Term life insurance - The best kind!

Life insurance is a hot topic in the financial world. Lots of folks need it and it is widely available in many different forms. You have term life, whole life, annuities, and all sorts of hybrid. I am here to tell you that you only need to concern yourself with one type: term life.

Term life is the simplest form of life insurance. There is a set time period (term) that the insurance covers. 20 years is the most common term for those looking to cover income for children and spouses. It has a set amount ($1 millon dollars, for example) that will be paid upon your death to whatever beneficiary you select. It has a fixed cost throughout the term.

You will have insurance salesmen try to sell you other types. They will try to scare you with horror stories and other gimmicks to get you to "upgrade" to another product. DON'T do it! They only have their interests at heart (commission) and you almost always lose in the long run. If you want to invest money take the monthly cost difference between a whole life policy and term life policy and invest it yourself.

By investing the difference in premium you get to choose how it is invested, keep all of the returns, and have easy access to it should you really need it. You can invest in IRA's, 401(k)'s, taxable accounts, savings accounts, and anything else you desire. Keep your money in your pocket.

Bottom line here is that term life insurance fits the needs (cheaply) for most of us. If you are really interested in the other products I suggested studying them (and their fine print!) carefully and make a well educated decision. Get the coverage you need and get on with life!