Life Insurance is Affordable

September is Life Insurance Awareness month. You have probably seen media advertisements and articles talking about why this coverage is so important all month long. And you probably already know it’s important. But that doesn’t mean you have your policy set up yet!

Life insurance is the perfect way to make sure your family is covered financially if you aren’t able to care for them anymore. The best part is we can tailor it to your needs. 

The Life Foundation says that only 62% of people who believe they need life insurance actually have it. And even those that have insurance only carry enough to replace their income for 3.6 years. If you have young children to support, that is simply not enough time! And if you are skipping life coverage all together, then you are putting your family at risk. 

Why do so many people wait too long to purchase life insurance? The Life Foundation says that 86% of Americans say they haven’t purchased their policies because it’s “too expensive”, yet studies show they overestimate the cost by more than DOUBLE!

Life Insurance rates are based on a number of factors, such as: age, health conditions and smoking status. By purchasing when you are younger and being a non-smoker, you can save a considerable amount of money. Actually, many term life policies are less than $30 a month!

We recommend calling our office at 360-452-9200 to make an appointment with our life insurance specialist, Matt Elwood. Make sure to bring information such as annual income, as well as any debts (like your mortgage). We will give you an idea of how much coverage you will need, as well as different ways to make it fit your budget. You can always drop by our office at 707 East Front Street in Port Angeles and start your conversation about life insurance. 

Life Insurance From Your Employer

My biggest responsibility as an Allstate agent is to provide financial security to all of my clients. What does financial security mean? To me, it means protecting everything you own as well as the people you love. Most people think of Allstate for their home and auto insurance, but usually not life insurance. Life insurance tends to be ignored, delayed or purchased at work. Commonly, people say they have life insurance through work. While that is a great starting point, it can leave some major gaps in your planning. Here are a few reasons why.

Employee discussion on life insurance

Salary Multiple

The amount of life insurance offered in an employer setting tends to be only 1-2x salary. This is vastly inadequate considering the average family needs 8-10x salary.

Do you and your spouse have life insurance outside of your employers, equal to at least 8x your salary?

Portability

Group life insurance from your employer is only good while you work there. It is not portable – meaning if you decide to quit, retire or get laid-off you lose your insurance. In this economy, that can be a real concern. On the other hand, your own individual policy stays with you for as long as you pay the premium.

Cost

Life insurance at work is usually more expensive assuming you are in good health and could qualify for your own policy. Think about it this: if an insurance company has to guarantee insurance to everyone in a group they have to raise rates to account for the less healthy.

If you are in good health, purchasing life insurance on your own can be more affordable and you can take it with you no matter what happens with your current job.

I am not against group life insurance from your employer because it can be a great starting point, especially if your boss is paying for it. However, individual life insurance tends to be better solution. What’s even better is that Allstate just came out with their Auto/Life Discount for customers with both auto and life insurance. Contact me to see how much you can save!

Want more information? Please visit Matt Elwood - Allstate Insurance to get more information on the Allstate products and services I can offer in Port Angeles, Sequim or anywhere Washington State.