It could be cheaper to take out life insurance when you are younger as the premiums you will pay may increase the older you get.
If you are married or have a partner then you might want to consider taking out a joint policy. This means that if either of you pass away the policy will be paid out. Of course this should be reviewed should the relationship break up, lagally the agreement may still be in place even though you are no longer partners.
In the unfortunate event that you need to make a claim on a life insurance policy the details of the procedure to make a claim will be outlined in the policy documents.