Some people mistakenly believe that buying life insurance-- that is, planning for their death - is bad luck and will bring misfortune to their lives. Those feelings of denial bring about inaction and results in leaving many people in this country uninsured.

The fact is that life insurance is not about death, it's really about life and enjoying the peace of mind that term life insurance protection can bring. For the typical male head of a household, those who depend on your paycheck: your spouse, children and quite possibly, your parents, the loss of your income can have a dramatic effect on their way of life. If you die prematurely, term life insurance can provide ongoing income to your dependents, until they are able to live comfortably without it. It can also provide emergency support for legal, medical and funeral costs, should family savings not be sufficient to cover them.

Who needs life insurance?

The purpose of life insurance is to cover any unexpected costs that a family unit cannot afford or that would put the family's financial situation in peril.

If you're the sole breadwinner for a large family, with little savings, then term life insurance is essential. Once basic items such as shelter and food are covered, life insurance should be next on your list of priorities.

What would be the immediate impact on your family should you not be there to support them tomorrow? Are they counting on your paycheck in the years ahead to cover basic needs and future savings goals? Could they afford the funeral costs? Who would pay the home mortgage? Would your family be able to survive economically without you?

If you fit this profile and don't have life insurance, you might want to consider it and perhaps discuss it with your family.

In general, there are two basic classes of insurance to choose from: term life insurance and cash value insurance.

Term life insurance is just that -- life insurance that you purchase for a specific period of time-from 5-years up to 20-years. Recently, twenty-five and thirty year level guaranteed premium term life insurance policies have been appearing in the industry from top-rated life insurance companies. These longer level premium policies enable you to get long-term guarantees without paying the higher premiums of permanent policies, whole life or universal. The premium payments are applied 100% to the cost of the insurance. It's best to get as much information as possible to help you decide what is right for you. Life Insurance Resources

The advantages of term insurance

Simple Term life insurance, much like car insurance, is the essence of simplicity - as long as you pay the premium, you are covered for the term or length of the policy.

Competitive prices
Prices have been steadily decreasing on term life policies and it can easily be compared on the basis of price alone. Often, the largest and most prestigious life insurance companies with the household names you know, offer some of the most competitive term life rates.
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Flexible
Most term policies are very flexible, allowing for both renewable (you can renew for another term policy without a medical exam and convertible terms (convert your term policy into a universal policy).

How much coverage?

If you have finally decided to get insurance another important issue is to figure out how much insurance you need and for how long. The easiest way to approach this is to ask yourself: if you're the primary caregiver to dependents, what will it cost to replace you with a paid provider, and for how long?

The most basic way to calculate your insurance needs is to replace your annual income until you retire. Start with your current annual before-tax salary, and estimate how many years left until retirement. Here is a great tool to help you figure it out, our online life insurance calculator,

Do you need professional advice?

It used to be that you had to rely on the advice of an insurance agent (passed down from generation to generation) to buy life insurance but the 21 st century has changed all that. Now you can do your own research online and learn about the type of insurance that is right for you and your family. When it comes to purchasing simple, straightforward term life insurance, most educated consumers can choose for themselves and will probably end up paying less in the long run. But if you think you have more complex financial issues, you should invest the time to discuss your needs with a certified financial planner.