can reflect future dividends. Actual dividends can be higher or lower than the amounts assumed in the illustration. California Department of Insurance on illustrated values

Premium outlay
Use the cumulative amount paid from your pocket through that policy year, including past payments for a policy already in force. If the document gives one year’s payment, total every applicable payment up to the anniversary. Future guaranteed and illustrated comparisons need the same outlay to be meaningful.
Cash surrender values
Look for the guaranteed amount available on surrender and the total under the insurer’s illustrated assumptions. Check how the insurer treats surrender charges, loans, loan interest and withdrawals in both columns. A gross account balance needs the insurer’s clarification before you use it. New York’s definition of cash surrender value
Death benefit
For the optional death benefit field, copy the illustrated total death benefit for the same anniversary. Leave it blank if you only have a guaranteed death benefit. Death benefits describe the money payable to a beneficiary if the insured dies while covered. Outstanding loans can reduce it. New York’s guide to life insurance benefits

What changes between years 5 and 15?

In this fictional illustration, the owner pays $3,000 from their own funds each year for ten years. That makes $15,000 paid by year 5 and $30,000 by year 15. The amounts below are teaching examples, with no loans or withdrawals assumed.

At year 15, guaranteed surrender value is $1,500 below $30,000 paid. Illustrated total surrender value is $4,500 above it.
Two values against the same outlayAt this sample anniversary, only the illustrated total exceeds the premiums paid. The policy’s guaranteed surrender value is still below that mark.
Premiums, surrender values and death benefits at years 5 and 15
Illustration figureYear 5Year 15
Cumulative premiums paid$15,000$30,000
Guaranteed surrender value$9,000$28,500
Illustrated total surrender value$10,500$34,500
Illustrated total death benefit$100,000$105,000

At year 5 both surrender values fall short of premiums paid. At year 15, the guaranteed value is still $1,500 below the $30,000 outlay. The illustrated value is $4,500 above it. The $6,000 between the two columns depends on illustrated assumptions. Ask for intervening years if you need to know when either value first reaches your outlay.

Return to the illustration worksheet. Choose “Reset example” to load both sample rows.

How the comparisons work

For each entered year, subtract cumulative out-of-pocket premiums from guaranteed net surrender value. Repeat with illustrated total net surrender value. Subtract the guaranteed value from the illustrated total to see the dollar difference between the two assumptions. Keep the death benefit on its own line.

For equal payments from issue, multiply one payment by the number of payments per year, then by the number of full paying years through the selected anniversary. Stop counting at the last scheduled paying year. In the example, ten $3,000 payments still total $30,000 at year 15. If premiums vary, you bought extra coverage with separate payments, or dividends offset some premiums, enter documented cumulative outlays instead.

The worksheet compares dollars at selected anniversaries. A surrender value equal to total premiums is a nominal milestone. Payments occurred on different dates and provided insurance along the way. An investment return would require a separate cash-flow analysis. No values are estimated for years between your entries.

Questions about the illustration

What if I am comparing this policy with term life?

First match the insured person and death benefit. Check the year each policy would still provide coverage and the premiums due to keep it in force. For whole life, read the guaranteed surrender column separately from the illustrated column. If you are still deciding on the death benefit, work out your family’s coverage gap before comparing prices. Compare term life durations · Estimate how much life insurance your household needs · Texas guide to different types of policies

How do I calculate the cost of a whole life policy from a monthly quote?

Use the recurring payment on your insurer’s written schedule. For example, $180 per month paid from your own funds for ten full years totals $21,600. Enter that schedule in the worksheet and compare the outlay with the two surrender values for year 10. If the payment changes, enter the cumulative outlay from the illustration instead. Your age, health, coverage and policy features affect the price an insurer offers. Enter a whole life premium schedule · Texas guidance on life insurance costs

Does a zero premium outlay mean the policy is paid up?

Read the contract’s payment schedule. A limited-pay policy can have a defined final premium. An illustration might also show zero future outlay because projected dividends would cover premiums still due. Ask what you would need to pay if those dividends were lower. New York’s illustration guidance on premium outlays

What if my statement only shows a single cash value?

Ask which amount would be available on surrender, which assumptions it uses and whether deductions are already reflected. Request the corresponding guaranteed and illustrated totals for the same anniversary. Leave an unknown amount blank. Enter zero only when the insurer lists zero. New York’s life insurance glossary