Life insurance can do some pretty amazing things for people. It can buy loved ones time to grieve. It can pay off debts and loans, providing surviving family members with the chance to move on with a clean slate. It can keep families in their homes and pre-fund a child's college education. It can keep a family business in the family. It can provide a stream of income for a family to live on for a period of time. First things first, though: you need to own life insurance.

Too many Americans do not have adequate life insurance protection. According to the industry research group LIMRA, 95 million adult Americans have no life insurance whatsoever. Here's the bottom line: A majority of families either have no life insurance or not enough, leaving them one accident or terminal illness away from a financial catastrophe for their loved ones.

What if you were suddenly gone and your family had to manage on their own? When was the last time you did the math to make sure your loved ones would be financially sound? Have you checked with your employer to find out what kind of life insurance benefit you have through work and whether you have the option to increase your coverage? When was the last time you had your life insurance needs reviewed by an insurance professional?

- Annually Renewable Term (ART)
A version of term insurance which is commonly purchased is annual renewable term (ART). In this form, the premium is paid for one year of coverage, but the policy is guaranteed to be able to be continued each year for a given period of years. This period varies from 10 to 30 years, or occasionally until age 95. As the insured ages, the premiums increase with each renewal period, eventually becoming financially inviable as the rates for a policy would eventually exceed the cost of a permanent policy.

-10/15/20/30 Year Level Term
Much more common than annual renewable term insurance is guaranteed level premium term life insurance, where the premium is guaranteed to be the same for a given period of years. The most common terms are 10, 15, 20, and 30 years.
In this form, the premium paid each year remains the same for the duration of the contract. This cost is based on the summed cost of each year's annual renewable term rates, with a time value of money adjustment made by the insurer. Thus, the longer the term the premium is level for, the higher the premium, because the older, more expensive to insure years are averaged into the premium.

-Whole Life
Insurance which provides coverage for an individual's whole life, rather than a specified term. The oldest kind of cash value life insurance that combines protection against premature death with a savings account. Premiums are fixed and guaranteed to remain level throughout the policy's lifetime. As well, excess profit may be paid in the form of policy dividend but not guaranteed.

-Universal Life
A type of permanent life insurance, primarily in the United States of America. Under the terms of the policy, the excess of premium payments above the current cost of insurance is credited to the cash value of the policy. The cash value is credited each month with interest, and the policy is debited each month by a cost of insurance (COI) charge, as well as any other policy charges and fees which are drawn from the cash value, even if no premium payment is made that month. Interest credited to the account is determined by the insurer, but has a contractual minimum rate of 2% to 4%.

-Survivorship/2nd to Die
A type of life insurance on two people (usually married) that provides benefits to the heirs only after the last surviving spouse dies. This differs from regular life insurance in that the surviving partner doesn't receive any benefits after their spouse dies. Thus, second-to-die insurance is used for estate or business continuation planning.
Parents who take out this type of insurance are thinking of their children, not themselves. For example, it could be designed to pay estate taxes or support any surviving children with disabilities or other financial needs.

Learn more about life insurance at www.lifehappens.org