Term Insurance vs. Cash Value Insurance In a nutshell, term insurance is pure protection. You can compare it to car insurance, in that way. It is used only to provide coverage in the event of a death. Cash value, on the other hand, is protection coupled with a savings vehicle. In other words, your monthly premium for a cash value policy is split up to pay both for the protection and for an investment. Cash value comes under many different names like whole life, universal life and variable life, but the protection under a cash value... read full review »