Think of it like the financial product starter kit: A family trust, a will and L i f e Insurance. You can diversify and venture out in your investments eventually, but before you get fancy and start looking at ticker symbols – please consider getting your affairs in order. Do it because you work hard, you’re responsible and you want to ensure that everything is lined up for your family god forbid something were to ever happen to you. Plus, if you’re trying to build wealth – protecting what you do have, is a great place to start.
Start with Life Insurance.
Life Insurance is the most basic kind of financial protection, and it starts with protecting your income. If only one spouse is the breadwinner and suddenly dies, your family could be left destitute quickly because of the loss of income. Ok so you may be able to float a few months on a piece of a corporate benefit’s life insurance package but when push comes to shove – what would happen if you were down an adult – down an income in your home? Whether both spouses are working, or one is working and the other is managing the home, meal prep and children; if there’s a mortgage they both contribute to, it could ruin life as this family knows it if one of them suffers an untimely death.
Aside from mortgage protection, there are many other reasons for young couples with children to secure life insurance. Young families are the largest consumer population, and it is during this period adults typically accumulate the most assets in the shortest period of time – think homes, cars, college savings plans and other investments; an unexpected death can significantly impact this phase in life, if not completely throw it off course. Because of the asset accrual, this the time when debts are highest (mortgage, student loans, etc.), and regardless of someone’s life status, these debts still need to be paid.
Finally, it’s not cheap to raise one child, let alone 2, 3 or more. Between clothes, food, sports, arts and education – not to mention medical/dental/entertainment and everything else – raising a child today costs nearly $250,000. Securing a life insurance policy in your younger years, when your children are young, means you’ll pay lower premiums than if you buy a policy when you are older. Yes, you may live forever and never need to take advantage of your life insurance policy but when the average cost for life insurance for a 40-year-old woman is $25 per month, and for a 40-year-old man is $28 per month – why not just take the risk? The alternative could save not just a life, but an entire family lifestyle.
Various Life Insurance Options
Level term life insurance – The most black and white version of life insurance. Buy it for 20 or 30 years and protect your family with a high benefit for a low premium. If you have a young family, and aren’t interested in cash value, you may want to consider a level term life insurance policy. This is one of the simplest forms of life insurance: you just pick a length of time, a death benefit, and the premium is locked in for the life of the policy.
Permanent life insurance – A permanent policy which can be guaranteed for life and has the option to accrue cash value. Over time the cash accrued can be used to reinvest in current products, pay for an education or even to supplement retirement income.
Whole Life – A policy also available with cash withdrawal options can be purchased for a young child or adult and be guaranteed to last an entire lifetime.
Buying the right coverage amount
How do you know what the right amount of coverage is? The simplest equation would be to consider what 7 1/2 to 10 times your annual income is (or equivalent of your spouse therein) so that if you die your loved ones can maintain the life, they are accustomed to living 7-10 years after the fact as well not have to worry about the burden of a funeral and burial expenses. There are more complex ways to calculate the best amount that suits some better than others; but the bottom line, is a family should find an agent they trust who can both educate and suggest various options.
Be prepared.
Financial solvency for young families can be ensured with a life insurance plan and taken even further with trust and a will. I can direct you to estate planning attorneys and financial advisors, but when it comes to life insurance, I pride myself in holding my client’s hand, just like the mom I am, throughout the whole process and making the entire investment crystal clear. Please give me a call, even completing an application is not a commitment to buy – it’s merely a pre-approval to see how you qualify.
List of Carriers
Added Will be Later
Coverage you can count on
Think You Can’t Afford it?
There is a lot of misguidances followed by a lot of misconceptions when it comes to the life insurance industry. I know because when I attend classes or seminars to further my education, I will be in a room full of older men who seem to believe the best life insurance policy is a big one. I disagree – the best life insurance policy is one that is in force. It doesn’t have to be huge, nor break the bank – it has to be current and paid. Ideally a life insurance policy should be 7-10 times your annual income, roughly speaking, but regardless of the benefit amount it’s all null and void if you never took the plunge and insured yourself to begin with. a 40-year-old can get a $500k life insurance policy for $20 – $25 per month. Start with something, and we can build later.
Life Insurance doesn’t have to be scary.
There is a stigma around life insurance. Unfortunately, agents too often want to oversell their clients for personal gain. I want my clients to buy the coverage that suits their specific needs and ensure that the client truly understands what they’re purchasing, no gray area. Too often I review a client’s current policy and end up being the one informing them as to what exactly they are paying for. If you have a policy and have questions, send it my way! I offer complimentary policy reviews with honest feedback and a path forward to the best policy for your budget and lifestyle.
Think you won’t qualify? Think again
Many people assume that because they are a smoker, are diabetic, have a medical history, use marijuana etc. they will not qualify for life insurance. While your health class rating won’t be determined until underwriting is complete, the truth is most people would be surprised to find their health and/or habits will typically only affect the cost of their life insurance policy premium – not whether they are insurable. How much will it be affected though? We don’t know! History pertaining to the lifestyle and the unique story behind it has everything to do with determining the ultimate cost of your life insurance plan. With flexible options, though, it is easy to adjust your life insurance benefit to your budget. We don’t want you to break the bank purchasing life insurance to protect your family financially – that math just doesn’t add up! The even better news is that if your lifestyle does play a role in the cost of your life insurance, as it commonly does, should you improve your health or eliminate the habit – you can always be rewritten for life insurance at a lesser cost. In which case we would cancel the existing policy at no penalty to you.
