Understanding Your Protection Needs

A practical guide to reviewing the people, income, debts, responsibilities, and future goals that may influence your life insurance and protection planning decisions.

Purpose of this guide

This worksheet is designed to help you organize the questions that matter before you compare coverage options. It does not calculate a required amount of insurance or recommend a specific product.

Start with the people who depend on you

Protection planning begins with people, not products. Think about who would experience a financial impact if your income, care, or business contribution were no longer available.

• Spouse or partner
• Children or grandchildren
• Parents or other relatives you support
• A person with special needs or long term care needs
• Business partners, employees, or co owners
• Anyone who depends on your income, caregiving, housing, or financial support

Review income, responsibilities, debts, and immediate needs

Income replacement is often one of the largest protection needs. The right planning conversation looks beyond salary and includes the value of work performed inside the household, such as childcare, transportation, caregiving, or household management.

Some families want enough protection to reduce or eliminate specific debts. Others prioritize income replacement and allow existing assets to handle certain obligations.

Final expenses can include funeral or burial costs, medical bills, travel for family, legal or administrative costs, and other immediate expenses.

Think about future goals

Life insurance can also be part of planning for future goals that would otherwise be funded by your income or savings. Decide which goals you would want to continue even if you were not present to fund them.

• Children’s education
• Home payoff or housing stability
• Support for a surviving spouse or partner
• Care for a dependent with long term needs
• Legacy or charitable goals
• Business continuity or succession needs

Review coverage and resources you already have

Existing resources may reduce the amount of additional protection you need. Review what is truly available and who owns it. Employer coverage can be valuable, but it may change when employment changes, and some benefits are tied to specific eligibility rules.

Understand basic coverage categories

Coverage should be selected based on the need, the time period, budget, health, insurability, and the policy features that matter to you. Common categories include term life, permanent life, final expense coverage, and employer group coverage.

Review term length, conversion options, premium structure, cash value rules, underwriting, waiting periods, portability, riders, and what happens if employment ends.

Business owner considerations

Business owners may have protection needs that are separate from personal household needs. A death or serious loss can affect employees, customers, lenders, partners, and the ability of the business to continue operating.

• Key person protection
• Buy sell planning
• Business debt and personal guarantees
• Funds to recruit, train, or replace a critical person
• Income protection and disability planning
• Succession and continuity planning

Estimate your protection gap and ask better questions

This worksheet is not a formal needs analysis. It helps you organize the major numbers before speaking with a licensed professional. Review income replacement, debts, final expenses, education goals, business protection needs, existing coverage, and any estimated gap.

Ask what need the policy is designed to solve, how long the need may last, whether premiums are guaranteed, what underwriting is required, what limitations apply, and who should own the policy or be named as beneficiary.

Important Information: This guide is for educational purposes only and does not provide legal, tax, investment, or individualized insurance advice. Insurance products, eligibility, premiums, underwriting, riders, waiting periods, exclusions, and availability vary by carrier, product, state, age, health, and other factors. Coverage is subject to the terms of the issued policy.