While you should enjoy everything life has to offer, it’s important to plan for what will happen when you die. If you have dependents who rely on🍬 your income, you probably need a life insurance policy. But choosing the right life insurance policy for your family can be challenging. If you’re not sure where to start, you’ve come to the right place. 

In this life insurance buying guide, we’ll cover the different types of life insurance, how to calculate how much life insurance you need, and how to compare companies to find the best life insurance for your needs. We’ll also provide an overview of our favorite life insurance providers, so you can choose𓆉 the best life insu❀rance for your needs. 

Types of Life Insurance

To choose a life insurance policy, you need to first identify which type of life insurance you need. T🤪here are two general types to consider: term and permanent.

Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance provides temporary coverage for a fixed period of time, typically between 10 and 30 years. (Some companies, such as , offer terms up to 40 years.) If you die while the policy is in effect, your beneficiaries receive a payout. If you outlive the policy’s expiration, you won’t receive any money from your insurance company, unless you have a return-of-p🦹remium policy. 

Term life insurance is designed to provide money for your dependents when they need it most—during your income-earning, child-rearing, college-saving, mortgage-paying years. Though term life insurance doesn’t provide a permanent 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:death benefit, it’s sufficient for most people’s needs.

It also costs significantly less than permanent life insurance. While rates will vary depending on your age, gender, health, policy choices, and other factors, our research found that a healthy 30-year-old female would pay an 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:average life insurance cost of about $25 per month for a 30-year, $500,𝕴0🍒00 policy. 

Permanent Life Insurance

Unlike term life insurance, permanent life insurance is designed to last a lifetime, It will provide a death benefit for your beneficiaries no matter when you die, as long as your premiums are paid. There are a few different types of permanent life insurance, but most have a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:cash value element that can be withdrawn from or borrowedꦕ against while you’re still alive.

• Whole life insurance: 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Whole life insurance has fixed premiums and a guaranteed death benefit. Whole life insurance can cost up to 10 times the premium for a term policy with the same death benefit. It’s best for individuals with lifelong dependents or estate planning needs. 
• Universal life insurance: 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Universal life insurance features flexible premiums and an adjustable death benefit along with an interest-earning cash value component. It’s similar to whole life insurance, but has fewer guarantees and is best for people who need more flexibility. 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Variable life insurance and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:equity-indexed life insurance are usually types of universal life insurance. In both, your cash value fluctuates according to market performance. 
• Final expense insurance: Also known as burial insurance, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:final expense insurance is a type of whole life insurance with a small death benefit (usually $40,000 or less). It’s designed for older people with health issues and doesn’t require a medical exam. 

How to Choose the Best Life Insurance Policy

To choose the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:best life insurance company, you’llﷺ first need to determine what you need. The🅠n, you can narrow down your options to companies that offer the coverage you’re looking for. 

Figure Out What You Need

1. How much coverage do you need? To calculate 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:how much life insurance you need, start with the income you generate for your dependents. Include workplace benefits and any services you provide that they would need to replace. Multiply the result by as many years as you need coverage, adjusting for inflation and subtracting any Social Security benefits you expect to receive. Add money for your children's college needs or your spouse’s retirement as you see fit. 
2. How long do you need coverage for? You should plan for a policy to cover you until you retire, until you have paid your debts and have sufficient savings for your family to depend on, or until your 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:dependents are self-sufficient. 
3. How much life insurance can you afford? You may have to trim other areas of your budget to get a life insurance policy that meets your needs, or you may need to compromise on the type of policy you get. Look at your other expenses and determine what’s feasible for you to spend each month. If you want 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:permanent life insurance coverage, consider supplementing that with a term policy to get the death benefit you need at a price you can afford.
4. What riders or policy features are important to you? 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Life insurance riders are a way to get more benefits out of your policy. For example, some riders allow you to access a portion of the death benefit while you’re still living if you need it for health-related expenses. Others allow you to stop premium payments if you become disabled. When buying a term policy, you should also decide if you want the option to convert your policy to a permanent one. Some riders may be included at no additional charge while others may cost extra. 

Compare Life Insurance Companies

1. Check financial strength: To ensure the company you choose is financially stable enough to pay your death benefit in the future, consider financial strength ratings from independent rating agencies such as AM Best. 
2. Review customer complaints: Look up each company’s National Association of Insurance Commissioners 𒁏(NAIC) complaint index, which shows whether a company received a below-average or above-average number of complaints relative to other companies. A 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:complaint index of less than 1.00 is ideal—the lower, the better. You may also look at customer reviews on third-party sites like Trustpilot for patterns of complaints. 
3. Assess customer satisfaction: Check the company’s ranking with 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:J.D. Power’s most recent U.S. individual life insurance study, which measures customer satisfaction in a variety of areas. 
4. Consider available policy types: Narrow down your options to companies that offer the type of coverage you want in the amount you need.
5. Consider riders: Once you’ve identified which riders you want, see how much they cost with each company and whether any are included at no upfront cost. For example, some companies are much better at including 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:living benefit riders in their policies than others. 
6. Consider the application process: Many companies offer same-day issue policies that don’t require a medical exam, especially for term and final expense policies. But it could be to your advantage to get an exam if you’re in good health. The cost of life insurance is based in large part on your health and you may not be eligible for the highest health classification with a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:no-exam life insurance policy.
7. Get life insurance quotes: Collect quotes from a handful of life insurance providers. Start by getting online quotes from the companies that offer them, using an insurance comparison website, or calling an insurance broker. 
8. Read the fine print: Before you pay your first premium, make sure you understand the details of the policy and any exclusions. 
9. Know how long the free-look period is: Life insurance companies are required to give new owners a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:free-look period during which they can consider policy details and cancel coverage for a full refund, no questions asked. The length of this period varies by state, but is typically at least 10 days.

Best Life Insurance Companies

• : Nationwide is our choice for 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:best ove🐓rall life insurance company, plus the best 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:children's insurance and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:best for people over 50. Nationwide offers term, whole, universal, and variable universal life insurance, along with long-term care coverage that includes a death benefit. The company offers both no-exam and medically underwritten term coverage, and online quotes are available. The company has an A+ (Superior) financial strength rating from AM Best and is ranked above-average for customer satisfaction by J.D. Power.
• : Banner is our top pick for 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:best term life insurance. Low premiums and terms lasting up to 40 years helped put Banner to the top of the list. The minimum death benefit is $100,000 and there is no maximum. You can also renew a Banner term policy every year and 澳洲♏幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:conver🥀t it to a permanent life insurance plan with no additional health exam. Policies are backed by Legal & General America, which has an A+ (Superior) financial strength rating with AM Best.
• : Lafayette Life ranks as the top 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:whole life insurance provider, thanks to its broad range of seven whole life policies and numerous riders (many included at no cost). The high coverage limits mean you can buy as large of a policy as you want (provided you can qualify based on your income). Lafayette also has a strong financial rating and receives few customer complaints to state regulators.
• : SBLI leads the pack for cheapest term life insurance premiums. It has some of the lowest premiums for 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:term life insurance, plus a strong record of customer satisfaction over the past three years. SBLI also lets you convert your term policy to permanent insurance without a medical exam—an option included at no extra cost. The company received a financial grade of A and provides lots of useful online tools.
• : Penn Mutual is our choice as the best provider of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:no-medical-exam insurance. If you want a substantial life insurance policy and don’t want to take a medical exam when you apply, you can get up to $10 million in coverage—the highest we found in our research. It also receives few customer complaints and pays high 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:dividends on its whole life policies.
• : Thrivent tops our rankings for both best financial strength and best customer satisfaction. Its A++ grade from credit rating agency AM Best is the highest possible. Also, Thrivent’s record for customer complaints to state regulators is far better than expected for a company of its size—the company has the best complaint index of all the life insurers Investopedia researched. The organization also offers a wide variety of insurance products. However, it only provides insurance to those of the Christian faith.
• : Pacific Life is our top choice for 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体🐻彩网:best universal life (UL) insurance provider. It offers numerous policies across all the main types of UL (traditional, indexed, and variable universal). Death benefits can run as small as $25,000 and have virtually no maximum limit for those who qualify. You’ll find a lot of riders to choose from, including a child term rider for UL policies. It also has the top financial rating of A+ and receives few customer complaints.
• : Symetra is another great choice for no-exam insurance. It has the second-highest coverage limit ($5 million) Investopedia found for life insurance policies you can apply for without taking a medical exam. It has two no-exam life insurance policies that offer some of the highest coverage limits we found. You can also apply online and get approved in a matter of minutes. 
• : Protective is another strong provider of children's insurance. Its child term rider is the best we found, enabling you to add superb protection for your children through your own life insurance policy. Child riders can also be transferred and converted to permanent coverage in the future. The company also offers whole and universal life insurance. It has an A+ financial strength rating with AM Best and gets fewer complaints than expected for a company its size.
• : MassMutual is another great choice for whole life insurance. It pays the highest whole life dividend rate to policyholders of the companies Investopedia researched, which means your cash value grows faster than with whole life policies at competing insurers. MassMutual has an A++ financial strength rating with AM Best and a complaint level that's much better than expected for a company its size. 

Consult With a Financial Advisor

If you’re confused about your life insurance options, you may want to 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:speak to a financial advisor to help you navigate the complexity of selecting a permanent life policy. It’s probably not necessary if you’re young, healthy, and want to buy term life insurance coverage. But a financial advsior can help if you have lifelong dependents and need a permanent policy; if you need help with estate planni💮ng; or if you have health issues and are worried about being denied coverage. If you’re also concerned about your reti🍷rement planning or other investments, a financial advisor can help you understand your financial picture as a whole.