Out of all the kinds of insurance, it can often be most difficult for folks to understand life insurance—people either don’t know about life insurance, or aren’t that thrilled to talk about it. Whereas home and auto insurance are connected to our everyday lives, life insurance recalls death, which most people tend to avoid thinking about.

Still, life insurance remains an integral type of protection for millions of Americans. Knowing exactly what it is and how it can help is important for everyone to know.

Life Insurance Basics

People secure life insurance because it will take care of important people in your life in the unfortunate circumstances of your death. Once you have a life insurance policy, you will make monthly payments and the provider will promise to provide certain payouts to surviving family or other dependents in the event of your death.

Many people think life insurance is a way to replace lost income from the deceased, but it also provides an essential role in covering any funeral expenses and can also help with outstanding debts. In short, life insurance plays a significant role in the immediate time period after a death, as well as in the long term.

What You Need to Know

There are commonly two distinct types of life insurance—Term Life Insurance and Permanent Life Insurance.

Term Life Insurance

Generally less expensive than Permanent Life Insurance, Term Life Insurance provides coverage and benefits for a specific amount of time, or a certain term. Beneficiaries will typically receive benefits that are directly related to the period following the death of the policyholder.

Permanent Life Insurance

For those looking for long-term care for beneficiaries, Permanent Life Insurance can be the answer. With Permanent Life Insurance, you are covered indefinitely as a policyholder and can be assured that beneficiaries are taken care of for years after the policyholder has passed away. Permanent Life Insurance also makes investments to your policy that is called “cash value” that can be accessed for long term financial assistance.

Understanding life insurance and its variations are essential to making the right plans for yourself and your family.

Getting health insurance is all about being best prepared to manage and maintain your health. And while doctor visits and medical care are a large part of that, there are many simple steps you can take to give yourself a healthier lifestyle every day.

It’s true that no one step will keep you from every having to face more serious medical concerns, but creating a healthy lifestyle for yourself could have an impact on keeping your own personal healthcare costs low. In a U.S. Senate Committee panel, health insurance professionals explained that living healthier can help keep healthcare costs low. Making healthy living part of your routine can help you end up in the doctor’s office less and can lower your stress level, allowing you to feel happier. Here are six simple steps you can follow to improve your health.

1. Drink More Water

Water is the building block of all life on earth, so naturally it should also be the building block of a healthier daily routine. For something so simple, water does an incredible amount of good for your body. It aids digestion, flushes toxins, assists weight loss, and delivers oxygen all over your body.

2. Get Active

“Exercise” can be a scary word for some people, but getting active doesn’t mean you have to be pumping iron in the gym or running endlessly on a treadmill. All you need to create a healthier lifestyle is to get up and get active, and that can come in many forms. Yes, going to the gym or joining a workout class is an easy way to get active, but you can also plan activities like attending a dancing class, playing pickup basketball, rock climbing, or just walking for 10,000 steps in a day.

3. Sleep More

Putting more activity in your daily life is good, because it can help you get more of this other crucial healthy living step: getting more sleep. When your body is asleep, it does important maintenance tasks like recharge your mind, reduce inflammation, and repair cells. As difficult as it may be to fit into a busy schedule, getting at least eight hours of sleep a day is incredibly important for your health and well-being.

4. Eat Your Vegetables

There are so many benefits to eating vegetables it’s no wonder so many of them are included in so-called “superfood” lists. Vegetables are packed with vitamins and minerals. Plus, they are tremendous for digestion and can help you maximize the nutrients you extract from your food. Incorporating vegetables into your daily diet can have an outsized impact on your well-being.

5. Take Advantage of Supplements

Sometimes it can be difficult to get all the nutrients that help your body in via your diet alone. That is why supplements can be very helpful: taking something like an Omega-3 supplement can give you the healthy fatty acids your body needs.

6. Meditate

Meditation has become increasingly recognized as a very useful practice to de-stress and improve your health. Stress can have a dramatic impact on your physical health: the best way to lower your stress levels and calm your mind is from practicing meditation—ideally between 10 to 20 minutes a day. Giving your mind time to relax can help you better conquer stressful situations and lead to an overall healthier you.

Figuring out your healthcare can be overwhelming. Not only can it be a struggle to discover exactly what kind of coverage you need, but the costs associated with healthcare can be very intimidating. Some might even think that it would be simpler to not have health insurance at all—especially for those who are young, healthy, and don’t anticipate any major medical expenses.

But such thinking can be devastatingly short-sighted. There are a number of consequences you may face as a result of not having health insurance. Here are the most significant.

The Consequences of Not Having Health Insurance

Payment of Fees

When it was first passed, the ACA imposed a mandate penalty on anyone who could afford health insurance but opted out of it. While this federal tax has since been eliminated, some states still have fees as part of their state taxes. If you live in one of these states and decide not to get covered, you could face the consequence of paying more in taxes.

Financial Risk

The reason most people get any kind of insurance coverage, be it auto, home, or medical, is to avoid extreme financial hardships if an unexpected emergency occurs. When it comes to your health, the stakes couldn’t be higher. While you may certainly not expect to have any significant medical costs, life can often throw you a curve ball.

You could find yourself suddenly suffering from a mysterious ailment that requires extensive tests to diagnose, or suffer an injury that requires a trip to the emergency room. In these cases, the hospital bills can very quickly soar to exorbitant heights. It could end up wiping out all your savings in just a few bills. Health insurance, even when it may seem costly, can help you avoid this kind of financial ruin.

Health Risks

What can be most dangerous about not having health insurance is that you are putting you most precious resource on the line: your health. Not having health insurance may cause you to forgo important doctor visits or skip important examinations. Those feeling ill but lacking health insurance may wait to see if situations “get better” on their own, but this could waste critical time if you end up facing a more serious condition.

One of the best ways to beat serious health concerns is to catch them early. Without health insurance you may take away your greatest asset in a battle against an urgent health condition: time.