Guaranteed vs. Non-Guaranteed Permanent Life Insurance Policies Fifty years ago, most life insurance policies sold were guaranteed and offered by mutual fund companies. Choices were limited to term, endowment or whole life policies. It was simple, you paid a high, set premium and the insurance company guaranteed the death benefit. All of that changed in the 1980s. Interest rates soared, and policy owners surrendered their coverage to invest the cash value in higher interest paying non-insurance products. To compete, insurers began offering interest-sensitive non-guaranteed policies.