Life insurance is one of many different types of insurance created to cover the different scenarios in life.
There are two different kinds of life insurance available, term life insurance and mortgage life insurance. Term life insurance is fixed and so the beneficiary of the policy will receive the same payout if the insured was to die at the start of the policy or towards the end of the policy. Mortgage life insurance is taken out alongside your mortgage and is a decreasing type of insurance, if the insured was to die towards the start of the policy the beneficiary would receive a larger payout than if the insured was to die towards the end of the policy.
The aim of mortgage life insurance is that when the insured dies the mortgage is paid off meaning if the insured has a young family they are able to stay in the home and not incur any further costs. Term life insurance is created to give the beneficiary a payout which they can use to pay off any debts the insured may have had and to cover funeral costs.
Both forms of insurance may leave the beneficiary with some cash inheritance which will allow the beneficiary some comfort after the death of their loved one. The inheritance from life insurance can help pay towards university fees if the family they left behind was young, or a home if the family they left behind did not live with them.