As we venture farther and farther into adulthood, we encounter various types of insurance. Health insurance is the usually the first type of insurance you’ll encounter, whether through an employer or through Medicaid. Then, maybe you buy a car and have to buy auto insurance. Finally, you head on a trip and buy travel insurance to keep you covered on your journey.
The last, but equally crucial, type of insurance every adult should have is life insurance. Yet, despite life insurance being so important, it’s often overlooked by many people. In fact, just 54 percent of American adults have a life insurance policy, even though life insurance is the best way to make sure that your family members are well taken care of if the worst should happen. You insure your car, but not your life? That simply doesn’t make sense. Let’s take a look at three reasons why everyone should have a life insurance policy.
1. Take care of the ones you love with life insurance.
If you have family members who you love—a spouse or kids, for instance—you need to look into life insurance. For the price of a monthly premium, your family members (or whomever you designate as the beneficiary of your death benefit) can enjoy financial stability if you should pass. When you get a life insurance quote from an insurance company, you’ll be surprised at how affordable it is.
Of course, the premium will depend on how much life insurance you’ll be purchasing, as well as your health. Nevertheless, by calling up an insurance company and enquiring about a life insurance quote, you’re literally taking steps to protect the people who matter most in your life.
2. Extreme situations happen.
Whether we like to think about it or not, sometimes the worst happens. Car accidents, work accidents, a hobby gone awry—all of these are unpredictable events that may lead to someone’s untimely passing. If someone in your life is an alcohol or drug addict, you know all about uncertainty. When you think about how to help an addict, you know that not enabling addictive behavior doesn’t promise that they don’t relapse. Sobriety doesn’t provide any guarantees that relapse is off the table.
The same is true about anything else in life. The fact that you got to work safely today doesn’t mean that you will tomorrow. Instead of making excuses and avoiding this tough conversation, it’s better just to get a life insurance quote and make sure your beneficiaries are taken care of.
3. Life insurance is an asset worth owning.
Just like your house and car, your life insurance policy is also an asset, and it’s one that you can sell if you need to. In the case of a terminal diagnosis, policyholders can sell a life insurance policy through a process known as a viatical settlement. The cash value of your life insurance policy can be put toward medication, treatment options, any medical exam you need, seeing a therapist or counselor, or just to supplement your annual income while your illness keeps you and your caregivers out of work. In this way, a life insurance policy can be a safety net for you and your family members while you’re still alive.
The cash value will depend on your unique situation and the type of life insurance you’ve purchased. While it’s human nature to avoid thinking about our own mortality, avoiding the topic is not the most effective way to make sure you’re in good shape, no matter what happens. The premiums are absolutely worth the peace of mind that they buy. Whether you end up with term life or whole life insurance, there are essentially no negative consequences to buying life insurance.
