What is the purpose of life insurance?

shutterstock_15990961

Individual life insurance is primarily designed to protect against the financial loss that can occur with the death of a loved one. While individuals are typically very good at insuring their car or their home, they frequently do not insure their most valuable asset; their ability to earn an income. Life insurance provides a death benefit that can provide much-needed income to support your family, your business, or to send your children to college. Additionally, life insurance may offer many tax advantages.

There are two types of individual life insurance: Term life insurance and permanent life insurance. Both term and permanent policies offer an income tax-free death benefit to the policy beneficiaries. There are, however, several key differences to keep in mind when purchasing the right life insurance. It is one of the most important decisions that you can make.