Looking back…
As we reflect on 2019, what are you most grateful for? Most people have the same answers; family, friends, jobs, faith, our health. We all agree that our loved ones are the most important part of our lives. Perhaps your new year resolution even involves your loved one, visiting more, spending more time together. Perhaps it is self-improvement, take a class, learn to cook, stop smoking or loose weight? Perhaps your resolution is financial, start saving for college, a wedding, pay off debt or invest more in retirement funds?
We shouldn’t forget one resolution that is easy to put off, people don’t like to think about but is a huge part of financial planning: life insurance.
We just spent the holiday season with our family and although we look forward to many more years of time with our loved ones, nothing is guaranteed. One of the most important duties you have is to protect your family. Part of protecting your family is making sure they are financially secure if you were no longer able to provide for them. Well, that is exactly what life insurance can do.
I don’t need life insurance…
Does your family rely on your income, what would happen if you died? Would your family have the financial stability to maintain their lifestyle? Would the bills be paid? Would the mortgage be covered? Would your loved ones struggle financially? Would your family struggle to pay for your funeral? If the answer is yes, then you have a need for life insurance.
If you can answer no to all those questions but have debt and/or student loans that are cosigned by your parents, you should consider getting life insurance to cover those expenses. The person who cosigned your loans will become responsible for the loan balance if something happens to you.
If you have no dependents, no debt and your funeral would be covered then you actually may not have a current need for life insurance.
I already have life insurance…
If you already have life insurance, that is great! The beginning of the year is a great time to review your coverage and verify the policy is up to date. Think over your last year if any of these life events happened it may be time to adjust your policy type or coverage: marriage of divorce, birth or adoption of a child, retirement, positive health changes, sale or purchase of a home. Be sure to check over your beneficiaries and if you have a term policy is it close to lapsing or is your locked in monthly period coming to an end?
It is not for YOU, it is FROM you…
It’s easy to put off buying life insurance and we never really know when the day will come that it is needed. Make taking out life insurance a New Year’s resolution you keep. Your family will be happy you did.
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