Life Insurance Isn’t About You… It’s About The Ones You Love

I am the first to admit that there was a time that I didn’t I needed life insurance. I was young, felt I had my whole life ahead of me, and would always have time to get life insurance later. I thought about my need for life insurance this way until someone told me point blank that life insurance wasn’t about me, it was about the other important people who depended upon me. Life insurance was never about me.

Who are your people? Who depends upon you being here today and in the future?

Your people…can be parents who cosigned for a college loan, or used their retirement savings to pay for college. Too often parents leverage their financial savings to help a child through college assuming that child will have many earning years in front of them to pay it back. They use actual savings, withdraw from 401k plans, or co-sign on loans that must be repaid regardless of the future situation of the child.

Unfortunately, being in college or graduating college does not prevent the possibility of an untimely death of a bright future wage earner. This is a serious risk that both the student and the parent need to address with a life insurance policy protecting the assets of the parents who invested in the education. Luckily, at that young of an age, the cost of life insurance is nominal and should be in force for every college student whose parents anticipate repayment of that investment.

Your people…can be a significant other, partner, or spouse who depend upon your income to meet the financial obligations of the lifestyle you established together. Couples buy homes together, they buy cabins, boats, vehicles and personal belongings. When those items are bought using credit, that financial obligation to pay the debt off continues monthly even if that partner is no longer living.

When the debt is joint, the surviving partner is faced with the full debt load and significant financial consequences for not repaying the debt. If the debt, such as for a house or a car, is solely in the name of one partner and they are not legally married, then the surviving partner loses that asset if they cannot pay back the debt on it. Banks reposes homes and cars and take other assets when debts exist after the death of an unmarried person. Having some life insurance will help protect your loved one so that they can work to retain some of the assets and lifestyle they shared with you before.

Your people…can be your kids who are dependent upon both your actual financial contributions to caring for them, but also the replacement financial value of the care and support you provide for the daily. If you work outside of your home, your income goes directly to help financially support your family. If your work is raising kids and caring for your home so your partner can work outside of the home, the cost of your childcare and homemaking services are significant and too often undervalued.

Many working spouses would incur additional living expenses for extra childcare for kids and help with home services such as lawn care, home cleaning, etc. if their partner passed away in order for them to continue to work and financially support the kids. A working spouse should always have some life insurance for the stay-at-home spouse to allow them to work as they currently intended. If you are the stay-at-home parent, your reliance on your spouse’s income to financially continue to care for your kids is critical and the working spouse should always carry enough life insurance to provide for their family for a time period they both agree upon makes the most sense.

Many of us think we can just do it…tomorrow. I was one of those until the day I realized that buying life insurance had absolutely nothing to do with me. Buying life insurance is one of the most unselfish acts you can implement for your family.

So by the time you are reading this, tomorrow has arrived and it is today. Today is the day you need to find out what life insurance options best serve your needs and how affordable having just some life insurance can be. Start somewhere. Start today and connect with us.

-Dawn