Buying Tips For Term Life Insurance:
Term life policies offer death benefits only, so if you die you win (so to speak). If you live, you (or more specifically, your family) get no money back.
Permanent life policies offer death benefits and a "savings account" (also called "cash value" or sometimes, "account value") so that if you live, you usually get at least some of, and often much more than, the amount you spent on your premium. You get this money back either by cashing in the policy or by borrowing against it.
If you are a conservative investor and also have trouble saving, traditional whole life makes sense. If you need premium flexibility especially in the early years of the policy, universal life is for you. And if you consider yourself a knowledgeable and risk-accepting investor, check out variable life. It may be that you cannot afford all the permanent insurance you have decided you need, so consider a combination term-plus-permanent policy.
The Bottom Line: The key is how long you plan to keep the policy. If the answer is less than 10 years, term is clearly the answer. If it is more than 20 years, permanent life is probably the way to go. The big gray area is in between. Here is where you need an expert to run the term vs. permanent analysis for you. Of course, this assumes you keep the policy in force. Most people drop their policies within the first 10 years, but if you do your homework now that shouldn't be the case for you.
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