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Laura Iu, a 20-year-old sophomore at New York University, had to grow up a lot faster than most of her classmates. She lost her mother when she was nine years old, and then just two years later, her father suffered a fatal heart attack.

Neither parent had life insurance, leaving Iu's oldest sister to not only pay for their father's final expenses, but also raise her younger siblings through their teens.

Having life insurance wouldn't have eased the pain of their loss, Iu says, but it would have prevented some of the stresses that followed.

"My sister probably wouldn't have had to work so hard. She would have been around more, I wouldn't have had to work so much," says Iu. "I worked three jobs in my freshman year of college. Even in high school, I worked since I was 15, 14."

She is still working part-time, which combined with scholarships and students loans, enable her to pay for her NYU college education.

Iu doesn't know if her father knew what life insurance was, but she feels certain that if he did, he would have found the money to pay for it.

"Anything can happen at any moment. You don't know," she says. "And it's a sad thing, to watch your children or loved ones go through so much."

Worrying about her husband and two sons' futures was keeping Ann Niemeier up at night, before she bought life insurance.

"We had the thought of what would happen 'if,' and it was a really scary thought," says Niemeier. "And if he were to be left alone or I were to be left alone somehow, we would have to make up for the difference financially."

With a new house and a new baby, monthly bills are daunting enough, and now she is adding what she describes as a substantial monthly premium to the mix. It's enough to cover today's bills, plus college educations for her two sons.

Buying the policy means Niemeier is going to have to tighten the belt in other areas, but she says it's worth it.

"I think it's just a matter of imagining life for your spouse if you didn't have that money, and that right there just makes it a no-brainer decision," she says.

She admits it was not an easy conversation to have.

"It's hard to begin with, because you don't want to think about not being here. So that was very difficult," says Niemeier.

Now that she is covered, Niemeier feels more at ease.

"Resting soundly at night, knowing that things would be taken care if if they needed to be," she says.

When it comes to purchasing life insurance, the question is what kind. The next Money Matters report, will look at the different types of coverage available for different needs and different budgets.