If people at home live on your income, buy term life insurance for the earner first, not for the children

High value
Evidence C
Saves money
Costs a lot
Takes minutes
No willpower

In plain words

Term life insurance covers only a fixed number of years, and if the insured person dies in those years, the family receives a lump sum. It is for family members who live on your income, for example when the mortgage isn't paid off and the children are small. If no one depends on you, you don't need it. Children don't earn money, and the law even limits how much a death policy on a child can pay.

Cost: A few hundred to a few thousand CNY a year, depending on age, coverage amount and number of years covered (the author's rough estimate, no official figure). Before applying you must truthfully disclose your health, which takes half an hour once.
What you get: The regulator defines life insurance as personal insurance with a person's lifespan as the insured subject, divided into term life, whole life, endowment and so on. Term life pays when the insured person dies, and the coverage period is a fixed number of years. Whole life covers the rest of one's life. Accident insurance pays only when an accident causes death or disability, and does not pay for death from illness, so it can't replace life insurance. For contracts that pay on death, the insured person must consent and approve the amount, otherwise the contract is invalid. Parents buying death cover for a minor child are not subject to this rule, but the total benefits paid on the child's death may not exceed the limit set by the regulator. Life insurance coverage is usually in the hundreds of thousands of CNY, so the benefit is rated large. There is no official guidance on how much coverage to buy. The author's method is: the unpaid mortgage, plus the child's expenses until adulthood, plus several years of household expenses (national, amended in 2015)
Notes: Rated C because the official side has only definitions and limits, and "cover the adult first" is derived from "whose lost income would leave the family unable to get by." If a child dies, the family does not lose a source of income. If the family's earner dies, the mortgage and the children's expenses are still there. When money is limited, buy term life and one-year medical insurance for the earner first, and then the child's medical insurance. For how to read truthful disclosure and guaranteed renewal, see §7.20 (one-year medical insurance). The beneficiaries of this item fall in tier ②, your spouse and children.
Evidence grade: C : The author's experience or common practice, without direct literature.
Sources: 中国保险监督管理委员会 (2011). 人身保险公司保险条款和保险费率管理办法（保监会令 2011 年第 3 号，第八、十二条）. http://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2012/content_2163594.htm
全国人大常委会 (2015 修正). 中华人民共和国保险法第三十三、三十四条. https://flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=2c909fdd678bf17901678bf7c4060811

Mentioned in

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 5, tip 40. This section is about money and spending. It is general information, not financial or investment advice. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer