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Demystifying Life Insurance – What is it and why do I need it?

Father and daughter with sunset

By: Brian Smith, President

Do you have life insurance? Do you need life insurance? Do you even know what it is? Personally, even I think it could be a confusing topic. We all hear about it, we all sign up for some level of life insurance if we have corporate benefits – but do we really know what it is and how it’s helping to protect us?

Let’s look at this in the simplest of terms. Say Jane pays a premium to her life insurance company for a pre-negotiated sum to be paid to Jane’s beneficiaries upon her death. This helps ensure that in the event of Jane’s passing, her family or her business avoid financial devastation.

For me, life insurance became particularly important when I had my first child; realizing that if anything happened to me, I wanted to ensure protection for my family. I wanted to make sure my wife and children were well cared for – not only that their basic needs were met, but that they could live without daily worry and even attend college.

Thinking about life insurance can be scary – and an easy topic to avoid. No one wants to think about what happens after we die. But the truth is, a tragedy could be made worse on your remaining loved ones when there is an added burden of the financial pressure of making ends meet. That’s why it pays to take the time to think about the future, and identify the policy that’s right for you.

It may be that you only want to cover your final expenses, or that you just want to leave behind a cushion for your spouse. Perhaps you have small children and a stay-at-home spouse, making your financial contributions critical for the long-term stability of your family. The truth is, we all have different goals.

The good news is that the policy options are endless. I suggest thinking about your goals and becoming educated on your options before choosing the right life insurance policy for you. Let’s talk about it – we’re here to help.