Out of fear and denial, buying life insurance has been reduced to an afterthought. Many of us are uncomfortable with facing our own mortality. Yet others do not see the value of life insurance because they are single, or will not live to receive the tangible benefit of having this coverage, unlike health insurance. Maybe you have been turned down for coverage because of a health condition, but most still can qualify for a graded death benefit policy.

Many employers offer life insurance policies to their employees. This usually comes in the form of term insurance. Term is insurance for a specific amount of time, and once it expires due to retirement, dismissal, or resignation, there is no benefit. If you are dismissed from your job, you are without coverage unless you convert your group insurance into a whole or maybe universal life policy.

Some people believe that life insurance is only beneficial for funeral costs. So buying life insurance is not a priority until their mid-fifties or even late sixties when they retire. The problem is none of us know when we are going to die. No one wants to be a burden to their family. Without life insurance, your family may be forced to sell their home, work an extra ten years, and your children may not have the money for higher education. If for nothing else, enough life insurance should be purchased so that loved ones are not left with your unpaid bills.

There are a few types of life insurance. Term life insurance is a form of life insurance that usually lasts for a certain period of time. After this period of time is over you will need to replace it. Normally, there is no cash value in the policy. Level face life insurance is when face (insurance amount) is the same throughout the period. A reducing term life insurance policy usually coincides with mortgage or other personal debt. The policy face or insurance amount decreases over time, often based on debt obligations. Permanent and term insurance both have their positive and negative attributes. Do not rule either one out until you carefully evaluate your own financial situation. Term insurance is usually a cheaper plan in youth but becomes more expensive as you get older. Many individuals are turned off by the cost of a permanent or whole life insurance plan in their 30's as well as their late 60's. See your financial advisor for more information or request a quote for life insurance.

Whole life insurance is a type of insurance that you pay for your entire life. These have level premiums and the policy holder can usually borrow from cash value. Whole life insurance gives you the ability to aggregate benefits through paid for additions. Universal life insurance is a combination of whole life and term. With this policy you can build cash value, but is usually not good for anything if it is allowed to lapse. Universal is generally cheaper than whole life but can last a lifetime if funded properly and sold correctly.

Variable universal life is a policy that is made of term and separate accounts (not mutual funds) and has a designated face amount. Policies have either a level face or an increasing face. The premise of the policy is to hope that the separate accounts in the policy outperform the returns in the other types of policies mentioned above. The cash value is based on the market-based returns of the separate accounts in the policy minus any expenses of the policy. The prospectus as well as a quarterly statement will reveal the returns of the separate account.