Term, whole, and living-benefit life insurance that protects your family's income, pays off debt, and can even help while you're still living.
Three kinds of coverage for three stages of life
There's a policy designed for wherever you are — protecting income now, building a lifelong asset, or simply covering final expenses:
| Type | What it is | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Term life | Affordable coverage for a set period (10, 20, or 30 years) | Young families, mortgage protection, income replacement |
| Whole life | Lifetime coverage with fixed premiums and cash value | Permanent needs, estate planning, wealth transfer |
| Final expense | Small whole-life policy ($5K–$35K), simplified underwriting | Covering funeral and end-of-life costs, no medical exam |
How much do you actually need?
A common starting point is the DIME method — adding up your Debt, Income to replace, Mortgage balance, and Education costs for your children. Another rule of thumb is 10–12 times your annual income. Both are floors, not ceilings, but they turn an intimidating question into a concrete number we can build a plan around.
Final expense: protecting your family from the bill
The average funeral in Florida runs $7,000–$12,000. Final-expense (or burial) insurance is a small whole-life policy built specifically to cover funeral costs, medical bills, and other end-of-life expenses so your family isn't left with the burden. Coverage typically runs $5,000–$35,000 with no medical exam, fixed premiums that never increase, availability up to age 85 with most carriers, and benefits paid to your beneficiary tax-free.
Living benefits: coverage you may use yourself
Modern policies increasingly include riders that let you access a portion of the death benefit early if you're diagnosed with a qualifying chronic, critical, or terminal illness. It reframes life insurance from a bet on dying into protection you might actually use while living.
This page is educational and not medical, tax, or legal advice; figures change and should be confirmed for your situation.