Evaluating your family's needs is the first step in purchasing a policy.

Gather all your personal financial information and estimate how much money your family will need after you're gone. Include ongoing expenses (such as day care, tuition or retirement) and immediate expenses at the time of death (like medical bills, burial costs, and estate taxes).

Your family also may need funds to help them readjust ... perhaps to finance a move, or pay expenses while job hunting.

It boils down to this: life insurance provides financial protection. If protection is not your primary goal, you should consider other financial products.

While there's no substitute for careful evaluation of how much life insurance your own individual family will need, one rule of thumb is to buy an amount equal to five to seven times your annual gross income.

Review your policy periodically or when your situation changes to be sure your coverage is adequate.

The answer on this page was edited based on source material from the Federal Consumer Information Center and the Ohio Department of Insurance. These pages are no longer being updated. --Webmaster

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