In short, whole life insurance is basically a permanent life insurance policy that covers you until the day you die. The only catch is that you have to make your premium payments on time each month until you die to keep the policy in effect. Whole life insurance policies are different than other policies in that you can borrow money from the cash value you have built up over the years within the policy.
As such, some people have been able to find their way out of financial emergencies with the monies available in their whole term life insurance policy.
 

Types of Whole Life Policies
As you can see the above define many benefits for whole life insurance.
There are generally eight different types of whole life insurance policies. They are participating, non-participating, indeterminate premium, limited pay, economic, single premium, and interest sensitive. Most companies only offer a few of the different types of whole policies and there are even companies that offer different types that are not listed here. The type of whole life policy you choose will be based on the insurance company you choose, your budget and your insurance needs as each one has its own specific offerings and regulations.