Understanding term life insurance

Term life insurance is the original form of life insurance and is considered to be pure insurance protection as it builds no cash value compared to permanent life insurance such as whole life, universal life, and variable universal life.

If you die and lose your income, the people that are dependent on your financial support will lose that income, so life insurance can help cover either a percentage of or all of that loss depending on the policy you have taken out.

While term life insurance is catered towards people with families, there are instances where life insurance can still be beneficial even if you have no dependents. For example, the insurance could be used to cover the cost of your own funeral.

Term life insurance provides coverage for a limited period of time and after that period, the insured can drop the policy or pay annually increasing premiums to continue the coverage.

Term insurance works in a way similar to most other types of insurance in that it satisfies claims against what is insured if the premiums are up to date and the contract has not expired.

For example, car insurance will satisfy claims against the insured in the event of an accident and a home owner policy will satisfy claims against the home if it is damaged or destroyed.

Although term insurance is a death benefit, its primary use is to provide cover for financial responsibilities of the insured. Those responsibilities may include (but are not limited to) consumer debt, dependent care, tuition fees for dependents, and mortgages.

A simple form of term life insurance is a policy spanning a term of ten years. The death benefit would be paid by the insurance company if the insured died during the ten year term, while no benefit is paid if the insured dies one day after the last day of the term. The premium paid is then based on the expected probability of the insured dying in that ten year period.

The problem with taking out term life insurance for only a short period is that if you state of health deteriorates during that period you might find it difficult to obtain replacement life cover after the term has expired.

While term life insurance is considered by some as a necessity, it is not compatible for everyone. Most people only take out life insurance once they are married or have had children. But, as said before, even if you have no direct dependents, the insurance can cover the costs of your death and or any left debts that you wouldn’t want your parents paying off.