Life Insurance
Life insurance replaces your income when you die, ensuring your family can maintain their lifestyle, pay the mortgage, and fund future goals. If anyone depends on your income, you need life insurance. Rule of thumb: 10-15x your annual income.
Term Life Insurance
The simplest and most affordable type. Provides a death benefit for a specific period (10, 20, or 30 years). If you die during the term, your beneficiaries receive the full payout tax-free. If you outlive the term, coverage ends. Best for: most people. Covers the years when your family is most finan
Whole Life Insurance
Permanent coverage that lasts your entire life with guaranteed level premiums, a guaranteed death benefit, and a cash value component that grows on a guaranteed basis. Significantly more expensive than term — a 30-year-old pays ~$400/month for $500K (vs ~$28 for term). The difference funds the cash
Universal Life (UL)
Flexible permanent insurance where you can adjust premium payments and death benefit amount within limits. Cash value grows based on interest rates declared by the insurer. Less rigid than whole life — you can pay more in good years and less in lean years. But if cash value drops too low, the policy
Final Expense / Burial Insurance
Small whole life policies ($5,000-$35,000) designed to cover funeral costs, medical bills, and other end-of-life expenses. Typically guaranteed issue (no health questions, guaranteed acceptance) or simplified issue (limited health questions, no exam). Guaranteed issue policies have a "graded death b
How Much Do You Need?
The right amount depends on who depends on your income and for how long. Simple method: 10-15x your annual income. A person earning $80K should have $800K-$1.2M in coverage. Detailed method (DIME): Debt + Income replacement + Mortgage + Education. Add up all debts, multiply annual income by years un