If you are young, fit and healthy, and you’ve never had any serious health issues or concerns, you might be fairly certain that you don’t need life insurance. You’d be wrong. For most of us, whatever our situation, life insurance is a valuable purchase.
You might hope not to need your insurance for a long time, if ever, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t need it. When you’ve found life insurance brokers that don’t charge a fee and taken out a policy, you’ve got protection for your family and home.
All policies are different, and the amount you pay will affect the coverage that you are offered, but any life insurance is better than none. Just think, if something happened to you, and you weren’t insured, your family could be left with nothing. Worse than this, they may have a mortgage to pay off on their own or even your debts to clear.
However, even knowing that we need it, most of us wait for a significant event or lifestyle change, before we start looking at policies. Here are some of the reasons you might want to think about taking out a policy.
You Are Starting a Family
When we start a family, whether by getting married or having children, our needs change. We no longer just have ourselves to think about, and our priorities are suddenly quite different. This might be the first time that you’ve ever thought of what might happen to your loved ones if you died, or became seriously ill. How would your family cope? Could they afford to live? Could your partner manage to work while taking care of the children?
For most families, the loss of one income can be crippling. Many of us are struggling to get by with two salaries, and if you are the primary breadwinner, your family would have financial difficulties without you.
Taking out life insurance means that if something did happen to you, while they would have a lot to cope with, and changes would need to be made, they would still be relatively financially secure. This can give them the time to make changes and improve their finances without having to worry. It could even cover your partner taking time off work to care for your children until they start school.
You Are Buying a House
Buying a house is another significant financial commitment, and few of us do it in one go. For most of us, buying a home means that we’re also committing to a mortgage, which may need to be paid off over twenty, or more years. If you are buying, and living in, your house alone, your family may simply decide to sell your home to clear the mortgage debt in the event of something happening to you.
But, if you live with a spouse or partner, could they afford to pay the mortgage without your income? Would they risk losing their home, as well as their loved one?
An insurance policy means that if something happens to you, your partner might be able to clear the mortgage so that they own the house outright. Or, they might just have a little space to breathe while they make other arrangements. Many mortgage providers will insist on a life insurance policy being in place before they agree to lend you the money.
You Support Someone Else Financially
Partners and children aren’t the only people that you might be financially responsible for. You might care for older family members. They might live in your home, or you may be paying for their care. Without your care and attention, what would happen to them? Would they be forced to sell their home or possessions? Would they have to move into a state care facility? Would their quality of life suffer? Is it possible that the loss of you would reduce their own life expectancy? A life insurance policy offers protection to anyone that you may offer financial or personal support.
You’ve Got Debts
If you’ve got debts from loans, credit cards or other sources, these won’t suddenly vanish if something happens to you. They will instead pass on to your next of kin, who may struggle to add these payments to their own finances.
A life insurance payout could clear any debts that you may have, giving your next of kin one less thing to worry about. If you have large debts, even if you are repaying them effectively, a life insurance policy is a great idea.
Your Job is High-Risk
If your job is high-risk, or you are self-employed, you have no long-term security. You could find yourself without work, or lose your job at some point in the future. This could mean that your financial situation changes and that you are no longer able to save for the future, or for something to leave behind for your family. Life insurance gives you a little more security.
Your Lifestyle is High-Risk
Another consideration is a high-risk lifestyle. If you’ve got extreme hobbies or enjoy extreme sports, you are always putting yourself at risk. Hopefully, nothing will ever go wrong, but the more risks you take, the more likely it is that something will happen, putting your life in danger. Anyone that enjoys high-risk hobbies should take out a life insurance policy as soon as possible.
You Can’t See Into the Future
The best reason to take out life insurance is that you never know. You can’t see into the future. You don’t know what might happen in the future. You might be well now, but that certainly doesn’t mean that you always will be.
Some life insurances policies don’t just come into effect in the event of your death. Some plans cash out if you are ill and unable to work, or otherwise find yourself without a steady income. Think about your policy needs, and how much you can afford to pay each month, before comparing life insurance or working with a broker.
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