The main thing about a Single Life Insurance policy is very simple – if you were to suddenly die, your loved ones would get a lump sum of money that would help them financially. It helps you feel good that the family will be taken care of if something were to happen to you and depending on the amount they would need, you can take a cover for a specified amount.
A life insurance policy is taken for a particular period of time called a term. Most people would take it for a period after which they feel the family can support itself and would not depend on the amount that the insurance policy would pay out.
If a person survives the term of his life insurance policy, he would get nothing. An insurance policy is not an investment – it is protection in case something were to happen. If death does not happen during that term, the policy lapses and you get nothing back. Certain policies allow you to draw money from this policy if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness. However, terms vary from policy to policy and you need to compare them to decide what suits you best and what you are looking for.