By You know you should have it. Our team helps illustrate why.
September is Life Insurance Awareness Month, and as always, we’ll be sharing lots of information throughout the next few weeks about this important part of your financial plan.
Now, we know you’re probably aware that you should have life insurance coverage to protect your family from tragedy. But like so many things, it’s easy to put it off, thinking it’ll never happen to you, or you’ll fit it into your budget next year. That, and it’s just not fun to think about death and heartbreak. I understand. Truly I do.
But, today I wanted to share with you some real life stories our team has witnessed over the years that illustrate how important it is to protect your family. Whether you think you’re too young, too old or just too busy for life insurance, please, read on.
We hear many folks tell us they’re young and healthy and don’t need life insurance. Our response is usually along the lines of, yes – that’s exactly why you should buy it now. One client heeded our advice and took out a policy, locking in the super preferred rating he qualified for at the time. Well, our young and healthy client found out he had a blood clot not long after securing the policy, and now, despite having had major heart surgery, has that excellent life insurance rating locked in. He’d be uninsurable today, but because he decided to go ahead and get that policy – before any health issues emerged – his family will be protected if anything happens.
Another client family we work with had applied for a policy and also qualified for that coveted super preferred rating. Just a few weeks later, they found a similar policy for a few dollars cheaper, and called us to cancel the original policy. In the meantime however, one spouse had been hospitalized unexpectedly, so we advised them not to cancel the first policy just yet. Sure enough, when tragedy struck and the hospitalized spouse passed away, that first policy was still in effect, while the second one denied the claim based on that hospital stay, which had not been disclosed to the second insurance company. Timing is everything, as they say.
While these folks were able to secure protection for their families in the nick of time, far too many families are left financially reeling when life throws a wrench in the gears. One of our team members witnessed this firsthand recently, when cancer claimed the life of a cousin at only 55 years old, and only six weeks after diagnosis. His widow is now left to raise their two children on one salary.
The point of all this is not to scare you, or make you think about death and sadness – or that people who work with us die more frequently than the rest of the world! In fact, quite the opposite – we want you to enjoy life to the fullest, and sleep well at night knowing that, should something terrible happen, you’ll be able to grieve without financial stress on top of it.
If you’re uninsured, please, pick up the phone right now and let us walk you through your options. Keep in mind that decent life insurance is typically available for less than the price of your daily pumpkin spice latte. If you haven’t reviewed your coverage in a few years, we can take a look and make sure your policy still fits your family’s needs. We’ll also talk to you about permanent versus term life insurance, and hedging that in the future as part of your overall financial plan. We can also talk to you about planning for any gaps in your Social Security income plan with additional life insurance coverage.
And, for those of you who are properly protected, please, take a moment to let us know of any friends, neighbors, family or loved ones who might need extra coverage. First meetings are always complimentary, and we’re always here to help.
