Life insurance is an agreement between you and an insurer that provides your beneficiaries with a death benefit in exchange for premium payments, offering them financial protection to cover funeral costs, large medical bills or ongoing living costs after you die.

There are various types of life insurance policies, each offering their own set of advantages and costs. Your choice should depend on your goals, amount of coverage required and budget; consulting a financial professional may make the selection process simpler by explaining different types of policies, helping calculate coverage needs accurately and suggesting options that meet them.

What life insurance you require depends on your stage in life and needs at this particular moment in time. When starting a family, having enough coverage will likely cover mortgage and debt payments as well as providing for spouse or partner and children should something happen to you. As time progresses, however, your needs may change with regards to final expenses, outstanding debt and legacy-building goals.

When purchasing everyday life insurance , the primary beneficiary (or in the case of term policies, an end beneficiary) must be chosen. You can also add contingent beneficiaries who would receive your death benefit should something happen to them first.

Your beneficiary should be someone whom you trust and would benefit from the money that would remain after your passing. Most often this includes their spouse/domestic partner, parents, siblings and children but you should consider including anyone who relies on you financially or whom would appreciate a legacy from you as beneficiaries. Creating a revocable living trust to use as beneficiaries on life insurance could allow for more control over where its money ends up going.

Life insurance policies exist to protect loved ones after we pass. But life insurers may still deny your policy for various reasons - for instance, most policies do not cover suicide, and any misrepresentation could lead to disputes from beneficiaries regarding any claim submitted by them.

Life insurance rates can differ widely between policies. Factors influencing policy costs include age, gender, health, occupation and lifestyle factors - for instance younger people tend to pay less as their risk of mortality is reduced while nonsmokers typically cost less due to improved overall health status.