Evaluating Your Life Insurance Needs--Are You Covered?

Wednesday, March 1, 2006

Evaluating Your Life Insurance Needs—Are You Covered? (NAPSA)—While it may not be possible to anticipate all of life’s uncertainties, when properly used, life insurance can help an individual or a family survive the financial challenges posed by the passing of a loved one. Unfortunately, many Ameri- cans are not prepared for such unexpected events. According to a 2005 study conducted by the insurance research organization LIMRAInternational, 44 percent of all U.S. households either don’t own life insurance at all or own some life insurance but believe that they need more. LIMRAalso cites complexity, the perception that life insurance is expensive, and procrastination among the key reasons holding back buyers. For most middle-income Americans, term life insurance can be an affordable and easy way to solve one’s life insurance needs. According to a report on term life insurance rates by actuarial con- sultant Howell Pugh, term life insurance rates decreased almost 15 percent between January 2001 and January 2006. “Competition among term life insurance providers continues to be fierce. This is keeping prices low for consumers,” said Alan S. Lurty, senior vice president at ING U.S. Financial Services, a leading Lowest Rates for 20-Year Term for 35- Year-Old Male Preferred Non-Tobacco User for $500,000 Annual Premium e Anticipated expenses. Got kids? Are they planning to go to college? What about getting married? College and weddings are 340 two large, typical family expenses. 320 Replacing services. Does one spouse stay home to care for the 300 | children? How much wouldit cost 280 to hire a child-care provider if that 260 240 final expenses to be paid in cash within a short period of time after a death occurs. person died? How about a house cleaner, handyman or car me- Jon 2001 Jon 2002 Jan 2003 Jon 2004 =Jon 2005 ‘Jon 2006 Source: Howell Pugh Competition between life insurance providers has caused premiums to drop, lowering costs for consumers. premium remains the same dur- ing that period. The cost for a policy varies based on a buyer’s age, health and the length of the policy. Policies pay a death benefit to beneficiaries should the insured person die during that term. How MuchInsurance? The amount of life insurance you need depends on your financial objectives—but your first steps should always be the same. “Evaluate your personal situation to determine yourfinancial goals,” said Lurty. Here are some issues to con- chanic? Life insurance buyers need to consider what services they might need to purchase should someonein their family die. Retirement planning. A sur- viving spouse may have depended on contributions previously made by a spouse to meet retirement objectives. When calculating their insurance needs, insurance buyers should consider both future contributions that would have been made by the spouse as well as any company match. Special needs. Life insurance can help provide financial assistance to a family member with a physical or mental handicap who requires lifetime assistance. Experts say life insurance should be a cornerstone of any financial plan. Consult with spousesor other family members to determine yourfinancial objectives. be a relatively straightforward process. A number of Internetbased providers offer online quotes. sider when evaluating your life insurance needs: Replacing income. A primary use of life insurance is to make funds available to survivors so you determine yourlife insurance needs. However, while these calculators can provide you with a ance agents also offer term policies. rent standardofliving. perts agree that consulting with a distributorof life insurance. Buying term life insurance can Additionally, most local life insur- With term insurance, buyers choose a specific period of time that would adequately cover their insurance needs, generally 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. The annual that they can maintain their cur- Funeral expenses. Thecost of a funeral for an adult can easily run $10,000 or more. Debt elimination. Most credit card and loan companies require There are multiple calculators available on the Internet to help general direction, insurance ex- professional and remembering to periodically evaluate your coverage are the wayto go. To learn more, visit www. ing.com/us/lifeinsurance.

--- PHOTOS ---

File: 20190801-080908-20190801-080905-70137.pdf.jpg

--- FILES ---

File: 20190801-080905-70137.pdf