North Carolina’s average household income is around $76,000, with the median income falling at about $54,000. It is the two-person income that married couples have the advantage of collecting that enables them to build a solid and secure future for themselves and their family. 

However, if one spouse dies, then the other partner and any dependents might face the loss of their income, and the resulting financial insecurity. Still, those who have taken the wise step of getting life insurance ahead of time can be prepared for this problem if it ever occurs. Consider how you and your spouse can work together to get the life insurance benefits that are perfect for you. 

Term Life Insurance for Couples 

You and your spouse might only want life insurance for a certain number of years, such as until your children finish college. In these cases, a term life policy will likely be your best option. Term plans might only last five, 10, 20 or another interval of years, or you might be able to set your policy term to end when you reach a certain age. You can then let this coverage expire at the end of its term. 

Consider how this benefit will work in practice. 

While you are younger, you have children to raise, car payments, a mortgage and other expenses. If you die, then your surviving spouse might face considerable financial hardships. The death benefits provided by your life insurance can help them cover the expenses of raising the children, providing for their security, and otherwise securely managing life without you. 

Spouses usually have the option of investing in benefits that are flexible for their life insurance needs: 

• First-to-die coverage insures both spouses under a single term plan. When one dies, the other is the automatic beneficiary of the plan. However, the plan might not remain in place until the remaining partner dies, since it will have already paid its death benefits.
• Single-term policies are joint plans that assign separate death benefits to each spouse. Therefore, when one dies, the other’s benefits will remain in place. 

Additionally, if you feel like a term policy is not the best one for you, you can also invest in more expansive coverage as offered by whole life insurance. A whole life policy has no expiration date, and as long as you continue to pay for it, you will continue to receive coverage until the day you die. Therefore, you and your spouse will have life insurance in place no matter when you die. Additionally, whole life plans usually offer cash value benefits, which you can use as investments that will provide a stream of income to you later in life.