The stigma on whole life insurance is a negative result of pop culture financial advice.  Just like any financial vehicle, it is not a one size fits all.  With this being said, I want to share a couple of reasons why a person should look at whole life insurance as an option.

DEATH BENEFIT
One of the main purpose of life insurance is the transfer of wealth upon death.  It is the most efficient way of accomplishing this feat at the event of a person's death.  To illustrate my points I will focus on a specific type of whole life insurance:  Single Premium Whole Life (SPWL).  In short, a SPWL is a life insurance policy that is a contract between an insurance company and a policy holder.  Once written a policy can only be changed by replacing a policy with a new contract. This policy allows an insured person to make a deposit and the insurance company would then give a death benefit in return at the time of the insurers death.  For instance, a 50 year old male non-smoker that deposits $50,000 would have approximately $125,000 initial death benefit.  These figures as any will vary from company to company.  No other investment can provide this kind of protection.  The best option available would be a guaranteed rate of return type of investment, but even that would be 40 year span before it would compare with the returns that a SPWL would provide.

LIVING BENEFIT (CASH VALUE)
To continue without the previously mentioned scenario, an insured can easily see a return on his deposit of anywhere from 4-5.5% depending on the contract.  There is a misconception that this money is not available to an insured after depositing into this type of policy and it is simply not true.  As mentioned earlier, one size does not fit all.  A person must consider accounting a tax liability concerns. Especially, when a person is under 59 1/2.  In this scenario a person has to research the rules of a modified endowment contract (MEC).  A MEC causes the tax liability to come out first from the policy for any type of withdrawal.  Also, if a person is under 59 1/2 there will be a 10% penalty on any gains withdrawn.  For any withdrawals after an insured is 59 1/2 is penalty free. Also, if a client annuitizes the cash value there is no such penalty fee.  Again, I want to stress that the cash value is available for withdrawal at ANYTIME!  Finally, the growth of the cash value within the policy is tax-deferred.  This makes it a great alternative to a CD, which is not tax deferred and recently has had significantly lower rate of returns.

In closing, I want to encourage people to not dismiss life insurance as an alternative for their portfolio.  I especially want to encourage people with a high percentage of their money in low yield CD or bonds.  As always seek the advice of a certified financial planner.