Life insurance is something that many of us tend to postpone. After all it is for an eventuality that is not likely to happen today or the next day. This procrastination is what gets many people and their families into trouble. Get a life insurance quote without delay.The importance of life insurance:In the event of your untimely demise, your family still has to pay the bills, educate the kids and pay back all the liabilities ranging from short term credit card loans to mortgages. Getting Insurance quotes is the first step in ensuring your family’s financial security.Even when people get life insurance, many of them don’t buy adequate cover or the right type of insurance products for their needs. Getting the right policy requires some study of the available products in the market and then picking the right policies to meet your financial security goals. Getting a life insurance quote is the best way to start the analysis.This gives you an idea about the types of products available to you and what they mean in terms of premium payments and benefits.An overview of the options available:There are two major categories of policies, the term insurance and whole life insurance. While term insurance has just an insurance component in most cases, whole life insurance has both insurance and savings components.There are different types of term insurance policies. Each gives you an insurance cover for a certain number of years. Depending upon the policy, some of them give you the option to exit or renew the policy at fixed intervals.These intervals could range from one to a number of years. Depending upon the type of risk cover they offer, the premium of these policies could increase or decrease as the years go by. Once the policy expires, all the benefits under these policies cease.Whole life coverage on the other hand covers you for the rest of your life. These policies tend to be expensive when compared to term insurance due to two reasons. One, they involve higher risks and the risk increases with your age.The second factor is the savings component, or cash value that they include. This cash value accrues throughout the policy period and is paid upon your death to your family.The type of policy or policies that you should opt for depends upon your circumstances and goals. If you are confident that you will be able to pay all your debts and accumulate enough savings to support your family even after retirement, then term insurance may be enough.If on the other hand you have dependents needing financial support throughout their lives, like children with special needs or suffering from disabilities, whole life plans could be the best for you. Most people usually have a mix of different types of insurance policies which gives them the optimal cover with minimal premium outflows.Determining your life insurance requirements:How much insurance cover is good enough? Again, the answer to this question depends upon your current expenditure, liabilities and anticipated future expenses and liabilities. Your life style and the kind of life that you would like to guarantee to your family also plays an important role. Here are the important factors to consider:1. Your current monthly income and expenses and anticipated increases in the future. Your coverage should be able to generate funds that can be invested in safe assets to generate similar income levels.2. The period that your family will need financial support. This could depend upon other earning members in the family and the likely earning members of the future.3. Take into account your current liabilities like mortgages. Your family should be in a position to pay up the loans in case of your death.4. Your anticipated future liabilities like the education expenses of your children.Getting the optimal insurance cover:The type of insurance and the options that are available to you depend on many factors. These include your age and the amount of premiums that you can afford to pay. Several other factors could also limit your choices to some extent.The best way to arrive at the optimal mix of life insurance policies is to get a life insurance quote. Online life insurance quotes are the best because they allow you to input certain parameters and pull out the available policies for you from many different providers.This helps you weigh your options and narrow your choices.Whatever the method you use, don’t procrastinate. Start now by requesting a life insurance quote. Keep in mind two important things before you decide to buy any policy.One is the reliability of the insurance company. Check out their ratings and customer service history. The second important thing is to read the terms and conditions very carefully. Life insurance is after all a long term commitment with critical implications. You certainly don’t want to go with the wrong company or pick up the wrong policy.