Life insurance is primarily a product for families. If you have a spouse and children who depend on your income and you don’t have extensive resources, then life insurance is a useful tool to help them pay expenses. Single people without dependents typically don’t need the same amount of life insurance because they don’t have as many responsibilities that will outlive them.

Most financial planners would tell you that insurance is not a replacement for a long-term savings or investing strategy but an additional cushion. Depending on your financial situation, life insurance and its ancillary products can have some very attractive tax characteristics as well.

Who needs life insurance: Those with dependents, either children or friends or family members with special needs; with a nonworking spouse or one with an income substantially lower than yours or those with a big mortgage that will be too overwhelming for one income to pay off.