According to a recent study by two insurance industry groups, less than 60% of Americans have life insurance today—the lowest percent since the 1960s. 54% of Latinos, 76% of Blacks and 62% of Whites have life insurance. Coverage even less for Latinos.
Read about life insurance and suicidal death
Here are five surprising things you want to know about life insurance:
Some people really don't need life insurance
If you're young and don't have dependents—either kids, parents or anyone else your income supports—you likely don't need life insurance yet. This is especially true if you don't have any debts and have enough savings on hand to cover your burial costs.
Your contribution is probably more valuable than you think
If a family of four relies on one $60,000 income to cover all of their expenses and the breadwinner dies at 40, over the next 50 years, the family has lost over $2 million.
Your employer is not covering it
Most people who have a full-time job assume they are already covered by a policy wrapped into their benefits package. While many companies do provide coverage, typically they only pay out between $10,000 to $25,000: Enough for funeral expenses, but not even close to replacing a lost income or paying off death taxes, outstanding debts, or other unexpected costs.
Stay-at-home parents can benefit from life insurance
Moms who stay home would make over $100,000 annually for all of the services that they provide for their families. Although life insurance will never replace a parent, it can help the household keep going should a stay-at-home parent die suddenly.
The price can vary dramatically
The family of the 40-year-old breadwinner described above could be covered for life by a policy beginning at around $109 a month. The beneficiaries would get the whole amount, which would cover their expenses at their current standard of living, including three percent monthly inflation. But there are less expensive options, too: A healthy forty-year-old man can get a 20-year term policy yielding $500,000 for around $30 a month; a woman or someone younger could probably get it for less. The key thing is to shop around, and beware of bullying—there have been lawsuits against insurance carriers that targeted minority groups for more expensive policies. Make the internet your friend and get a lot of quotes.
For more information, contact our life insurance lawyers. We handle all life insurance claim denial cases, including material misrepresentation, omission, policy lapse and outside of scope of coverage cases. If your life insurance claim has been denied, contact us as soon as possible. We are a team of life insurance lawyers in the field of life insurance claims. We have helped hundreds of clients whose life insurance claims were denied to get the death benefits they were entitled to. We will fight hard for your right to receive the death benefits!