Most life insurance is sold around the question "how much" and most clients arrive at our office having answered the wrong one. The real question is "for whom and for how long" — and the answer is almost always specific to the years your income is what holds the household together.
Term life is the right tool when there's a mortgage to pay off, a college tuition to fund, and a spouse and kids who would be in real trouble without your paycheck. We typically write 20- or 30-year level term in those years — $1M to $2M of coverage on a primary wage-earner, smaller on a stay-at-home spouse for childcare-replacement purposes. The policy converts to permanent at term-end if the household needs it (it usually doesn't).
Permanent insurance — whole life, universal life, indexed UL — is the right tool for estate-equalization, charitable giving, business buy-sell funding, and final expense. It's more expensive per dollar of death benefit but doesn't expire and builds cash value. Most households we write end up with a small permanent slice paired with a larger term policy.
Types of life insurance.
- Term
- Level death benefit, fixed premium, 10-30 year term. Cheapest per dollar of coverage. Used for income replacement during dependent years.
- Whole Life
- Permanent coverage with guaranteed cash value, level premium for life. Conservative, predictable, dividend-eligible at mutual carriers.
- Universal Life
- Permanent coverage with flexible premium and cash-value component. Death benefit can be increased or decreased.
- Variable / Indexed UL
- Universal life with cash value tied to market performance (variable) or an index with caps and floors (indexed). More complex; appropriate in specific estate-planning scenarios.
- Final Expense
- Small permanent policy ($10K–$25K) designed to cover funeral and end-of-life expenses. Simplified underwriting, available at older ages.
- Group Life (Employer)
- Coverage through your employer's benefits package. Typically 1x–2x salary, capped low, and not portable if you leave. Useful as a supplement, not a substitute.
Related coverages.
- Disability Income
- Replaces a percentage of your income if illness or injury keeps you out of work. Statistically more likely to trigger than life insurance during working years.
- Long-Term Care
- Coverage for the assisted-living and nursing-home costs that retirees commonly underestimate. Newer hybrid products combine LTC with life insurance.
- Annuities
- Vehicles for guaranteed-income-in-retirement. Used in specific retirement-planning scenarios; Patricia consults with the client's financial advisor before placement.
"Buy term to replace your income while your kids are still under your roof. Buy a small slice of permanent only if there's an estate problem to solve. Most households are over-sold permanent and under-sold term — by a 2:1 margin."
Life carriers we use.
Mutual of Omaha
Our primary term carrier. Competitive on 20- and 30-year level term across most age and health classes. Strong underwriting on borderline cases (Type 2 diabetes well-managed, hypertension on medication, etc.) where some carriers decline outright. Term Life Express simplifies underwriting under $400K death benefit.
Principal Financial
Strongest individual disability-income carrier in our rotation. Their DI product has solid own-occupation language for white-collar professions (the kind of definitions that actually pay claims) and competitive rates on long benefit periods (to age 65 or 67).
The Standard
Group and individual disability. We use The Standard heavily for small-business owners pairing key-person life with personal DI, and for the wage-earner DI placements that Principal won't take.
Auto-Owners Life
Bundled term and whole life for clients whose home and auto are on Auto-Owners. The cross-line discount is meaningful (typically 8–12% off the life premium) and the carrier-of-one simplicity is appreciated by clients who don't want a separate policy at a separate company.
Who handles life at Beacon Ridge.
Patricia Beauchamp, CLU, ChFC
Patricia has been writing life and disability for twenty-three years, the last fourteen at Beacon Ridge. She earned her CLU (Chartered Life Underwriter) in 2009 and her ChFC (Chartered Financial Consultant) in 2012. She handles every life placement at the agency above $250K of coverage, every individual DI placement regardless of size, and consults on annuities in coordination with the client's financial advisor.
Her practice runs on a relationship cadence: a needs analysis at first placement, a check-in at year three, and a full re-rate at any major life event (marriage, child, home purchase, business sale, divorce, retirement).
Frequently asked life-insurance questions.
Term or whole life?
Term is income replacement during the years your family is dependent on your earnings — typically 20–30 years covering mortgage years and dependent-kid years. Whole is for estate work, charitable giving, and final expense. Most households buy mostly term and a small slice of permanent.
How much life insurance do I need?
A common rule is 10x to 15x your annual income, plus the outstanding mortgage. A 38-year-old earning $95K with a $290K mortgage might carry $1M to $1.5M of 25-year term. We work the actual numbers with each household — not a formula.
Does my employer's group life cover me enough?
Usually no. Employer-provided life is typically 1x–2x salary, capped low, and disappears the day you leave the job. We always recommend an individually-owned policy on top of group coverage so the protection is yours, not your employer's.
What is universal life?
Universal life is a permanent policy with a flexible premium and a cash-value component. Indexed UL is the most commonly-sold variant in 2026 — cash value tracks a market index with caps and floors. Useful for estate-planning scenarios but more complex than term and typically more expensive per dollar of death benefit.
Should I also have disability income coverage?
If you're a wage-earner and your household needs your income, yes. Disability income protection pays a monthly benefit if illness or injury keeps you out of work. The Standard and Principal are our two main markets. Patricia can quote individual DI alongside any life placement.