There are many kinds of life insurance, but they generally fall into two categories: term insurance and permanent insurance.

Term insurance is designed to meet temporary needs. It provides protection for a specific period of time (the "term") and generally pays a benefit only if you die during the term. This type of insurance often makes sense when you have a need for coverage that will disappear at a specific point in time. For instance, you may decide that you only need coverage until your children graduate from college or a particular debt is paid off, such as your mortgage.

In contrast, permanent insurance provides lifelong protection. As long as you pay the premiums, and no loans, withdrawals or surrenders are taken, the full face amount will be paid. Because it is designed to last a lifetime, permanent life insurance accumulates cash value and is priced for you to keep over a long period of time.

It's impossible to say which type of life insurance is better because the kind of coverage that's right for you depends on your unique circumstances and financial goals.

But remember, the best way to figure out the amount and type of life insurance that makes sense for your particular situation is to meet with a qualified and licensed life insurance professional.

Financial Services

If you run a financial services firm, you know exactly how vital the right insurance portfolio is to your business's continuation. As a provider of financial services, your first priority is to secure errors and omissions insurance. This policy helps to provide the resources you need to defend yourself against claims brought due to real or imagined negligence.

E&O Insurance

Financial planners, advisors agents and brokers walk a fine line when helping their clients secure investment and insurance products. It's easy for clients to misunderstand the information as presented and, when their products don't perform the way they expected them to, to sue their financial services provider. An E&O policy not only helps you defend yourself in the event you are sued, but it may also pay claims (within limits) that are awarded to your clients. In addition, should you make a mistake when filling out documents or disclosing information to clients, the policy will once again step in and help as long as the mistake was not due to fraud or willful negligence.

Additional Policies to Consider

Financial services firms must also consider their need for general liability protection, auto liability and property insurance for the building, its contents, and any automobiles owned by (or used on behalf of) the business.

To fund a buy sell agreement between partners, a firm might consider a life insurance policy or, if the firm has any key employees who provide expertise that would be hard to replace, key person insurance.

Finally, business continuation insurance provides an affordable way to help ease the burden of operating the business from a remote location should you be unable to access or utilize your normal location.