Consider these "truths" from years past: The Earth is flat. The sun orbits the Earth. Man will never fly. Smoking soothes the throat. To these, let’s add one more: seniors don’t need life insurance.

Just as we now know those other "truisms" are not really true, it’s highly likely that most seniors need at least some life insurance. Even if you’re beyond child-rearing and income-earning days, you may need coverage for one or more of these reasons:

•Estate settlement costs. People need to pay for a funeral and other costs associated with death. Dying may be inevitable, but it is not free.

•Estate taxes. Larger estates face potential estate taxes, which may be as much as 48 percent for taxable assets over $2 million. Although federal legislation substantially changed estate tax calculations and eliminated estate taxes in 2010, it’s probably not wise to expect that no estate taxes will be due on a large estate (unless you can plan your demise for 2010 and count on Congress to not change the law). One solution: life insurance, in an irrevocable life insurance trust to keep it out of the estate, can provide funds to pay for estate taxes.

•Adjustment costs. When someone dies, survivors go through an adjustment period. It’s not uncommon for survivors to spend a lot of money shopping or going on an expensive vacation. Also, people who are self-employed, or whose work demands a high degree of mental concentration, may suffer some loss of income in the emotional aftermath of a death. Typically, adjustment costs aren’t huge, but not everyone has extra thousands of dollars sitting around. Life insurance proceeds to the surviving beneficiary can provide money when it is most needed.

  •Retirement income. One advantage of permanent life insurance (whole life, universal life, etc.) is that it grows tax deferred. If permanent life insurance is purchased at an appropriate age, you can build up a fairly significant cash value by the time you reach retirement, which can be turned into an annuity or drawn on when you need it, especially in later years when inflation may have eroded the buying power of your other retirement benefits.

What if you don’t have sufficient life insurance, or if your insurance policy is term instead of permanent?

You can shift funds out of conservative assets, such as certificates of deposit or conservative mutual funds, to buy permanent life insurance. Critics who argue that people are better off leaving their money in mutual funds may or may not be right, depending on the circumstances. In evaluating your situation, you should consider that any retirement financial base needs to be on the conservative side (once the retirement money’s gone, it’s gone!). Part of the conservative approach includes maintaining a foundation of adequate savings and insurance before taking more speculative investment risks. Life insurance can provide some of that foundation.

For more information, visit www.imsaethics.org/c_ibg_life.html. The website of the Insurance Marketing Standards Association, it provides a link to a consumer’s life insurance buying guide. Other helpful information can be found at the website www.pueblo.gsa.gov/acli/index.htm; in "What You Should Know About Buying Life Insurance," produced by the American Council of Life Insurance; and at http://www.fpanet.org/public/tools/insurance_for_life_stages.cfm. The Financial Planning Association provides information on buying life insurance at different life stages.