Term versus permanent, without the sales pitch
Term covers a set number of years. It is the simplest and least expensive way to cover a defined obligation — the years until a mortgage is paid, or until the youngest child is through school.
Permanent coverage, whole or universal, lasts as long as the policy is funded and builds cash value over time. It costs more for the same death benefit because it is doing more than one job.
Which one fits is a question about what you are trying to protect and for how long. Anyone who tells you one is simply better than the other is selling, not advising.
The question underneath it
Not how much life insurance should I have. Who depends on my income, and what happens to them the month after it stops.
That usually means the mortgage, everyday costs for a defined stretch, any debt that would not die with you, and whatever you had planned to fund but have not yet. Work through that and the number comes out on its own.
What we do not do
Nothing on this site is investment advice, and no conversation about life insurance here will turn into one. If your situation calls for that, you get pointed to a licensed professional in that field rather than sold something adjacent.
Also written here
- Term life
- Whole life
- Universal life
- Reviewing coverage you already have