For spouses who would like to purchase joint life insurance, there are two types of policies: First-To-Die, which pays funds to the surviving spouse after the first dies; and Second-To-Die (also called “survivorship”), which provides a death benefit to the heirs after both spouses have passed away.

While First-To-Die policies are less common than Second-To-Die, it may be an attractive product for a married couple who wants a surviving spouse to be able to replace income and maintain a specific lifestyle – but wants to pay less than the cost of two individual policies.

Clients can purchase a joint policy either as term life insurance — which covers a set number of years — or as permanent life insurance, which protects one or both spouses for life. The latter is the much more commonly purchased version, perhaps because its “cash value” savings component continuously grows.