Permanent Life Insurance Policies come with an assortment of levers, which are controlled by the insurance companies. New and improved policies or "levers" sold to the public may actually give insurance companies even more control over you. These levers may control future internal costs, charges and fees based upon need for company shareholder profitability. By comparison, a whole life policy, issued by a mutual life insurance company has just one lever; a lever to declare an annual dividend to increase the profitability of your contract, in excess of its already built-in guarantees - one 'profit' lever verses many 'expense' levers. Which do you own?