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Life insurance is essentially considered long term financial planning, and the purchase of this insurance permits those who rely on you to continue in your absence without having to suffer a financial crisis. Even if you aren’t considered the earner in the family, the “stay-at-home” spouse is considered equally as important. In the event of your death as a “stay-at-home” spouse, all the tasks that you fulfilled will become paid tasks. This means that your spouse will have to pay someone to complete the tasks that you used to do. Whether the breadwinner or the “stay-at-home” spouse, your spouse’s financial security is important.

Online shopping for insurance is fast and easy because we do the work for you, and you save time and money in the process. Just fill out the form above, and agents from various companies will present you with quotes, all you have to do is compare them. Choosing proper life insurance is one of the most important decisions you will make in not only your lifetime, but your family’s as well; let us help you make the right decision.

Life Insurance Information and Resources:

More than 2,000 companies in the United States sell life insurance. They range in size and services from large companies that sell to all segments of the public to smaller companies that provide coverage tailored to a specific group. Most life insurance companies sell their policies through a network of producers. In three states ( New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut), some savings banks sell life insurance. Some life insurance companies offer policies by mail. Life insurance companies sell either "non-participating" or "participating" policies.

People from all walks of life, income levels, single and married, buy life insurance. It is such an essential part of financial planning that Congress has accorded life insurance a special tax status. There is no federal or state income tax on death benefits and the increase in cash value in a whole life insurance policy accumulates on a tax-deferred basis. More than 8 in 10 families in the United States have some form of life insurance coverage today. Most people who own life insurance are family breadwinners who want to make sure that in the event they die, the future financial needs of dependents, such as a spouse, children or elderly parents, are met.

You get life insurance by buying a policy (a contract). When you do so, you join a risk sharing group. The company promises to pay, at the time of your death, a sum of money to the person or persons selected by you (the beneficiaries), who are named in the policy. This promise is given in return for your agreement to pay a sum of money (the premium) to the company over a specified period of time.

Term insurance offers protection that insures your family for a specified and finite period of time -- usually one, five, 10 or 20 years, or up to age 65. A term life insurance policy pays a benefit only if you die during the period covered by the policy. If you stop paying premiums, the life insurance stops. At the end of the term, the coverage ends, but it can be continued for another term if you have a "renewable" policy. Under such a policy, you will not have to provide evidence of insurability to renew the policy, but each time you renew, your premiums will be higher because you are older.

Whole life insurance (often referred to as straight life or permanent life) is protection that can be kept in force for as long as you live. By choosing to pay a premium that does not increase as you grow older, you average out the costs of your policy over your lifetime on a yearly basis. The "cash value" is an important feature of whole life insurance. This is a sum that increases over the years on a tax-deferred basis. If you cancel your policy, you can get the cash value in a lump sum. You pay taxes only if the cash value plus any policy dividends you may have received exceed the sum of the premiums you have paid. Most policies contain a table that enables you to tell how much cash value it has. You should consult your producer or company for further information.

Buying life insurance, as with any other major purchase, is a personal decision. For example, term life insurance is useful on a temporary basis if you are young and want to make sure a spouse and young children would be taken care of if you were to die unexpectedly. For young, healthy people, it is also relatively inexpensive. For the older, more established family, the fixed premium and cash value buildup of a whole life insurance policy might be more attractive. If you do purchase whole life insurance, be sure you intend to keep it for the recommended long-term period. Allowing such a policy to lapse in its early years can be quite expensive.

Even if you know why you need life insurance, there is no simple answer to the question of how much is enough. Most people buy life insurance to replace income that would be lost with the death of a breadwinner. The policy provides funds to help replace the deceased's paycheck and may also provide income for long-term needs, such as retirement, college costs or estate taxes. Life insurance also provides money for immediate needs, such as expenses for final illness and burial. And some people use proceeds from life insurance policies for readjustment money -- temporary funds for family members who will need time to make important decisions about moving or looking for a job. In essence, it is up to the individual purchaser to figure out how much life insurance is enough.

After you have identified your beneficiaries' needs, the next order of business is to find an life insurance agent. There are a number of ways to do this. Collect several names and then shop around. A life insurance agent is an important person in your life and, as you would with a doctor, lawyer or banker, you should be satisfied with an agent's reputation and qualifications. All states require that producers be licensed to sell life insurance. Professional designations, in the form of initials following an producer's name, indicate that he or she has devoted considerable time to the study of life insurance and family financial services. Those designations include "CLU" -- Chartered Life Underwriter, "ChFC" -- Chartered Financial Consultant and "LUTCF" -- Life Underwriters' Training Council Fellow. In addition, membership in the National Association of Life Underwriters indicates that the agent subscribes to both the professional and ethical standards of that organization.

The next order of business is to shop for a good buy. Your chances are better if you use a special cost index developed to help in shopping for life insurance and available from the producer or the insurance company. The price of a given type of policy can vary from one company to the next. Moreover, life insurance companies are not equally competitive for all policies. Thus, one company might have a competitively priced policy for 24-year olds but not for 35 year olds.

When buying a life insurance product, you should use the same care you would when making any sizable purchase. Ask your agent for financial information about the life insurance company you are considering. There are a number of commercial insurance rating services that rate the claims-paying ability and financial strength of insurance companies. These published ratings can be found in public and business libraries. Rating firms consider several important factors when developing a rating, including profitability, capital adequacy, liquidity, investment risk and management quality. While all major rating services analyze each of these areas, analytical methods vary and different services do not weigh all factors the same way.

When buying life insurance, you should read the contract carefully and, if necessary, ask your producer for a point-by-point explanation of the language. To help the consumer, many life insurance companies are writing their newer contracts so that they are more understandable. Keep in mind, however, that these are legal documents and you should be familiar with what they promise, even though some technical terms are used.

After buying life insurance, keep in mind that you may have a "free look" period that entitles you to change your mind. If you do so, the life insurance company will return your premium, without penalty. It is a good idea to provide your beneficiaries with your agent's name and a photocopy of your policy. If you have a lawyer, he or she should also have this information and know who your beneficiaries are.

If you already own life insurance, think twice if someone suggests that you replace it. You should ask your producer or life insurance company for an opinion about the new proposal, so you hear both sides of the matter. Before you surrender your life insurance protection, make sure you are still insurable. (Check medical requirements and any other important matters.) Also, remember that you are now older than when you first purchased your policy, and a new one may cost more because of your age. Moreover, an older life insurance policy may have provisions that are not duplicated in some new ones. This does not mean that you should reject the idea of replacing a life insurance policy you already have, but rather that you should proceed with caution.

More and more life insurance companies are offering policies that provide accelerated death benefits or "living benefits." These products allow policyholders, under certain circumstances, to get access to part of the death benefits of their life insurance policies prior to death. Most accelerated death benefit policies fall into three basic models. They are the long term care model, which gives life insurance policyholders access to benefits should they require extended health care; the catastrophic illness or dread disease model, for benefits needed to help pay medical costs resulting from a number of specified conditions; and the terminal illness model. Under this last model, the insured can obtain his or her death benefits following a diagnosis of terminal illness, if death is likely to occur within a specified number of months.

Here are 10 Rules to Remember When Buying life insurance.

• Understand and know what your life insurance needs are before any purchase, and make sure that the company you choose can meet those needs.
• Buy your life insurance from a company that is licensed in your state.
• Select a life insurance producer who is competent, knowledgeable and trustworthy.
• Shop around and compare life insurance policy costs.
• Buy only the amount of life insurance you need and can afford.
• Ask your life insurance agent about lower premium rates for non-smokers.
• Read your life insurance policy and make sure you understand it.
• Inform your beneficiaries about the kinds and amount of life insurance you own.
• Keep your life insurance policy in a safe place at home and, in addition, keep your life insurance company's name and your policy number in a safe deposit box.
• Check your life insurance coverage periodically or when ever your situation changes, to be sure it meets your current needs.