There are those who believe that planning for a time when they are no longer living is to invite misfortune. This is superstitious nonsense, of course, but the feeling is nevertheless something that prevents a lot of people from considering the importance of life insurance. Life insurance is extremely important for anyone who has dependents or wants to ensure that their parents are taken care of in the event that they should die prematurely. Whether you have a spouse, children or other family members who depend on your income for their livelihood, life insurance is a good way to make sure your loved ones wont be blindsided and left destitute by your passing. It can also provide coverage for funeral expenses, as well as medical and legal costs that may be incurred by your passing.
Examining Your Need for Life Insurance
For childless couples who have two incomes and few expenses, life insurance is probably not a necessity; although, you might want to check into whether your spouse can carry on meeting the bills you pay together should they suddenly be left without your income. If you are a single individual without dependents, you might need to have some life insurance in place for your family members who will deal with your funeral and other final expenses. Your main goal for getting life insurance should be to cover your funeral costs and take care of any taxes that may be due on your estate.
If, however, you are the primary breadwinner for your family and you have little in the way of savings or other readily-available funds, you absolutely should have a life insurance policy. Its no fun to think about, but if youre going to do the responsible thing for your family, then you have to consider and accept the need to carry life insurance on yourself. Once you have the ability to meet the bills every month, your next priority should be obtaining some form of life insurance.
Asking the Right Questions
The best way to decide whether or not you need life insurance is to imagine how life would be for your family should you die prematurely. This should be done in a logical and unemotional manner, and you should ask yourself several questions about your familys needs should you no longer be in the picture, such as:
What will be the immediate impact of my death?
Is my paycheck essential to the functioning of the household?
Can my family continue paying the bills for the next three months? Six?
Are my funeral costs covered?
If the answers to these questions concern you, it is definitely time to consider getting life insurance. The whole point of life insurance is to cover unexpected expenses that might arise following your death. Its not meant to be a huge windfall for those you leave behind, but instead is more of an emergency fund to replace your income and cover expenses that might otherwise cause severe financial strain on your family.
