Understanding the basics of Whole Life Insurance is relatively simple. As the original permanent life insurance, Whole Life insurance is designed to be maintained until death, or 100 years, whichever comes first. For example, if you are the person getting a Whole Life Insurance policy on yourself, it means that as long as you pay your premiums, you are guaranteed to have life insurance in place until you die. If you happen to live past age 100, your life insurance policy will be paid out.