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Term life insurance will almost always be better. Term insurance is a contract for a set period of time, you can usually choose intervals from 5-40 years, with a set premium and a set benefit to your beneficiary if you die. If you don't die then you don't get your money back. Whole life is a policy that is good for as long as you live. You pay a set price to buy insurance and as long as you keep paying, your beneficiary receives the face amount on your death.

Whole life can seem like a better deal because you can borrow off the policy and it accumulates a cash value. The thing is that for equivalent amounts of coverage, whole life is much more expensive than term insurance. You are almost always better off paying the lower premium for term and investing the difference between that cost and whole life.

There are cases where permanent life insurance is a solid choice, but they just don't apply to most people. If you need permanent insurance, for instance to settle your estate tax obligations, or to provide for a disabled family member then you may choose permanent life insurance. Also some people use life insurance arrangements for tax reasons, but this doesn't apply unless you are a high net worth investor.

One thing to be aware of is that an insurance agent has a vested interest in selling you a permanent and expensive policy. Their commission is often 7-10 times higher on a permanent policy than on a term insurance policy. That leaves you to do a lot of research on your own to make sure you are being advised correctly.