I think insurance is more like "income protection" - in case one income earner of the family, god forbid, lost his/her life, the life rest of the family would not be affected by the income lost. As for how much is enough, personally I think it depends on how much expected income your are trying to "protect".
Also, personally, I don't like whole life. But this is arguable.
Again, very nice article. Thanks for sharing!!!!