Insurance · May 13, 2026
How to read an insurance illustration without getting fooled
Permanent life insurance illustrations are full of optimistic projections. Here's what to question before signing.
Whole life and universal life illustrations project decades of compound growth, but those projections lean on assumptions: dividend scale, cost of insurance, and policy expenses. Always request both the guaranteed column and the current-scale column. Ask what happens if dividends drop 100 basis points. Ask about year-by-year cash surrender values in the first 10 years. A sound policy holds up under stress; a sales pitch falls apart.