The best financial decision you may make in your lifetime may not benefit you, but it will directly benefit those you care about. Having life insurance can assure the protection of your family in the case of a premature death.
I was recently speaking with a friend of mine who shared a sad story. My friend’s good friend suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 47. He went on to tell me that his friend leaves behind small children and had no life insurance.
This story, unfortunately, is not uncommon. Many people don’t have life insurance, which is tragic. Life insurance is needed as an income replacer for the family. In the story above the widow is a stay-at-home mom, which means the family’s income will cease…..other than social security survivorship benefits, which will be difficult to survive on.
What would happen to the financial well-being of your family if you or your spouse was faced with a premature death? Would your family become destitute? Would your spouse be able to sustain the family’s standard of living? Would your children’s education be in jeopardy? These are just a few questions that factor into the life insurance equation.
Life insurance needs are individual. Simply utilizing multipliers (such as 10 times your income) is not the answer. Everyone has a differing life experience and set of needs and goals. The individual life insurance need should be carefully determined by utilizing a multitude of factors, such as number of dependents, age of dependents, education costs, and lifestyle….etc.
Once the amount needed is determined, it’s important to obtain the correct type of insurance. As a fee-only advisor I only recommend term insurance. Keep it simple, and buy only what is needed. Don’t get sucked into some type of insurance that has an investment component. These types of policies are complicated and line the pockets of those who sell them.
As we move into the holiday season, give your loved ones the gift of stability and make sure you are properly insured.
