· Need of life insurance coverage: do you really need life insurance; well it will protect your loved ones from financial disaster if you should die. Could pay off a mortgage, pay for a child's education, supplement or furnish income for your family, or to cover estate taxes. If you are single with no dependants, you might not need life insurance. If your estate is less than $675,000, there will be no estate taxes so you don't need life insurance to offset these taxes for your heirs.

· Affording life insurance: If you are fairly young and healthy with no bad habits, life insurance could be affordable. Life insurance could be quite expensive or impossible to get for someone who is older, someone with a heath condition, or someone with habits that could cause a health condition. A 60-year-old skydiver with heart trouble and a tobacco habit will probably have a hard time getting affordable life insurance.

· Just leaving something behind for your loved ones: life insurance may not be your best bet. If you can afford to pay the premiums on a life insurance policy, why not put this money into a retirement account or an IRA for your loved ones? Better yet, why not give them the money while you're living and enjoy their happiness.

· Protecting your estate: Take a good look at your estate and how you've planned for those who will inherit the bulk of it. Will a life insurance policy help pay some or all of the taxes?

· How much is needed: This depends on the ages of your family, your lifestyle, your debts, along with how long you need to provide financing. Take a look at the ages of you and your spouse and your life expectancies and then consider your health when making your decision. You also need to consider whether or not your spouse will be able to provide income after recovering from your death.