Yes, with term life insurance, one the policy expires, there is no refund of premiums.

Term life is cheaper or more available simply because, yes, the insurance company keeps the money if you live out the term.

Insurance companies pay people to figure out, statistically, how many folks like you (age, weight, gender, smoker / non-, married / single) are likely to live another 10 years (typical term for insurance). They figure out how much they would have to pay out, and adjust the fees of all similar participants accordingly. There is no provision for returning the premiums to survivors.

Term life insurance came about as a cheaper way to have insurance coverage. The sacrifice, in trade for the cheaper rate over whole life insurance, is that the insurance only covers a certain period of time. If you outlive the term of the policy, you get nothing in return, but you are covered as long as the policy is in force.

If you are considering life insurance because of your children, term might be a good choice since, at some point as adults, your children should be able to take care of themselves. If your children are 10 years old now, you may want a 10 or 15(if available) year policy, just to cover the time when they are still considered dependent.

Just remind your ex that if you die that the kids will get benefits from social security if they are still minors upon your demise. If you've got a 401k or other assets, you can choose to make the children your beneficiaries.

As long as you aren't leaving minor children with no resources should you die between now and when they're adults, there's no reason to insure yourself at a level that will leave them with more than what you'd have been providing for them if you were alive.

All you get out of a "term" life insurance policy is just the peace of mind that comes from knowing that if anything does happen, then you won't be broke.

We have a term policy on my husband, so that if anything happens to him, our house can be paid off, our debts paid off, and there will be enough left for me to live comfortably on.

The premiums are worth it to me, just to have peace of mind. That's really what you're paying for.

Life insurance, whether term, whole or "universal," should be regarded as an income replacement plan, not a get-rich-quick scheme. That's why so many employer-provided life insurance programs essentially match a multiple of the employee's salary yup until a certain age, following which it turns into declining term.

It is true that there's generally no provision for the return of premiums paid by people who outlive their term insurance policies. The money's not really wasted, though, because the policyholder had the coverage. Think of paying an armed guard to protect your house - if the house were never burgled, wouldn't the guard still be entitled to his pay?