For many people, their first experience with life insurance is when a friend or acquaintance gets an insurance license. In my case, a college friend, recently hired by a major insurance company, contacted me (along with all of his other friends) to buy a $10,000 policy underwritten by his company.Unfortunately, however, this is how most people acquire life insurance – they don’t buy it, it is sold to them. But is life insurance something that you truly need, or is it merely an inconvenience shoved under your nose by a salesperson? While it may seem like the latter is true, there are actually many reasons why you should purchase life insurance.

Reasons to Buy Life Insurance
As I grew older, got married, started a family, and began a business, I realized that life insurance was indispensable and fundamental to a sound financial plan. Over the years, life insurance has given me peace of mind knowing that money would be available to protect my family and estate in a number of ways, including:

1. To Pay Final Expenses
The cost of a funeral and burial can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars, and I don’t want my wife, parents, or children to suffer financially in addition to emotionally at my death.

2. To Cover Children’s Expenses
Like most fathers, I want to be sure my kids are well taken care of and can afford a quality college education. For this reason, additional coverage is absolutely essential while my kids are still at home.

3. To Replace the Spouse’s Income
If my wife had passed away while the kids were young, I would’ve needed to replace her income, which was essential to our lifestyle. I also would’ve needed to hire help for domestic tasks we’d shared like cleaning the house, laundry, cooking, helping with schoolwork, and carting kids to doctor’s visits.

4. To Pay Off Debts
In addition to providing income to cover everyday living expenses, my family would need insurance to cover debts like the mortgage so they wouldn’t have to sell the house to stay solvent.

5. To Buy a Business Partner’s Shares
Since I’m involved in a business partnership, I need insurance on my partner’s life. The reason is so if he dies, I will have enough cash to buy his interest from his heirs and pay his share of the company’s obligations without having to sell the company itself. He has the same needs (due to the risk that I might die), and he simultaneously purchased insurance on my life.

6. To Pay Off Estate Taxes
Estate taxes can be steep, so having insurance in place to pay them is essential to avoid jeopardizing assets or funds built for retirement. Use of insurance for this purpose is most common in large estates, and uses permanent (rather than term) insurance to ensure that coverage remains until the end of life.