Individuals who buy life insurance usually have one of two purposes in mind. They want to provide cash benefits in the event of a death or other event to those left behind. The second purpose is for the benefit of the survivors. The benefits are for those who are left behind. The insured individual receives no tangible benefit, but peace of mind can be an important result of purchasing a policy. Although the term refers to the life expectancy of an insured person, usually the payment is upon the death of a person who has arranged to become insured. Other events can be included such as disability or major illness. The benefits may be denied in some instances if they are specifically excluded from the policy terms and stipulations. Suicide may be fully excluded, or may only be allowed if the policy was purchased with a specific waiting period before the benefits are activated. Benefits for deaths due to war, riots or civil unrest may be limited or excluded. This type of insurance has two major types of policies. Protection policies are the first type. Term insurance is a type of protection policy. These policies pay off when the specified event occurs and that is the completion of contract terms agreed with the insurer. A protection policy can pay benefits when serious illness strikes if the terms of the policy allow. The second major category of life policies is investment insurance. These policies are further categorized as whole life, universal and variable insurance. Those who purchase this type of insurance pay insurance premiums that build the policy value. A universal insurance policy requires making premium payments. The cost of insurance is defined with any premium amount that is greater than the cost being invested into income-producing funds. If a premium is missed, it can be paid by tapping into the policy earnings to day. Interest is paid on this category of policy. Whole life policies are different from universal policies in that premiums must be paid each year. The proceeds cannot be used to pay premiums. The whole life is defined as age 100 in most instances. Earnings with this policy can be sizable. Over the entire life, the value of a specific policy increases thanks to the premiums paid in. When insurance is purchased at a younger age, the premiums are lower. The third type of investment policy is variable insurance. This type of policy also increases in value due to investment of the premiums. If there is failure to pay a periodic premium, the the proceeds from previous growth can be used to keep the policy in force. Learn how simple getting life insurance is when you visit today! Protecting your family and loved ones is simple when you have a life insurance policy secured in case of a sudden death.