Why I don’t Buy Life Insurance

Face it, we're all Just Visiting this Planet...

If you're like most people, it's not that you don't appreciate the value of life insurance. In fact, many people believe they need more coverage. You probably wouldn't mind owning additional life insurance. It's just that you don't want to buy it. Thinking about buying life insurance, talking about buying life insurance, discussing the reasons for buying life insurance--all of this makes many people feel uncomfortable. Here are just some of the reasons why you may be putting off buying the life insurance you know you need.

I don't have enough time

You'll get around to buying life insurance... but not today. With all the things you've got to do, buying life insurance can come off as a low priority--just one more thing you ought to do. Plus, the whole idea of discussing life insurance isn't a whole lot of fun. Who wouldn't rather take the dogs for a walk on the beach, attend a child's softball game, or spend those precious few hours of free time in the evening visiting with friends? Nonetheless, buying life insurance is really an important task that should be addressed. Life insurance can help ensure that your family will have enough money to meet their financial obligations in the event of your death.

The subject is boring...and morbid

If you really don't like to think about death, you're not alone. Death is an unpleasant subject, and life insurance raises issues of our own mortality. Some people say that the very thought of starting the life insurance buying process makes them feel stressed-out. There's no great appeal to contemplating our own mortality. It's a subject we'd rather ignore than address. The result can be inertia or denial. It doesn't have to be that way. People who do act on their life insurance needs tend to focus on the positive aspects: the idea of meeting their responsibilities to provide for, and care for, their loved ones. They think of it as contingency planning, protecting their families against the uncertainties of life. They also recognize that life insurance is really about life and love, about helping to ensure a positive quality of life for their spouse and children if they die prematurely.

I don't know where to start

If you don't have a clue about which type of policy is right for you, or how much life insurance you need, join the club. Few of us truly understand life insurance: why we need it, what type of policy is best, how much we need, when and how benefits are paid, how benefits may be taxed, and more. That's okay. It's not your job to know everything about life insurance. That's the job of an insurance professional. Thinking you need to have all of the answers about which type of life insurance is best for you is sort of like needing surgery and thinking you need to know which type of scalpel to use. That's the surgeon's job. In the same respect, the right insurance professional can guide you through the process of selecting the policy that best suits your needs, budget, and objectives, and can answer your questions.

Life insurance isn't a high priority compared with the other expenses I have

For many underinsured people, it's not so much that they don't want the life insurance they need; it's just difficult to find the extra dollars to pay for it. Buying life insurance you can't afford benefits no one. If it causes your family hardship or requires you to make choices that seem incongruous ("Gee kids, I'd love to take you on vacation, but our life insurance premium is due"), you'll eventually discontinue the policy. Then you lose, and your family loses. That's why it's important to purchase a policy that meets your needs and your budget. If you want help determining the best life insurance strategy for your needs visit the Prentiss Group’s web page titled, “Hate Making Life Insurance Premiums?”

Fortunately, there are many types of life insurance available. These include term life insurance policies and various types of permanent (cash value) life insurance policies. Term policies provide life insurance protection for a specific period of time. If you die during the coverage period, your beneficiary receives the policy's death benefit. If you live to the end of the term, the policy simply terminates, unless it automatically renews for a new period.

Permanent insurance policies offer protection for your entire life, regardless of your health, provided you pay the premium to keep the policy in force. As you pay your premiums, a portion of each payment is placed in the cash value account. During the early years of the policy, the cash value contribution is a large portion of each premium payment. As you get older, and the true cost of your insurance increases, the portion of your premium payment devoted to the cash value decreases. The cash value continues to grow--tax deferred--as long as the policy is in force.

Several different types of permanent life insurance are available, including:

• Whole life insurance

• Universal life insurance

• Variable life

• Variable universal life

Note: Variable life and variable universal life insurance policies are offered by prospectus, which you can obtain from your financial professional or the insurance company. The prospectus contains detailed information about investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. You should read the prospectus and consider this information carefully before purchasing a variable life or variable universal life insurance policy.

The bottom line

It's easy to understand why people tend to put off purchasing the life insurance they know they need. But look at it this way: Buying life insurance is one way you can help secure your family's financial future. And what could be better than knowing your loved ones will be protected, even if you're no longer around to take care of them?

Five reasons to buy life insurance

• To provide continuing income for your family members

• To pay off debts you leave behind

• To pay final expenses and taxes

• To provide an estate for your loved ones

• To leave money to charity

People who do act on their life insurance needs tend to focus on the positive aspects: the idea of meeting their responsibilities to provide for, and care for, their loved ones. To learn more about life insurance and how you can fund an appropriate policy without having to make premium payments, look into the Prentiss Group’s U. R. the Bank program.

This is a simple and cost-effective way to finance your life insurance needs without using your hard-earned cash. Now you can leverage the equity in your home or any other under-performing asset to earn more than enough money to make those premium payments. It’s called premium financing and you can hear from some of the Prentiss Group’s clients by visiting www.GuaranteeMyMoney.com and clicking on one of the client testimonial videos. Learn how to earn more and use it to buy life insurance you thought you couldn’t afford.

Click here for a free quote on any of our financial products.

Call 888-GRIP WORKS  (888-474-7967) to learn more.

E. Glenn Duggins CA License 0B37803

Disclosure Information -- Important -- Please Review

Neither Forefield Inc. nor Forefield Advisor provides legal, taxation, or investment advice. All content provided by Forefield is protected by copyright. Forefield claims no liability for any modifications to its content and/or information provided by other sources. Copyright 2008 Forefield Inc.

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00e55006f3d9883300e55059d3cf8833

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Why I don’t Buy Life Insurance:

Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Working...
Your comment could not be posted. Error type:
Your comment has been posted. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Working...

Post a comment