No More Excuses

If you ask someone who does not have life insurance why they don’t have a policy, most likely they have an excuse. Maybe they’ve never been told the benefits of life insurance for their situation. This blog will highlight three excuses commonly used by consumers to not purchase a policy and why an individual should still value the importance of life insurance.

“I’m a single college student without kids, why would I buy life insurance?”

Life insurance doesn’t just cover a spouse and children. It can protect parents, siblings, caregivers, etc. Today in the U.S., student debt is now at an all-time high of $1.2 trillion, which is significantly higher than today’s credit card debt.  For a college graduate, the average student loan debt is at $26,000.^[i] On top of their student loans, students are also suffering from credit card debt, which averages around $3,000. Add these debts to the cost of a funeral and a family could be looking at nearly $35,000-$40,000 of debt in the event they would suffer from the loss of their college-aged student.*

“My spouse and I just got married, and we don’t have kids. Why would we buy life insurance?”

Getting married is said to be a new chapter in the lives of two people in love. In many cases, the newlyweds purchase a home together to start their new lives, creating a new debt – the house mortgage. The average age of men getting married for the first time is 28 while women are an average age of 26.^[ii] At these ages, most couples have their career started, and have begun paying off previous accumulated debt. However, in the event of an early death, the spouse will be responsible for paying on remaining college loans, credit card debt, a house mortgage and possibly even car loans. This can cause extreme financial stress to the spouse if the only way to pay on all of this is their single income. Kids should not be the only reason to purchase a life insurance policy. A spouse could need it just as much as children.

“Life insurance is too expensive and we don’t have that extra income.”

There is a common misconception among Americans that life insurance is too expensive. According to LIMRA, 86 percent of consumers have not purchased a policy because they believe they cannot afford it. Some have overestimated the cost by nearly three times. However, a life insurance policy can be very affordable.  The best time to purchase a life insurance policy is when a person is young as younger consumers typically have fewer health issues. This allows them to qualify for preferred rates. If younger adults were better educated about this, then it’s possible we might reverse the decline in life insurance ownership and ensure more families are adequately protected.

Let’s do our part

Life insurance provides benefits to all consumers regardless of their situation. It is our job to educate them on how a policy can be beneficial to their lifestyle.

*dependent on the loan the student took out