Life

As a general rule, if there are people who depend on you for financial support, like a spouse, children, or aging parents, then you’re a good candidate for life insurance. If you contribute to your household through cooking, cleaning, or childcare, a policy can account for the costs of replacing that labor. Additionally, if you have debt that another person will have to assume, like a mortgage or student loan debts, it's a good opportunity to look into life insurance.

The beneficiary is the person or entity named as the recipient of your policy’s death benefit. It can be a family member, a person unrelated to you, or even a business or other organization. You choose the beneficiary on your own — you don’t need permission from the insurer or the beneficiary. You can also choose more than one beneficiary and designate how you want the death benefit to be split among them, and name contingent beneficiaries in case the primary beneficiaries predecease you.

Your insurer will automatically disburse the death benefit if you die, but it’s still a good idea to tell any beneficiary about the policy so they will be prepared to take action should a problem arise. For this same reason, it’s also a good idea to provide the beneficiary with access to the contract.

• Most life insurance policies include a 30- to 31-day grace period after your payment due date (the exact period can vary by insurer or state). If you don’t pay your premium within that period, your policy will lapse and you will need to work with your insurer to reinstate your coverage.

Term life insurance is what most people are referring to when they talk about life insurance policies. You pay a premium and in return, the insurer guarantees to pay your beneficiary a lump sum of money if you die while the policy is in effect.

Term policies are sold for specific lengths of time, usually between 10 and 30 years. Once the term expires, you stop paying premiums and the policy is no longer in effect.

The death benefit is the amount of money that a life insurance policy pays to the beneficiary upon the policyholder's death. It is usually untaxed and paid in a single lump sum.