Decision guide
Start with the decision, not the product name.
A useful life insurance conversation begins with the people and obligations you want to protect. Term and permanent policies can serve different goals, have different durations, and may have different features and costs.
1
Identify who would face a financial shortfall if your income or household contribution stopped.
2
Separate temporary obligations, such as a mortgage or years until children are independent, from longer-term goals.
3
Review existing employer coverage, personal policies, savings, and other resources before deciding what gap may remain.
4
Ask whether a policy’s term, renewal, conversion, cash-value, rider, and beneficiary provisions fit the need you identified.