Term life insurance is in affect for a specific period of time, or “term.” Typical policy terms are 10, 20 or 30 years. A term insurance policy is good for a specified period of time; that can be one year, 10 years, 20 years or up to 30 years. Typically you want life insurance for a given period of time. The time your children grow to maturity, the time you mortgage is paid, or until the time a loan is paid up. Pick a term that makes sense to you. If you die during the term, your beneficiaries get the policy face value (death benefit). If you die after the term expires, there’s no payout.

Term policies typically have maximum issue ages. The older you get, the more expensive coverage gets.

So, why term life insurance? Because you want to protect your loved ones in the event that you die.