A question many Canadians deliberate on is whether they even need life insurance. If you have someone who relies on you financially — either a spouse, child or parent — life insurance can help them cope monetarily if something were to happen to you.

There are two main types of life insurance: term and whole life. Term life insurance often has lower monthly premiums and is active for a set amount of time—usually 10, 20 or 30 years. Whole life insurance provides lifelong coverage, but the monthly premiums are usually higher.

A life insurance basic that many people don’t realize is that the policy is a contract which can involve multiple entities. For Group Insurance, the insurer is the insurance company that provides coverage and pays out benefits. The policyholder is the group that arranged for insurance for their members, and the insured is the person who is covered by the insurance. The fourth entity is the beneficiary, the person designated to receive the payout from the claim.

Many Canadians may think that they can’t afford life insurance, but a lot of different options are available. After determining your specific needs, you can successfully budget for an appropriate amount of life insurance.