Do I really need life insurance?
If any of the following situations apply to you, you need life insurance:
- Are you married?
- Do you have children or are you expecting to?
- Do you financially support an elderly parent or have debt and/or a mortgage?
The loss of a loved one is hard enough emotionally without having it compounded
by financial worries from the loss of an income. Life insurance can help your loved
ones meet important financial needs beyond funeral costs including daily living
expenses, medical bills, mortgage payments and college tuition. The easiest way
to approach life insurance is with a basic approach – term life insurance.
Term Insurance
If any of the three situations above applied to you, term life insurance may be
an affordable and effective way to provide adequate financial coverage for your
family in the event of an untimely passing of a loved one. You choose a specific
period of time (a “term”) that would adequately cover your insurance needs (10 years,
20 years or 30 years for example) and the policy will pay a death benefit to your
beneficiary if you die during that term. You can also elect to renew your policy.
What’s more, your beneficiary receives the life insurance proceeds free of federal
income tax.
How much life coverage do I need?
Everyone’s situation is different. When determining your own needs – consider this:
Besides the daily living expenses your dependents will need, you also have to take
into account funeral costs, lawyer fees, taxes and other miscellaneous debts that
may arise due to an untimely passing of a loved one. The average life insurance
coverage needed is $459,000 but the average amount owned is only $126,000.