There are various types of life insurance. Term Life insurance protects your family which will cover you during a specified period of time when you need the most protection.  Term life insurance can:

• Provide coverage for a 10, 20, and 30 year period of time

• Have guaranteed level premiums and death benefit

• Be purchased when permanent insurance is presently less affordable

• Provide peace of mind when you have young children whom you plan to cover college expenses in whole or in part

• Provide mortgage protection when there is a loss of an income due to the death of a loved one whose income you depended on

The permanent life insurance such as Whole Life, Universal Life, Guaranteed Universal Life, and Index Universal Life can provide coverage for the duration of your life as long as premiums are paid.

• Universal life insurance comes with a fixed interest earning

• Whole life insurance can potentially gain dividends and have a cash value accumulation component

• Permanent life insurance vehicles with a cash value component can be used to supplement retirement planning such as creating a future pension for yourself or for funding other goals if funded properly [1]

See the "Solutions" section for uses of life insurance for individuals, families, and small business owners.

The primary use of life insurance is to:

• Provide a death benefit for the beneficiary to carry out the final expenses of a loved one after death for burial, cremation, lingering medical bills, and debt

• Provide life benefits for the insured and for the beneficiary depending on how your policy is designed
  

• All life insurance policies should have a designated primary beneficiary and a designated secondary beneficiary.

• Having designated beneficiaries avoid probate where the courts decide for you who will inherit your insurance benefits. It may not be whom you would have chosen.

• Policies should be reviewed at a minimum of once every two years to ensure beneficiaries are current as life events sometimes require changes. For example, If you got divorced and later remarried, and you never updated your beneficiary because you did not think about it, your first spouse would get your policy proceeds at your death. This can cause a considerable financial burden and emotional devastation to your current spouse. This happens more often than you may think.

• A life insurance policy is a crucial element of your estate planning, therefore, handle it with care.