According to LIMRA’s 2020 Insurance Barometer Study, only 54% of Americans have a form of life insurance coverage and, many don’t feel they are sufficiently insured. If you’re an adult with a house, a spouse and family among other financial liabilities, then you should consider buying a life insurance policy.
We recently sat down with Eugene Peoples, an Account Executive with Capitol Agency®, to highlight the importance of having life insurance coverage.
Why do I need life insurance?
Life insurance is essentially financial planning. If your death would cause a financial hardship for your loved ones, then a life insurance policy can help reduce that burden. It can also serve as a vehicle for a significant contribution to your favorite charity, pay estate taxes, or create an inheritance for your heirs.
What are my life insurance policy options?
Demystifying life insurance is step one of the shopping process. While your options may seem endless, there are essentially two kinds of policies: Term Life insurance and Whole Life insurance.
- Term life insurance lasts for a specific amount of time (the term) and expires at the end of the term.
- Whole life insurance is a form of permanent life insurance and lasts your entire life. There are additional options that fall into these two categories, but this is a great place to start.
How do I decide the number of years to choose for my policy?
Ideally, you would want a life policy to be permanent and guaranteed to payout on your death. However, these types of policies can be expensive. We often recommend a term policy that will last for the next 10, 20 or 30 years, depending on your family’s financial goals. These policies have a level payment and provide the full-face amount upon death to your beneficiaries.
For example, a 20-year term policy for $250,000 pays out $250,000 to your beneficiaries upon your death anytime within the next 20 years. This type of policy is ideal for a new parent who might be interested in a 20 to 30-year term policy to ensure the well-being of their children.
Where should I buy life insurance?
Choosing the right agent to help guide you through the life insurance process is an important one. You want to make sure that all of your questions are answered and concerns addressed, so you’ll want your agent to be experienced, knowledgeable, and empathetic.
At Capitol Agency, we have partnered with the country’s top rated carriers to provide our customers with policies that are appropriate to their individual situations. We pride ourselves in putting our customers’ needs above all else, and have been doing so since 1950.
How often should I review my life insurance needs?
A good rule of thumb is to review your life insurance policy annually to ensure adjustments are being made as life events change. Major life events (having a baby, buying a home, starting a business, etc.) should also trigger a policy review.
If you have any further questions about life insurance, or other insurance needs, give Eugene a call. He would be happy to help you.
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