The topic of life insurance is often treated like tax returns by many people. Nobody wants to deal with it, but it has to be done. This is probably because insurance agents have such sterling reputations and nobody really likes talking about the brass knuckles issue of when they or a loved one are likely to die. This is a mistake, so let's get with it and look at who needs this type of coverage.
You are probably expecting me to say "everybody!" Nope. The truth is people who do not have others depending on them do not need life insurance. It is somewhat akin to having car insurance, but not owning a car. What is the point? If you are happily single without children, who exactly would you be buying life insurance for? You might do it as a charitable action, but that would be about it as far as I can see.
So, who does need it then? The obvious answer is the bread winner in a marriage, particularly one where there are children. If the bread winner were to die today, how would the family pay their bills? Most would suffer badly. Life insurance is used to pay a lump sum benefit that acts as a replacement for the lost income so the family isn't left out on the street.
Ah, but what about a stay at home spouse? They are becoming rarer these days as the value of the dollar drops and both parents have to work to meet the bills, but humor me here. A stay at home spouse, often the mother, doesn't bring income into the family. As a result, there is no need to insure her, right? Wrong! Consider all the tasks she does during the day. What is the value of those? The surviving spouse would be unable to do them. Instead, help would have to be hired to take care of the kids. That costs money and life insurance can pay for it.
Who needs life insurance? The answer is simple - anyone that has people depending on them.
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