To the novice there probably seems like there are countless types of life insurance plans on the market today. But to get down to life insurance basics, all of the different types of life insurance plans can pretty much be put into two groups; term insurance and cash-value insurance. Term insurance being pure protection with no savings plan attached to it and cash value insurance with a savings plan included. History has shown that most of the older types of cash-value insurance plans have not done well for the consumer, mostly the whole life insurance and universal life insurance plans, to be specific. However, the newer variable universal life insurance plans seem to do a better job of building cash for the consumer. However, everyone’s personal financial is different so it’s always important to do your homework to see what’s best for you.