What Can Life Insurance Do For You?
Okay, it won’t exactly do anything for you because you would, of course, be dead. Having said that, life insurance can be a great resource for your family and loved ones. Here are some things that life insurance can help with.
1. Cover Your Final Costs
There will be burial expenses to cover and you do not want to leave your family struggling to pay for them. A life insurance policy, even a small one, can prevent your family from relying on a GoFundMe campaign to lay you to rest.
Even if you are single, wouldn’t it be nice to know that your final arrangements would be covered. The average funeral cost is about 9000 dollars, slightly less for cremation, That price does not include the price of a lot if you intend to be buried. If you are single and have 20000 dollars or more in savings, you might not need insurance for this reason. If you have no savings however, a few hundred dollars a year for a small life insurance policy might be a good idea.
2. Provide Income For Your Family
Do you provide a good share of the income of your family? Even if you only brought in a third of your families income, how would they survive without it? If you want your family to be able to live in the same style that they live now, life insurance can make sure that happens. If nothing else, it can provide them enough money to transition to a new lifestyle and not have to immediately lose things like their home or cars.
3. Settle Your Debts
Most of us have debt and when we die, those debts do not necessarily die with use. In many cases, your spouse will inherit that debt. In other cases, the creditor might just come and take everything leaving you nothing to pass on. Your house gone, your cars gone.
In addition, think about any loans that might have had a cosigner. Student loans for example. Remember when you first got those loans? Did anyone help. If so, they might just end up liable for your entire debt.
If you do not want your final legacy to be that of debt, life insurance might be a great idea for you.
4. Send Your Kids To School
The loss of your income can really hurt your family and make it even harder for your kids to go to college without acquiring a mountain of debt. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that they can afford to go to school and not have to leave it with huge student loan monthly payments? Life insurance can do that for you and them.
5. Allow Your Family To Grieve
The loss of a loved one is a tough thing and it can be crippling. Without enough money, your loved ones might be forced to just suck it up and get back to work. That could make a very trying time even harder. Money can’t make the pain go away but it can help them have the proper time to naturally go through the grieving process.
6. Set Up A Trust For A Dependent
If you have a special needs child or loved one, who will take care of them if you pass? Life insurance can help provide for their care for the long haul. You can use it to establish a trust that could only be used for their care.
Increasingly popular these days are trusts for pets. It might seem odd to some but we love our animals. What would happen if you passed and could no longer take care of them. Would they be taken to the animal shelter or worse yet euthanized? Life insurance and a trust can prevent this.
Wrapping Up
To get or not to get life insurance is not that hard of a decision in the end. If you have a family, a policy is a great idea, if you like your family at least. It provides for your final costs, maintains their financial stability, can pay for their education and perhaps even their care for years to come.
If you are single, or have nobody that truly depends on your income, it is not that cut and dry. If you have enough money in assets to pay for your final expenses and debt then it might not be worth it to you. On the other hand, if your passing would cause people financial stress, a life insurance policy would probably be a good choice.
As far as the type of life insurance goes, you have many choices. You should consult with an insurance agent to make the right decision. In general though, term life insurance will be the way to go. It is more affordable and provides the death benefit you need with minimal monthly costs. A 500,000 dollar policy can be easily found for under 100 dollars a month. A small price to pay to give your family the money they desperately need in the future and give you piece of mind in the meantime.
