<prompt> Human: Mortgage is for 240,000, married with two kids 4 and 2. Sole provider warming 80,000 annually pre tax. No other debt. What type of insurance plan should I be shopping for? For what amount? Should I go through a broker or buy direct?  <response>: Mortgage is for 240,000, married with two kids 4 and 2. Sole provider warming 80,000 annually pre tax. No other debt. What type of insurance plan should I be shopping for?Term life is almost always the answer. Your insurance agent will probably try to sell you permanent life insurance. It might even sound attractive to you after all of the benefits are explained to you. Stop. Permanent life insurance is expensive, and the investments they use to grow your cash value arent as magical is they want you to think.You will be much better off buying term and making sure you are saving enough for retirement. By the time you retire you will have no more need for life insurance because your income is no longer required to care for any remaining dependents. For what amount?That depends. At a bare minimum I would include enough to pay off the mortgage. How much earning potential does your wife have if she needs to re-enter the work force? You may want to replace your income for several years as well. Fewer if your wife is likely to find a well paying job fairly easily. More if not. Some people include enough to pay for their childrens education as well. That seems pretty optional to me. Should I go through a broker or buy direct?Yes. Shopping around is almost always a good idea when buying anything. 