Life insurance guarantees payment of a given amount to the insured persons beneficiaries when the policy owner dies. While many people, especially younger people, dont necessarily want to take the time to think about something as abstract as dying, this form of insurance is particularly important for parents or other persons with dependents.
The basic structure of most life insurance policies is relatively straight-forward: the policy owner pays a premium every month; upon the owners death, the insurer issues payment for the policy amount to the spouse, children, or other beneficiary(-ies) named in the policy. In practice, as with most forms of insurance, specific policies can be much more complicated than this fairly simple model.
For example, the life insurance policy might have riders, or additional clauses, that pay off in the event of a terminal or critical illness or a permanent disability due to physical or mental causes. Also, there are different varieties of policies, including term life insurance, whole life coverage, universal coverage, and limited-pay policies. Understanding the difference between the different types of coverage and picking the...