Life insurance pays benefits when an insured person dies. Life insurance is very important, but often neglected by people today. The reason behind this varies from being uncomfortable with the thought of dying, to not seeing its importance due to certain circumstances, or even because of getting turned down because of a health condition.

In most cases, the reason for not getting life insurance is that people normally do not think of when they’re going to die. People often assume that life insurance is for people in their mid- to late-fifties and above. What’s wrong with this mentality is that literally anything can happen, so when the unexpected comes, the unprepared may leave their families behind with financial problems and many sacrifices.

If that’s the case, then when is the “right” time to get life insurance? The answer is: now. It doesn’t matter if a life insurance package is included in your job, if you have one because you are a senior citizen, or if you don’t have one because you think you’re too young. The truth is, no matter what age bracket you’re in, how healthy you are, and how much you’re making, life insurance should be a priority.

Here are some uses of life insurance:

• Death benefits (funeral and burial)
• Money to pay mortgage in case of death
• Replace lost income that the spouse and children would miss
• Future college tuition for children
• To pay children and spouse who do not participate in family business
• To pay possible estate taxes
• To provide liquidity when many assets are tied into real estate