Life insurance is not one of those things you can go back and get after the fact—and you may be surprised to learn that the “fact” isn’t always death. Here are three true stories about the importance of not delaying your purchase of life insurance.
- Life Insurance Premiums Increase with Increased Risk Factors
A woman and her husband elevated the purchase of life insurance to top priority once she found out she was pregnant. They researched policies and got quotes—then when the life insurance company processed her medical exam, the monthly fee nearly quadrupled. As it turns out, pregnancy can induce temporary conditions, for example increased cholesterol levels, that will flag you as a heightened risk—and therefore increase your premium. Three months after the woman gave birth, her cholesterol levels still hadn’t dropped, leaving her waiting anxiously to reapply. Pregnancy is not the only situation where you may experience increased risks. Getting your life insurance while you’re still healthy will save you a lot of money.
- Once You Have a Family, No Matter Your Age, Life Insurance is Essential
This story is of a woman who was married at the age of 21 and suddenly lost her husband at 26 with a 9-month-old baby to raise. Her husband was a proponent of buying life insurance, but she was reluctant. She thought it was scary to even think about one of them dying at an early age when they were just beginning their family. Fortunately, her husband moved forward and purchased health insurance for himself. When he died from a construction accident, the life insurance he bought helped provide for his young family. In a time of extreme grief, this was one less thing they had to worry about.
- Life Insurance Relieves Panic and Worry from Otherwise Dire Circumstances
This stay-at-home mom managed the household budget and paid the bills. Shortly after they had their first child, she looked into her husband’s employer-paid life insurance policy and found that it would only pay out about $30,000, which wouldn’t go far in raising a family should something happen to him. She took out a term life insurance policy to cover her husband, the breadwinner, and a whole life policy for herself that would help pay for the children’s college educations. When her husband died in a plane crash, there were many worries, but finances were not among them.
Source: Forbes