Family income benefit is designed to provide a replacement income in the event of death. Normal life insurance will pay a lump sum when the insured party deceases however this may still leave the family with a huge shortfall in their income particularly where there is one main breadwinner or if one of the parents is a homemaker.
Lifestyle protection can often be called family income benefit insurance but's it's important not confuse it with income protection which replaces income income for those who are sick or injured but not after death.
Instead of providing a lump sum the cover will pay a fixed monthly or annual benefit to replace the income of the deceased for a specific term, often until the youngest child is 18 yrs old or perhaps in time for when they would complete university.
This can make family income benefit cheaper than life insurance as claim near the end of the term of the policy would pay out a lot less than a typical lump sum policy arranged on a level term basis. Compare to a mortgage or decreasing term policy though it may even have a larger payout in the final years.
Family income benefit will usually include the same range of options as normal life insurance.