One type of life insurance coverage that is available now is called term assurance. This is a variation on the basic term life insurance policy, where you are covered for an agreed period of time and if you die within that period, the insurance company pays out the insured amount. However, the insurance company will not make a payment, if you survive the maturity of the policy.
In term assurance, you can choose the level and period of cover. Normally, the premiums you pay throughout the term of the cover remain the same. The idea is to offer an affordable life insurance plan for a fixed period of time.
However, there are some restrictions that you need to keep in mind. Generally, term assurance has no cash-in value. Since this is not an investment-type plan, if you decide to cancel the plan, no monies will be returned to you and the premiums you have paid will be lost. Also, in most cases, you cannot alter the term or amount once the policy has begun. You will be locked in. Again, the aim of the term assurance is to provide affordable life insurance and is thus not flexible.
Term life insurance in general is a good option, if you want to insure for the worst case scenario, for a fixed number of years. For example, if you have just bought a house and have young children, you may want term life insurance for 10 years, until the children have grown up or the mortgage has been repaid. A bonus is that lump sum payments from life insurance policies are not subject to income or capital gains tax.
However, if you are looking for life insurance that is flexible and perhaps will generate value for you in the long term, in form of an investment, then term assurance is not the policy for you. You should be looking at whole life insurance, with a specific focus on unit-linked or with profits.