Life insurance

Life insurance is an agreement between you (the insured) and an insurance company (the insurer). Under the terms of a life insurance contract, the insurer promises to pay a certain sum to someone (a beneficiary) when you die, in exchange for your premium payments.

Why would you need life insurance?
The most common reason for buying life insurance is to replace the income lost when you die. For example, say that you work, and your income is used to support yourself and your family. When you die, and your paychecks stop, the life insurance proceeds can be used to continue to support the family members you've left behind.

Another common use of life insurance proceeds is to pay off any debts you leave behind. For example, mortgages, car loans, medical bills, and credit card debts are often left unpaid when someone dies. These obligations must be paid from the assets left behind. This can deplete the resources that your family needs. Life insurance can be used to pay off these debts, leaving your other assets intact for your family to use.

Life insurance provides liquidity to your estate. When you die, you may leave some liquid assets (such as cash, CDs, and savings bonds), and some illiquid assets (such as real estate, an automobile, and stocks). Your liquid assets may not be enough to pay all the debts that you leave behind, plus all the expenses that arise because of your death (such as funeral expenses and estate taxes). Your illiquid assets may have to be sold in order to meet these obligations when they come due. This may cause a financial loss if the assets must be sold cheaply in order to get the money on time. Life insurance can avert this situation, because the proceeds are available almost immediately upon your death.