If someone will suffer financially when you die, chances are you need life insurance because it provides cash to your family after your death.

To help you understand how life insurance might apply to your particular situation, we’ve outlined a number of different scenarios below.

• You are Married.
• You are Married with Kids.
• You are a Single Parent.
• You are a Stay-At-Home Parent.
• You Have Grown Children.
• You are Retired.
• You are a Small-Business Owner.
• You are Single.

Determining how much life insurance you need requires an examination of your current and future financial obligations, along with the resources your family could tap.

Your future obligations are a combination of what it would cost to help your surviving family members meet immediate and ongoing needs like funeral costs, taxes, food, clothing, utilities, mortgage payments, and your future obligations like college and retirement funding.

The resources that your surviving family members could draw on to meet those obligations include your spouse’s or partner’s income, savings and investments, other income producing assets, and any life insurance you might already own.

The difference between the two—your financial obligations minus the resources your family has to meet those obligations—is the approximate amount of additional life insurance you need. If this sounds confusing, you’re not alone. That’s why most people turn to a qualified, licensed insurance professional when they want to figure out how much insurance they may need.

It’s impossible to say, because the kind of coverage that’s right for you depends on your circumstances and financial goals. But, generally speaking, term offers the greatest coverage for the lowest initial premium and is a great solution for people with temporary needs or a limited budget. Permanent insurance may make more sense if you anticipate a need for lifelong protection, or if the option of accumulating tax-deferred cash values is attractive to you. Also, it doesn’t have to be one or the other. Often, a combination of term and permanent insurance is the right answer.

The only way life insurance companies can offer coverage at affordable rates is to carefully review your application and health information and decide if you should be approved for their product as well as assign a rate class that matches your health profile and establishes your premium.

To help them do this, you must complete a full application that captures detailed information about you and your health. Most likely, you’ll also need to complete a brief medical exam to confirm the information in your application. The exam is done with an examiner who is paid for by the insurance company and can be completed at your home, office, or the examiner’s office during a time that’s convenient for you.

Once the insurance company has both your application and exam results, they review your information to confirm your qualification and determine how much you should pay. This review typically takes 3-4 weeks, depending on your insurance company.

Here’s the typical process for applying for term life insurance online at the most competitive rates available (note: a licensed life insurance professional is always required to be part of the process).

1. Shop Rates & Request Application
2. Application
3. Medical Exam
4. Review
5. Approval
6. Free-Look Period