Term Life
The most coverage per dollar, for a fixed number of years. 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30-year level terms with locked premiums.
Best for: replacing income while kids are home and the mortgage is alive.
Step 1 — Find yourself
Where are you right now?
Pick the life stage that fits best and we’ll show you what we typically recommend, what it tends to cost, and the mistake we see most often.
Newly married
You are the cheapest you will ever be. Rates rise with every birthday and every new diagnosis, so locking a long term now is the single highest-leverage financial move available to you.
Typical coverage10–15× income, each spouse
Typical cost, age 28, $500K / 30yr$28–$42 per month
Most common mistakeRelying on work coverage alone
Group life through an employer is usually 1–2× salary and disappears the day you change jobs. Own your policy, and it follows you.
Price a 30-year termYoung family with children
This is the stage with the most at stake and the least margin for error. Your policy has to carry the household through the years until the youngest child is independent.
Typical coverageIncome × years to empty nest + mortgage + college
Typical cost, age 35, $1M / 20yr$46–$68 per month
Most common mistakeSkipping the stay-at-home parent
Insure both parents. Replacing childcare, transportation and household management runs $35,000–$60,000 a year in most metros — a real cost, even without a paycheck attached.
Calculate our exact numberNew homeowners
A mortgage is a 30-year promise made by two people. Life insurance is what keeps that promise if only one of you is still here to make the payment.
Typical coverageRemaining balance + 12 months of expenses
Typical cost, age 33, $350K / 30yr$32–$48 per month
Most common mistakeBuying the lender’s mailed offer
Those lender letters pay the bank directly and often cost more for less. Own a level term policy naming your spouse instead — they can pay off the house, or not, as makes sense at the time.
Protect the mortgageBusiness owners & partners
Your business is likely your family’s largest asset and its largest liability. Personal coverage is the floor; the structural work is what protects the enterprise.
Key person coverage5–10× that person’s contribution
Buy-sell fundingEach partner’s valued share
Most common mistakeAn agreement with no money behind it
A buy-sell agreement without funding is a document that tells a grieving family they are owed money the company cannot pay. We coordinate directly with your CPA and attorney.
Book a business reviewAge 50 and beyond
The goal shifts from income replacement to leaving things clean: a funeral covered, no medical bills passed down, and a legacy that arrives without probate.
Typical coverage$10,000–$25,000, premiums locked for life
Typical cost, age 65, $15K$62–$96 per month
Most common mistakeWaiting for health to improve
The median US funeral now runs past $9,000. Acceptance is health-question only — no exam — and guaranteed-issue plans accept everyone in the eligible age band.
See final expense pricing
Step 2 — Run the numbers
How much coverage does your family need?
This uses the DIME method that brokers use internally — Debt, Income, Mortgage, Education — then subtracts what you already have. Move the sliders and watch it update.
Step 3 — Choose the vehicle
What we place, and who it’s for
Every product below is available through multiple carriers in our brokerage. We recommend the structure first, then shop the price.
Whole Life
Permanent coverage with a guaranteed death benefit, guaranteed cash value, and a premium that never rises.
Best for: a certain legacy, estate liquidity, and conservative cash accumulation.
Indexed Universal Life
Permanent coverage whose cash value tracks an index with a floor at zero, plus tax-advantaged access via policy loans.
Best for: high earners already maxing qualified retirement accounts.
Final Expense
Small whole life policies, $5,000 to $50,000, issued on health questions alone. No exam, no lab work.
Best for: ages 50–85 covering funeral costs and small debts.
Mortgage Protection
Level term sized to your loan balance and payoff date, with your family as the beneficiary — never the lender.
Best for: new buyers and anyone who refinanced in the last two years.
Living Benefit Riders
Accelerated benefits that pay a portion of your death benefit early on a terminal, chronic or critical illness diagnosis.
Best for: nearly everyone — on many carriers they cost nothing extra.
Product disclosures. Term life provides a death benefit for a stated period only and builds no cash value; coverage ends when the term expires. Whole life and indexed universal life guarantees depend on the claims-paying ability of the issuing carrier. Indexed universal life is life insurance, not a security or an investment in the stock market — you are not invested in any index, credited interest is set by a formula subject to caps, participation rates, and spreads the carrier may change, and policy charges reduce cash value. Loans and withdrawals reduce the death benefit and may create a taxable event if the policy lapses. Final expense and guaranteed-issue plans commonly carry a two- or three-year graded benefit period for death by natural causes. Riders may cost extra, are not available on every policy or in every state, and are subject to their own terms and eligibility. Read the policy and carrier illustration for complete terms, conditions, exclusions, and limitations. Nothing here is tax, legal, or investment advice.
Why it matters
A death benefit is not a windfall. It’s a plan that keeps running.
When a claim is paid, the money is doing very specific jobs. This is what we are actually buying when we size a policy.
Keeps the family in the houseMortgage
Replaces the paycheck for years, not weeksIncome
Clears cards, auto loans and student debtDebts
Keeps college on the tableEducation
Covers the funeral and settlement costsFinal expenses
Buys the surviving parent time to grieveBreathing room
Family questions
The things people actually ask us
Rarely. Group life is usually one to two times salary — helpful, but far short of a mortgage plus years of income. It also ends when your employment does, and by the time you need to replace it you may be older, in worse health, or both. Treat it as a bonus layer on top of a policy you own.
Yes. Losing that parent means paying for childcare, transportation, meals and household management, typically $35,000–$60,000 a year — often while the surviving parent cuts back their own hours. We generally recommend $250K–$500K of term.
Every policy carries a grace period, typically 30 or 31 days, during which coverage stays in force. Miss it entirely and the policy lapses, though most carriers allow reinstatement within a set window with evidence of insurability. Call us before it lapses — fixing it early is always easier.
You can lower a face amount at any time and lower your premium with it. Raising it requires a new application and current health. This is why we suggest buying a little more than feels necessary while you are young and healthy — convertible term lets you turn part of it permanent later with no new medical questions.
We do, at no charge, for as long as the policy is in force. Your beneficiaries call one number, we file the claim with the carrier, chase the paperwork, and stay on it until the funds land. It is the part of this job that matters most.
Ready when you are
Let’s find the right number for your family
A licensed broker will review your calculator result, sanity-check it against your budget, and shop the market before you commit to anything.