Guide
Term vs. permanent life insurance
What each kind is for, what it costs, and why most families start with term.
Term life pays your beneficiaries a set amount if you die during the coverage period. Coverage ends when the term expires.
Permanent life (whole life, universal life and their variants) builds cash value and lasts your entire life, but carries substantially higher premiums.
How to choose
Begin with what you actually need to protect, not with a generic product. When the need has an expiration date, a term policy aligned with that timeline often makes sense.
What people in Apple Valley often do
A practical approach is a 20- or 30-year term policy sized to cover the household's actual financial needs—mortgage, children's education, income replacement.