Term Insurance or Whole Life?
Some are confused about the difference between term insurance and what is called whole life. For the longest time I assumed that term was a waste of time, but I have learned recently that this is not the case. Most people do not need whole life insurance, and paying the premium for that is often a waste of money. There are times when it might be a good idea, but for the most part, many simply need to have a long running term policy to protect their family.
One good case for getting whole life rather than term insurance is when there is a disabled child in the family that will need life long care. Once the parents die, the child might be left on their own. A whole life policy will ensure that this child gets the care they need throughout the rest of their life span. Though term insurance can do this, it is probably a better idea to get the policy that will be in effect until the day someone passes on. Even if arrangements have already been made, it might still be smart of have the added protection of this type of policy.
In other instances, term insurance is all anyone needs. This money can pay funeral expenses, and it can also give a family some money in the event that something happens to a parent at an early age. Accidents happen, and though we don’t like to think about it, having term insurance for this reason is always a good idea. If someone has no children, it might not be as important, but when children or a spouse are involved, insurance is something that is needed to protect them.
Term insurance can go for a few years or on up. Some policies are renewable as time goes on, but once the children have grown and a good retirement account has been established, it might not be necessary to keep the term insurance at all. This will be a judgment call of course, but it is not going to be the sole source of income if someone were to die early. Some who are of a charitable mind will have term life with the benefits going to charity until the day they marry or have children. Others find that they have a great policy at work, but they should remember this probably only covers death that happens on the clock. They need something more than that for their family.