{"id":43,"date":"2020-03-05T18:46:14","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T18:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smitherwoodinsurance.com\/?p=43"},"modified":"2020-03-10T19:50:39","modified_gmt":"2020-03-10T23:50:39","slug":"7-reasons-to-buy-life-insurance-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smitherwoodinsurance.com\/life-insurance\/7-reasons-to-buy-life-insurance-now\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Reasons to Buy Life Insurance Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Estrin, Michael. \u201c7 reasons to buy life insurance now.\u201d\u00a0BankRate, Inc.<\/em>\u00a01 May 2015. Bankrate.com. 22 Febuary 2017.<\/p>\n

Being a responsible adult means making sure loved ones who depend on you are financially safeguarded if you unexpectedly leave them behind. The way you provide that protection is with life insurance.<\/p>\n

But a frightening reality persists. Three out of 10 Americans don\u2019t feel they have enough life insurance coverage, according to LIMRA, a financial services research and consulting firm.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwenty-somethings won\u2019t buy life insurance because they feel invincible,\u201d says Brian Frederick, a\u00a0CFP\u00a0professional with Intrinsic Wealth Counsel in Tempe, Arizona. \u201cAt the other end of the spectrum, folks 50 or older have a hard time buying coverage, either because it\u2019s become more expensive or they have a hard time qualifying, medically.\u201d<\/p>\n

The real \u201csweet spot\u201d for buying coverage is in your 30s or 40s, when you qualify for good rates, he says.<\/p>\n

However, a New York Life survey found that the gap between the life insurance Americans have and the coverage they need increased 11 percent in six years.<\/p>\n

Is your life insurance lacking? Probably, and here are seven reasons why.<\/p>\n

While health insurance is a common employee benefit, it\u2019s not unusual to get life insurance at work, too.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that three-quarters of full-time civilian workers are offered life insurance by their employers. The overwhelming majority of them take advantage of the benefit.<\/p>\n

However, that work coverage usually isn\u2019t adequate, Frederick says.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost employers give employees coverage equal to one to two times their annual salaries,\u201d he says. \u201cWhile this might be enough for someone who is single with no dependents, if you have a mortgage, young children or a nonworking spouse, you\u2019ll need more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

A common rule of thumb is that life insurance should provide seven to 10 times the insured person\u2019s annual salary.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that\u2019s just a starting point,\u201d says Frederick. \u201cFrom there, you need to get a full financial picture so you can dial in the right amount of coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frederick looks at a variety of factors, including a client\u2019s income, assets, liabilities and \u2014 perhaps most difficult to predict \u2014 plans for the future, such as for having additional children, or for retirement.<\/p>\n

If you think you can\u2019t afford life insurance, you might be wrong. A study from LIMRA and the nonprofit insurance education group Life Happens found that 80 percent of consumers have the wrong idea about what life insurance costs. Millennials, for example, believe life insurance policies are more than three times more expensive than they actually are.<\/p>\n

In fact, premiums for life insurance are typically lower than for other forms of insurance and are often less expensive than monthly bills for cable or cellphones.<\/p>\n

\u201cA large majority of term policies written have premiums of under $100 per month, and for some people it\u2019s even possible to buy adequate coverage for under $50 a month,\u201d says Frederick.<\/p>\n

Of course, the prices do vary based on age, gender and health factors.<\/p>\n

Like just about any financial product, life insurance comes with some jargon. But it\u2019s all fairly straightforward, says Patrick McGonigle, a CFP\u00a0professional at wealth management firm Homrich Berg in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

Broadly speaking, there are two types of life insurance:<\/p>\n

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