Hi everyone. Thanks for downloading the Money Girl Podcast. I'm Laura Adams.

When it comes to buying life insurance, there are many different products to choose from,

like term, whole, universal, and variable.

What the heck is the difference between them and which type is best anyway?

Keep listening and I'll explain the differences in plain English and give you seven tips to figure

out which type of life insurance is right for you.

Life insurance is a contract between you and an insurance company in which they promise to pay out some amount of money

if you die?

Ask yourself this question.

Is there anyone who depends on my income who will be in financial trouble if I die? If you answer yes, then you need life insurance.

I know it's not a pleasant topic to think about, but it's important if you have children, a stay-at-home spouse, or other family

that you take care of.

Before you start shopping for a life insurance policy, you need to understand all your

options. The two main types of life insurance

are called temporary and permanent. Which one is best is a hotly debated topic in

personal finance, so I'm going to cover the main points of each.

Term or temporary life insurance provides protection for a specified period of time only,

like a term of 10, 20 or 30 years.

Term is the most affordable coverage because it doesn't have any fancy features.

All it offers is a pure death benefit. The price or premium typically stays

the same each year during the term. The downside to term insurance is that once

it expires the price to buy a new policy goes up as you get older.

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