Death is one of two certainties in life, but it is one a lot of people don’t like to think about. (Not that they are especially fond of the other, either). But even though we can’t deny that we’re all going to die sometime, we can control how difficult the situation will be for those we leave behind by investing in life insurance.

For most people, getting life insurance is a good idea. Dying is not cheap. There may be medical or other unpaid bills. There might be children and or a spouse that relies on your income for daily living. The funeral, including burial or other disposal of your remains is going to cost money. Oh, and there’s that other certainty — death and inheritance taxes that you more than likely don’t want your loved ones to have to dig into their own pockets to pay.

So the question really isn’t "should you buy life insurance?" it’s what kind and how much should you get. This is a question where the answer can vary a bit more. There is whole or universal life insurance that carries a higher premium but also carries a cash value that you can borrow against if you really need to, and that will keep going until the end — no matter how long it takes.

There’s also various levels of term life insurance that how smaller premiums and keep you covered for a specified time period, such as 20 years. Young to middle aged persons with families often choose term plans that will cover the years that their children are in school so that if anything were to happen, they would be able to pull through financially until they are able to make up the income loss with their own earnings.

When you make the decision of what type of insurance to buy, it should be based on your situation, and the likely circumstances of those you leave behind, and should not be simply a matter of money. Take the time to really consider what you need and discuss it with an agent that can point you in the right direction.