Why you should have life insurance

Buying life insurance is not an easy decision.

When is the last time you thought about your policy? Do you have the right kind and the right amount of coverage? Is your coverage at work adequate? Do you need it at all?

These are important questions, and insurance companies can make them hard to answer. With such confusing names as whole life, term life, universal life, variable life, and second-to-die life insurance, the public is often frustrated into inaction.

Some policies build up cash value with each premium paid. Some invest that cash value in the stock market. Some pay a fixed rate of interest. Some have zero cash value. A few combine all these ideas.

No wonder so many people lack life insurance. A recent study by life insurance advocacy group LIMRA discovered that most Americans thought a 20-year $250,000 level term-life policy for a healthy 30-year-old costs about $400 a year.

In reality, annual premiums for such a policy typically run about $150. Industry organization LIMRA noted that 83 percent of consumers forgo buying life insurance.

Conversely, lots of people are paying for insurance that is not right for them, paying too much for their insurance, or flat out have insufficient coverage for their family.

To clarify, a 20-year term policy for $250,000 is a 20-year agreement between you and the insurance company that it will pay $250,000 to your beneficiary upon your death at any time between Day 1 and the last day of Year 20 (as long as you pay the premiums). A term policy does not build cash value.

That's why it is important to sit down annually to review how your policy works and how it will help you protect your family.

When you're young, you need a certain type of policy. As you raise a family and take on more responsibilities, your needs change. At some point when the nest is empty or other life changes occur, you don't need life insurance at all, or you may desperately need it to protect your estate.

Reviewing your life insurance policies is one way to make sure you have the coverage that is right for you and your family today.

Young adults don't buy life insurance. In a 2014 report covering attitudes about life insurance, LIMRA found that only one-third of Gen Y Americans have any life insurance coverage.

In the same survey of 6,000 respondents, 6 in 10 Gen X and Gen Y Americans said their households would be hard-pressed to make ends meet if their primary income-earner passed away. This is important, because the primary reason for life insurance is income replacement for the family.

Shopping for coverage may seem confusing, boring, or unnecessary. Yet when you have kids, get married, buy a house, or live a lifestyle that significant salaries power, the need arises.

Insurers are trying to make things easier these days by making more choices accessible online and shortening the length of time it takes to approve and issue a new policy.

Finding the right coverage may be simpler than you think. There are two basic types of life insurance: term and cash value.

Cash value, or "permanent," life insurance policies offer death benefits and some of the characteristics of an investment - a percentage of the money you spend to fund the policy goes into a savings program.

Cash-value policies have correspondingly higher premiums than term policies, which offer only death benefits during the policy term. Term is a great choice for many young adults because it is relatively inexpensive.

Term life has an economic downside, though: If you outlive the term of the policy, you or your loved ones get nothing back. Term life policies can be renewed (though many are not), and some can be converted to permanent coverage.

The key question is: How long do you plan to keep the policy? If you would rather not have to pay premiums for decades, then term life stands out as the most attractive option, especially if you are just looking for a short-term hedge against calamity.

If you are looking further ahead or starting to think about estate planning, then permanent life insurance may prove a better choice.

Weigh your options. Talk with a financial or insurance professional you trust before spending money for a policy.