You’re working hard and trying to plan well for your future. However, many people, despite their best intentions, tend to procrastinate when it comes to one very important part of planning for the future: life insurance.
We get it! No one likes to think about not being around for their family. It’s not a pleasant subject…but it is one that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. After all, life insurance isn’t necessarily about you. It is about protecting and providing for the people you love once you are no longer here.
We know the topic can feel a little overwhelming, and we want to give you a helping hand to make it easier for you to get started.
Check out these 5 steps for making life insurance decisions
- Think about the future and what you will need your life insurance to accomplish.
Life insurance policies can be used for many things. For example, do you want your policy to pay off the mortgage on your home? Pay for funeral expenses? Pay for your children to go to private school? Fund college? Allow your spouse to stay home without your income? Pay off debt or student loans? Knowing why you need life insurance and what you want the policy to do for your family is the first step.
- Do your research.
Don’t get into a conversation with an advisor with no idea of how life insurance works. Know that it is not about choosing the cheapest option, it is about selecting the protection plan that will fully provide for your family when you are gone. You certainly don’t need to be an expert, but it’s a great idea to have some frame of reference. Do you still have questions after you’ve done some research? Good! Jot your questions down. This leads to our next step.
- Schedule a meeting with a trusted advisor you are comfortable with.
Bring your list of questions and know that you’ll probably think of more during your discussion. You need to be comfortable and feel good about the protection plan you choose for your family, as well as understand what it is. If you have an advisor who doesn’t listen to you or offers to explain your questions, you’ve got the wrong one. Choose an advisor who is patient and willing to educate you rather than one who tries to rush you through the process. It’s perfectly ok to take some time after your meeting to contemplate your options.
- Your advisor should conduct a thorough needs assessment with you.
Your advisor should have a fairly detailed consultation with you to learn about your assets, your existing insurance protection, your goals and desired coverage for the policy and your family. For instance, they should ask what expenses you’d like the policy to cover, how far into your mortgage you are, how old your kids are, etc. They should then provide tools to help create an estimate of how much coverage you’d need your policy to include. If you don’t know the amounts of coverage you need, that’s ok. A professional and experienced advisor will help.
- Decide on the policy type.
This is another important conversation item to be covered. Should you choose a Term Policy or a Universal Life? Would a Whole Life Policy better meet your needs, or should you explore a combination of these options? Could an Annuity be a good option for you based on your income, age and goals? What about a Retirement Fund or Long-Term Care protection? Whatever your needs, discussing them thoroughly with your advisor can help you pinpoint the best protection plan and how to get started.
Are you ready to take the next step? Let’s have a conversation. Contact one of our local, trusted advisors at 833-581-1011.
