What Is Graded Death Benefit Whole Life Insurance? 
Graded Benefit Whole Life Insurance is whole life insurance that pays a reduced benefit during the first one to three years , then pays the full death benefit after that . E.g. . If death occurred during year one or two , it may pay back all you paid in , plus 10 % . If death occurred during year three or afterwards , it would pay the beneficiary the whole death benefit . Different policies are graded a different number of years , and each carrier has their own criteria for how much is paid back during the graded years . Most graded benefit whole life policies are only graded for natural death . I.e. death due to illness or old age . They usually pay 100 % of the death benefit from day one for accidental death . Guaranteed issue whole life policies are graded , and some simplified issue policies are graded . Simplified issue policies are those that do not require an exam . The biggest thing to watch out for with graded whole life insurance is whether the premium stays level for life . Some graded whole life policies have premiums that go up at regular intervals . With some , the company may raise the premiums at any time , as long as they do so for everyone owning that type of policy . If you anticipate living longer than a few years , it is best to buy a graded benefit whole life policy where the premium will stay level for the rest of your life . Please feel free to contact me at any time if you would like to see whether you qualify for an immediate benefit policy , or to get some competitive quotes for several graded benefit policies that have the price locked in for life . 