What is Life insurance?

Protecting Your Family:
By preparing in advance, you'll have the peace of mind that comes from knowing you're protecting your family's financial future. And since Life insurance benefits are generally not taxable at the federal level**, your loved ones can use the benefits to help take care of their living expenses in a variety of ways.

• Any needs after the time of death, such as final illness expenses, burial costs and estate taxes.
• Funds for a readjustment period, to finance a move, or to provide time for family members to find a job.
  
• Ongoing financial needs, such as monthly bills and expenses, daycare costs, college tuition or retirement.

How much Life insurance do I need?

There's no doubt that Life insurance provides a sense of financial security. "If all else fails," you think, "at least I'm covered." But determining the amount of Life insurance you need depends on a number of variables: your marital status, current income, (projected) future income, number of dependents, value of your assets, and your preferred lifestyle in general.

A common rule of thumb is that your Life insurance benefit should equal 5-10 times your current income. But there's no one answer: if you're older, and your mortgage is paid off, you may not need as much Life insurance as a new homeowner. On the other hand, if you're single and have no children, you may not need a policy in addition to the one available at your job.