OK, you're not a kid any more. (Name that tune.) You've got to think about the family and responsibility and all that crap you said you'd forswear. You're going to have to buy some life insurance. What kind should you get? Here is a brief overview.
- The stuff they offer you at work. It's fine. Take it. But you also need some that you own so that when you change jobs, as you will, you don't have to worry about what happens to that stuff at work. It's just cheap group rated term insurance and it's only good while you work at that job, usually.
Term Insurance. This is what Consumer Reports wants you to buy. They are a bunch of liberal woosies, but they could be right on this one IF: You can't afford anything else. And if you have more responsibilities that your age would suggest. (This means you've knocked up your old lady three times in three years and you ain't even 25 yet.) Term insurance is cheap while you're young and healthy, but it builds no equity and it gets more expensive as well as runs out altogether at some point when you get older. It's like buying "pure death protection." It's still a hell of a lot cheaper than credit life and some other rip-offs out there.
Permanent Insurance. This comes in different forms, such as Whole Life, Universal Life, Variable Life, etc. But it all boils down to this: It costs more going in, but you will have the coverage for your entire life at that price and you will also build up equity, just like in your home, that you can call on in emergencies. It's like owning property instead of just renting death protection. Whole Life is like investing in the insurance company itself. Universal Life is like investing in a Money Market. Variable Life is like investing in the Stock Market. But, either way, you'll come out way ahead in the long run if you start with this.
In any case, try to buy this while you're young and healthy. You don't want to be realizing that you should have been owning this when you are past the point of cheap rates.