A Visual Guide to Choosing the Right Life Insurance for Your Family

Life insurance can offer an important source of financial protection and security for your family. People seek out life insurance for different reasons, so it’s important to find a policy that offers the benefits you value most.

Life insurance comes in two main categories, term and permanent insurance. Term life insurance offers coverage for a specific period of time. When the term ends, you’ll need to shop for a new policy if you want continued coverage. Many families prefer term life because premiums are much lower than comparable permanent policies. Whole life is a popular form of permanent life insurance. It offers a guaranteed death benefit as long as your policy is active, and you can build funds in a cash value component that you can borrow from while you’re alive. Lifelong coverage is an important advantage, but premiums are considerably higher.

The thing is, while it’s helpful to understand what your life insurance options are, that doesn’t always answer the question of which is best for you. What if cheaper premiums and a guaranteed benefit both sound good? How deep do you dive into research before your eyes glaze over and you give up and flip a coin?

Don’t call heads or tails yet. If you’re on the fence about which type of insurance is right for you, try our easy, just-for-fun flow chart first. You’ll still need to check your result against your real-life situation (family life is complex, and details really do vary), but we can at least help ask the questions that can point you in a helpful direction.

Fabric exists to help young families master their money. Our articles abide by strict editorial standards.

Information provided is general and educational in nature, is not financial advice, and all products or services discussed may not be offered by Fabric by Gerber Life  (“the Company”). The information is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, legal or tax advice. The Company does not provide legal or tax advice. Consult an attorney or tax advisor regarding your specific legal or tax situation. Laws of a specific state or laws relevant to a particular situation may affect the applicability, accuracy, or completeness of this information. Federal and state laws and regulations are complex and are subject to change. The Company makes no warranties with regard to the information or results obtained by its use. The Company disclaims any liability arising out of your use of, or reliance on, the information. The views and opinions of third-party content providers are solely those of the author and not Fabric by Gerber Life.