Life Insurance. Who needs it? Only if you have dependents - people under 18 that are depending on you for income. If you don’t have children or don’t plan to, you probably don’t need it. Other instances where you need life insurance is a business where the income relies on both or multiple partners. It can be a great savings and investment tool but only if you already have emergency savings and little or no mortgage.
Two different kinds of Life Insurance. Term and Whole Life.
Term guarantees payment for a specified term such as 20 or 30 years if the policyholder dies within that time. After the term, the policy isn’t worth anything anymore. If you stop paying in that term, the policy is null and void. BUT it’s the cheapest policy and serves the purpose of insurance to protect a family if a parent passes away.
Whole Life. Term policy with a savings component. It's much more expensive than Term - up to 15 times! For example, a $250,000 term policy for a healthy 40-year-old could cost $100/month. Whole Life could cost $350/month. It does build up a cash savings that you can use after the term is up but it takes a long time to build up - usually not until your 60s. It is a great option for those that already have savings but want the insurance. Agents get a much higher commission with whole-life policies. Also called Variable and Universal. Not an option for budget-conscious consumers.
BUY TERM AND INVEST THE REST ON YOUR OWN.
Long-Term Care. Especially important for middle-class women. Women need it especially because they live on average 6-8 years longer than men. Ideally buy a policy by age 60-65. It covers nursing home care, home health care, and personal or adult day care for individuals. It’s not cheap but there are ways for middle-class people to buy it! Make sure you go with a big-name insurance company. You want to make sure they are around in the future financially.
Use a calculator. To calculate how much life insurance you need: https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/insurance/best-life-insurance-companies/