Is Not Enough Really OK?

“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.”–Abraham Lincoln

Well, Abe was certainly easier to please than me. When it comes to protecting your family future with life insurance, with the very rare exception of someone who is simply not insurable, failure is not an option. For the rest of us, being content with just having done something, however inadequate, while certainly better than nothing, is still being content with failure.

I know there are circumstances when a health issue and the premium rating that comes along with it may limit our ability to do everything we wish we could or everything that we really should. And I am not an advocate of breaking the bank with life insurance premiums, or even running a budget too close to the brink. But doing everything possible within your means should be the least you do. This is your family we’re talking about.

I know this is kind of a lame analogy, but my Dad taught me at an early age that when you borrow something you should give it back at least in as good shape as you received it, preferably better. If you borrowed a car, you brought it back with a full tank and maybe a car wash. If you borrowed someone’s cabin in the woods, you cleaned it and stocked it with a large stack of split firewood.

We don’t know how long we get with our families and we should endeavor to ensure that, if we leave prematurely, they are better off than when we were there. That’s right…better off! That’s just my opinion and my deeply held belief, but if you really love them, like me, you would want nothing less than a life without worry for them.

Bottom line. Is not enough life insurance really OK? That’s your call.