You understand the differences between term life insurance vs. whole life insurance, but now you’re hearing that the world of life insurance goes even deeper.

Should you be considering all of the types of life insurance? For most people, level term life insurance is the best life insurance option, but some may find that decreasing term life insurance is a better fit for their needs.

What is decreasing term life insurance?

Decreasing term life insurance is a type of term life insurance that offers a death benefit that shrinks over the duration of the policy with a premium that remains the same for the duration of the policy. That’s right: you pay the same amount each month (or year, depending on how your policy is set up) but your death benefit lowers each month (or year, depending on how your policy is set up).

This is in contrast to level term life insurance, the most popular form of term life in which the premium rate is guaranteed to not rise for the entire term of the policy.

Why would anyone buy a decreasing term policy?

Great question. Theoretically, someone could buy a decreasing term policy because they only need a benefit that will pay the balance of a loan they have. In exchange for (possibly) lower premiums, they buy a policy that will have a decreasing benefit. But there are better ways to keep from being over insured (see below).

The main thing to know about decreasing term life insurance is that most insurance companies don’t even offer it, so it probably doesn't need to be a part of your decision.

Here’s how level term and decreasing term life insurance compare:

Who is decreasing term life insurance for?

Decreasing term life insurance is most often encountered as “mortgage insurance” when you take out a mortgage. At the bank, you may be offered a type of decreasing term life insurance sometimes called mortgage protection insurance (MPI). MPI is a decreasing term life insurance policy that you purchase through the bank, may pay as part of your mortgage, and (this is key), in the event of your death, pays the death benefit directly to the mortgage company.

This differs from the private mortgage insurance (PMI), which is an insurance product that your lender may require you to buy if you put less than 20% down. PMI protects your lender if you foreclose on the house, and is not a life insurance product.

Alternatives to decreasing term life insurance

Decreasing term life insurance policies rarely make sense, especially since level term life insurance is so affordable. But if your primary reason to purchase life insurance is to ensure that one debt is covered in case you die, a decreasing term policy could be an option — that is, if you can find a carrier to write you one. There are two better options if you want to cover one decreasing debt:

1. One better option would be to buy a level term life policy and decrease the face value of that policy as you pay down the balance of the corresponding loan. (Bonus: With a level term policy, if you decide to reduce the face value of your policy, your premiums would decrease, too.)

2. The second strategy you could employ is the life insurance ladder strategy, which involves stacking a few different level term policies that expire as you pay down your debts. (Bonus: stacking policies can mean you pay lower premiums over the lifetime of the policies than if you just had one level premium).

Is decreasing term life insurance worth it?

For the most part, decreasing term life insurance isn’t worth the cost. Not only are you paying the same amount throughout the term for a decreasing amount of coverage, but it often doesn’t account for your changing coverage needs. While it can cover your mortgage payments, you might be better off purchasing a traditional policy and naming your spouse as the beneficiary. Your spouse can then use the death benefit to pay not only mortgage payments but other bills and expenses as well.

If you’re worried that your need for life insurance will decrease over time, you can always lower the amount of coverage you have with a traditional life insurance policy. This will also lower your premiums — whereas in a decreasing life policy you’d continue to pay the same premiums for a lower amount of coverage. A traditional term policy will likely be more affordable in the long-run than a decreasing term life policy.