Is Life Insurance Absolutely, Positively Necessary?

I first wrote this back in 2015. I’m digging a little deeper because it can save your family.

Is Go Fund Me A Good Replacement For Life Insurance?

It sure seems like a lot of people believe that. I’ve seen Go Fund Me do some great things, but with time to think ahead are you seriously going to leave your spouse and children’s future up to donations? Do you have a spouse that is dependent on your income, or do you have a spouse and children that would struggle financially if you died unexpectedly? Your unexpected death will be devastating emotionally to those you leave behind. Do you really want to add a financial train wreck to that by ignoring life insurance and leaving your family praying for donations?

According to LIMRA there are at least 50 million people who believe they should have life insurance to protect their family but are choosing to ignore that potential train wreck. They can afford life insurance but they just can’t seem to find the time or the inclination to make that move.

The Truth!

A lot of people don’t buy life insurance because, well, what if they don’t die while their children and spouse are dependent on them?  The money they spent on life insurance could have been spent somewhere else. But I hear over and over that clients are grateful to have the peace of mind. And guys ( yes, you men), for every little bit of peace of mind that life insurance gives you, in means exponentially more to your bride. If you have children, whether you are concerned or not, your wife worries about what will happen to your children if you die.

I’ve been helping families with life insurance for 20 years and yes, clients have died. Almost all of them unexpectedly. When they took out life insurance none of them foresaw a premature death in a private plane accident, from heart attacks, from cancer that came out of no where and took their lives quickly. All of them expected to live long lives and grow old together with their spouses. The other common thread for those of us who love our families is that, in our absence, even if we haven’t put a lot of thought into it, we would like our families to be able to carry on and maybe even complete that bucket list you dreamed about with the life insurance benefits we left behind.

The Decision?

So, is it necessary? Are you required to carry life insurance? Of course not! It’s a personal choice and all revolves around how seriously we take the responsibility that we have taken on, whether that is marriage and children or a business or even a charity that we have poured our lives into. In most people’s minds it revolves around how much the life insurance is going to cost and they get stuck there. The truth is that we get stuck over the small amount of money that life insurance may cost, while never truly thinking twice about satellite TV or having the best smart phone. We faithfully pay every month for those things and never give a thought to if our family will even be able to keep those things if we were to die prematurely. We take money out of the budget for our own pleasure and never consider that, in the absence of life insurance, our families might very well be among those that we see in the news all the time, asking for donations to help with final expenses.

I know I’ve shared in the past my own life insurance plan and why it’s important to me. I want to know that, in my absence, my wife isn’t left with financial burdens and is able to do those things that she is passionate about. That’s me though. Setting aside the volunteer and charity loves that my wife embraces, I truly believe that the very least a husband or wife should do is have enough life insurance to leave the family without financial burdens. Will Rogers said that “A husband that dies without life insurance should have to come back and see the mess they left behind.” With adequate life insurance there is no financial mess, no inflicted financial hardship left by your income not being replaced.

Bottom Line

Priorities! Responsibilities! Life insurance! It’s all a matter of perspective and budget. To be fair there are those whose every dime of income goes just to the necessities of life and I’m not out to bust anyone’s chops who is truly just trying to feed the family. But, if you have money left over beyond the necessities and it’s not addressing the future security of your family, consider your chops busted. If you have questions or want to see what it would really cost to remove financial concerns from your family’s thought process, call or email me directly. My name is Ed Hinerman. Let’s talk.