Whole life education
How to read a life insurance illustration: a review checklist
An illustration explains how a policy is expected to behave under stated assumptions. Start by finding what is guaranteed, what is projected and what you must pay to maintain the plan.
Read the columns separately
A basic illustration presents guaranteed and non-guaranteed elements. An in-force illustration updates the picture for an existing policy. Keep premiums, benefits, values and assumptions together when comparing versions. Source: NAIC’s life-insurance-illustration guidance.
The six-pass review
- Identity: confirm the insurer, insured person, policy design and illustration date.
- Funding: mark every year in which premiums are expected and distinguish an assumption from a contractual requirement.
- Guarantees: read the guaranteed values without relying on the projected column.
- Access: locate surrender values and ask for a scenario that matches your intended timing.
- Borrowing: if you plan to borrow, request the loan scenario and an explanation of interest and repayment assumptions.
- Stress: ask what changes if you fund less, need cash earlier or receive lower non-guaranteed benefits.
A worksheet for the conversation
| Question | Your notes |
|---|---|
| What is my reason for buying this policy? | Protection need and time horizon |
| What must I pay and for how long? | Amount, dates and flexibility |
| Which value can I rely on contractually? | Page and column in the illustration |
| What if my circumstances change? | Written explanation and revised scenario |
Ask for a written reconciliation
If someone describes a benefit that you cannot find in the illustration, ask them to point to the supporting policy language. If two versions differ, ask what assumption changed. Keep the dated version you reviewed, your questions and the written response together. That record is more useful than a verbal summary of a projected outcome.
Keep the decision connected to your life
The illustration is one input. Your funding capacity, insurance need and other uses for the money still matter. Use the checklist to prepare a licensed-professional conversation; do not treat completing it as a recommendation to buy, borrow, replace or surrender a policy.
Sources and scope
US-focused general education, checked against the sources below on 1 November 2026. Examples and checklists are educational illustrations, not insurer quotes or personal recommendations.
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