As people enter different stages in their lives, independent agents should be highlighting the importance of life insurance and the situations where it comes in handy. The earlier individuals purchase their policies the earlier coverage begins and generally the lower the premiums are as a result. According LIMRA 6 in 10 Americans own life insurance but 30% know they need more life insurance coverage. There is obviously a knowledge gap that needs to be filled and agents have to do a good job in explaining the scenarios in which more coverage is essential to the overall wellbeing of families in the case of unexpected losses. Life insurance gives the ability to earn income and have financial security in case there is a loss (of the policy holder) in the family.
Here are a few life events to bring up when discussing with clients or potential ones.
Getting married – Couples should evaluate life insurance needs, review beneficiaries and make sure their current coverage is good enough for the new life change. Supplemental insurance may be an option if it costs less and provides more coverage than company provided life insurance.
Having a baby – First time parents might want to increase coverage to provide best protection for their family, if something happens to a policy holder, beneficiaries can use benefits to pay for child care, education and other expenses needed for support. This is important to keep the burden light on policy holders’ spouse.
New home purchase – For optimal protection, clients should consider term life insurance to ensure their family can pay the monthly mortgage or home loans in the event they die. Term insurance gives the policy holder the option to select a beneficiary and coverage amount and it isn’t limited to a single purpose so it can be used to pay off other debts that threaten the dependent’s security.
Estate planning – It might be wise to consider a universal life or whole life insurance policy to help beneficiaries pay estate taxes or provide additional benefits for protecting wealth.
Starting a new job – Starting a new job provides a great opportunity to increase coverage. The new job hopefully pays more and gives room to increase coverage for better benefits. Policy holders can increase their coverage to protect any extra funds obtained in an increase in salary or promotion.
All ages and family situations need insurance that will financially protect them if the unexpected happens. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the average cost of funerals was $7000 to $8500 in 2014, not including costs associated with cemetery, flowers, obituaries, etc. What we don’t want is for our families to have to bear burdens due to unexpected losses.
It’s therefore important for independent insurance agents to explain the importance of life insurance and discuss the best coverage families need. A great and caring agent should provide their clients with the right tools and resources to help select an insurance plan that’s best for them. We at SDL insurance hold ourselves accountable to explaining the benefits of having the right coverage at an affordable rate and we’d be happy to assist you in understanding if your current coverage is sufficient for your current family situation. Please feel free to share other benefits of life insurance you might know and if you need to talk to an independent agent. Contact Scott.
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