If something unfortunate were to happen to you today, would your spouse and children be financially secure? Could they stay in the family home or keep the family business? Would your children have enough money to go to college? Could you make a large charitable donation to your favorite charity or religious organization? If your answer to these questions is no, then you need life insurance.
Life insurance pays a death benefit to your beneficiaries when you pass away. You can name anyone or anything as a beneficiary such as family members, friends, charities, religious organizations, schools, and hospitals. Your beneficiaries can use the money for any purpose like paying off debts, paying for a college education, keeping a business open, or supplementing retirement income. Organizations can use the money to provide additional charitable services, expand their business operations, or create scholarships in your honor.
There are two types of life insurance. Permanent life insurance lasts for as long as you live if you keep making the monthly premium payments. The premium payments remain stable for the life of the policy, and a portion of the premiums accumulates in a cash account. The cash value account is like a savings account that earns interest. You can also borrow money from the account.
The second type of life insurance is term insurance. This insurance only lasts for a certain length of time such as 10 years or 20 years. Your monthly premium payments remain stable during the term, and the payments are usually a lot less than the payments for permanent insurance. If you choose to renew your insurance at the end of the term, your premium payments will go up. Term insurance also does not have a cash value account.
Your insurance agent can help you find the right permanent or term life insurance for your situation. They can compare quotes from multiple insurance companies to find the policy that meets your needs and fits your budget.