You may think life insurance is something you don’t need until your life is over. But in fact, life insurance plays an important role when it comes to planning for your death and for the future of your family.

How much life insurance do you need?

Finding out how much life insurance you need can help keep your loved ones and your life in balance. It’s a good idea to do some life insurance comparison shopping – life insurance for you and life insurance for them – so you can find the right amount of coverage that makes sense for your needs and budget.

The average cost of life insurance is about $1,800 per year (based on a 30-year level term life policy), according to 2016 data from LIMRA SecureLife®. To give you an idea of what’s needed: if your beneficiaries want enough money to make it through their life expectancy after you die, they would need enough life insurance coverage equal to the annual income they expect from whatever sources they plan to depend upon — Social Security, personal savings and investments — plus an additional 20 to 50 percent on top of that, according to life insurance adviser Life Happens.

Upcoming life events and life insurance needs

Life changes can affect life insurance needs. Other life insurance coverage decisions you’ll likely face include: buying life insurance for your kids, taking out a life insurance policy from work, or turning an existing term life plan into a permanent life policy later in life.

It’s also important to compare different types of policies – such as term life vs whole life – so you understand the tradeoffs involved with each before you buy a policy. There are many types of policies available through multiple insurers, so take advantage of finding the right price and coverage for your personal situation – use our comparison tool(s) to help compare life insurance rates and plans that include life insurance with the best value for your life.

Feel free to use these paragraphs as a guideline, but make sure you update with specific information about yourself:

• So which life insurance is right for you?
• You may think life insurance is something you don’t need until your life is over. But in fact, life insurance plays an important role when it comes to planning for your death and for the future of your family.
• How much life insurance do you need?
• Finding out how much life insurance you need can help keep your loved ones and your life in balance. It’s a good idea to do some life insurance comparison shopping – life insurance for you and life insurance for them – so you can find the right amount of coverage that makes sense for your needs and budget.
• The average cost of life insurance is about $1,800 per year (based on a 30-year level term life policy), according to 2016 data from LIMRA SecureLife®. To give you an idea of what’s needed: if your beneficiaries want enough money to make it through their life expectancy after you die, they would need enough life insurance coverage equal to the annual income they expect from whatever sources they plan to depend upon — Social Security, personal savings and investments — plus an additional 20 to 50 percent on top of that, according to life insurance adviser Life Happens.
• Upcoming life events and life insurance needs
• Life changes can affect life insurance needs. Other life insurance coverage decisions you’ll likely face include: buying life insurance for your kids, taking out a life insurance policy from work, or turning an existing term life plan into a permanent life policy later in life.

It’s also important to compare different types of policies – such as term life vs whole life – so you understand the tradeoffs involved with each before you buy a policy.