When Is a Premium Not a Premium: Part 2.

Whole life insurance is structured to guarantee policy premiums, cash values, and death benefits from the time of purchase until the time to file a death claim. For more than 200 years, whole life was not only the product of choice to assure lifetime bene- fits, it was essentially the only choice. This tradition was upended with the introduction in 1978 of universal life (UL). UL was the first product to break from up-front guarantees with an orientation depending on largely nonguaranteed elements. "Premiums" haven't been the same since. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]