How much insurance do I need?
There are two ways to answer this question. You can determine this figure by a multiple of your income while factoring your age. Or you can ascertain the amount of insurance you need by determining your needs.

Income Multiple Method:
Most financial advisors recommend 10 to 15 times your income in total life insurance. Your age can also be a factor. The younger you are, the more potential you have to earn income and the more reliant your family is on your ability to earn future income. The older you get, the more savings you may have and the closer you are to retirement. (Estate planning purposes may require a greater need for insurance.) Use the following general guideline:

Age	Income Multiple	Sample Income	Sample Need for Insurance
18-30	15 X income	$50,000	$750,000
31-40	12 X income	$50,000	$600,000
41-50	10 X income	$50,000	$500,000
51-65	8 X income	$50,000	$400,000
65+	5 X income	$50,000	$250,000

Needs Based Method:
You can determine how much insurance you need by analyzing what you want the insurance to do for you family and how much insurance, assets and liabilities you have. If you want to leave your family debt-free, provide for your children’s education and replace your future income, due the following exercise. Add up what you Need and subtract what you Have. The difference is how much more insurance you should buy to protect your loved ones.

Needs	Have
How much to pay off the mortgage? How much to pay off all debt? How much for college education? How many years of your income do you want to provide for your family?	All savings (bank, retirement, etc.) All in force life insurance

How is the benefit paid?
The life insurance policy owner may designate a specific settlement option to be paid upon his or her death. If the policy owner does not choose a specific option, the beneficiary(s) will be given a number of choices. These usually include:

Lump Sum Payment: The death proceeds of a life insurance policy are paid to the beneficiary(s) in one lump sum payment.

Fixed Period Payments: The death proceeds of a life insurance policy are paid to the beneficiary(s) for a fixed period.

Life Income with Installments Certain: The death proceeds of a life insurance policy are paid to the beneficiary(s) in installment payments through a certain period. After the certain period, payments will continue to be made throughout the beneficiary's lifetime but the payment may vary from the payments during the certain period.

Interest Payments: The death proceeds of a life insurance policy remain with the insurance company and the company pays the beneficiary interest payments.

Fixed Installments: The death proceeds of a life insurance policy are paid to the beneficiary(s) in fixed installments until the proceeds and interest on the unpaid balance of the proceeds are exhausted.

Single Premium Annuity: The proceeds of a life insurance policy are used to purchase a single premium annuity from the insurance company.

Important things to know:
As you get older, life insurance becomes more expensive to purchase. Insurance companies charge higher premiums if you wait to purchase your policy, so lock in a lower rate now. By applying for a level premium term policy, you will be guaranteed a premium rate for the duration of the term you applied for.

All of us change as we get older. We may put on a few extra pounds. Our cholesterol may become slightly elevated. Our blood pressure may become borderline high. You may think that this is perfectly normal, but these things can have a dramatic effect on your term life premiums. So lock in to the best rate you can now. Whatever happens to your health later, you are guaranteed coverage for the period of time you chose and your premium is guaranteed not to change, as long as you make you payments on time.