Many individuals and families receive benefits from their employers that include health insurance, and in some cases even some basic life insurance. But many others work for small employers that cannot afford to offer these valuable benefits, and are on their own when it comes to protecting their finances from the devastation that can arise from an unexpected accident, illness or death in the family.

Both health and life insurance are essential to protecting yourself and your family from financial ruin. Why? First, you simply can’t avoid the fact that everyone will get sick at some point in his or her lifetime. Even if you are healthy now, an unexpected illness or injury can quickly wreak havoc on your finances if you don’t have health insurance. Health insurance helps you pay for the care you need, when you need it.

Second, health insurance helps people pay for preventive care. Regular and appropriate preventive care can help to keep you from getting a more serious condition later on. And if you do get a chronic disease like asthma or high blood pressure, health insurance can help you get the care you need to manage your disease and keep you from getting sicker.

With the right health insurance plan, you can be protected from many of the crushing costs of even routine health care.

Life insurance is equally important to protect your family’s financial well-being. There are many forms and variations of life insurance, but in general, life insurance pays a lump sum death benefit to your beneficiaries in the event of your death. This money can help your family pay your debts, final expenses and estate taxes, and can even be a source of inheritance for them.

Life insurance should be an integral part of your long-term financial plan. The two main types of life insurance are term life and permanent life. Term life insurance provides protection for a certain period of time (e.g., 10, 20 or 30 years) and it is typically used to provide for some final expenses and income replacement for your dependents. Permanent life insurance is a complex financial tool with many variations. Permanent life insurance offers a long-term savings or investment component along with the death benefits.