AIG Whole Life plan is referred to as 20 Pay Life. It is Non Participating Whole Life policy. i.e. the plan does not participate in the profits of the policy similar to a Participating Whole Life policy.

AIG's 20 Pay life is more expensive than competing non participating policies but it has features not available in rival plans. The primary benefit is AIG 20 pay policy starts building cash value and offers reduced paid up insurance in the 11th policy year. Most competing plans only offer cash values and paid up values after the 20th policy year. The plan also offers a host of riders including term riders on the primary insured or a spouse, a children's term rider, accidental death coverage and a waiver of premium in the event of disability.

A 35 year old male non smoker can take out $100,000 of AIG's Non Participating Whole 20 Pay plan and the premium is $107.67 a month. The cash value is $8,407 after 10 years and $22,420 after 20 years.

Now let's take a look at a similar product of another company.

Empire Life is one of the few life insurance companies in Canada to offer both participating and non-participating whole life policies.

Their non-participating Policy - the 20 Pay Solution - is fully guaranteed and very well priced. The plan is fully paid-up after 20 years, after which cash values are available by loan or surrender at any time. The one caveat is if the policy owner cancels his/her policy before its twentieth anniversary, the plan has no value.

Empire Life's participating whole life policy has five dividend options: paid-up additions, premium reduction, dividend on deposit, withdraw as cash, and Extender Plus paid-up additions. The last option allows the insured to maximize the policy's death benefit in the early years of the plan.

Both types of plan have a whole host of riders available, including term life, critical illness, accidental death benefit, and children's term riders.

A 35-year-old male non smoker can take out $100,000 of Empire Life's participating whole life plan for a premium of $205.65 a month. Based on the current dividend rates, which are not guaranteed, the plan has a cash value of $132,533 and a death benefit of $326,813 at age 65.