Life Happens

18 Is No Longer an “Adult”

by Maggie Leyes | September 11, 2024 | Research | 0 comments

When your 18^th birthday comes, it isn’t like someone magically waves a magic wand and you become an adult. Of course—legally—you can do things you couldn’t before: vote, sign contracts—well really a whole range of things without parental consent. But, when we asked 2,000 people across generations when they actually felt like an adult, we got the true answer: 27.

This comes from Life Happens new survey “Adulthood Across Generations,” that was conducted by Talker Research. They surveyed 2,000 Americans equally split among adult Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers.

Below are some high-level results, but you can find out a lot more of what the different generations are thinking with our survey research page here and the press release here.

Infographic_LIAM_Talker_Survey_Adulthood_2024

How We Protect Our Blended Family

by Maggie Leyes | June 12, 2024 | Life Insurance | 0 comments

“When we, as LGBTQ+ adults, make the decision to get into a relationship and start a family, it’s not always with the support of our own family.” That is a poignant statement that will resonate with a lot of people.

This insight came from MyLin and SK Stokes Kennedy, who are married and raising their blended family in Southern California. The couple appeared on season six of “Black Love,” where they opened up about the challenges of cultivating their partnership and raising three children.

We are thrilled that they agreed to work with us again this year on spreading the message about the importance of life insurance.

Life insurance? You may ask, “Where does that come into all of this?” Well, it may be more important than most people think, so read on as we chat with MyLin and SK.

Life Happens: When is the first time you both heard about life insurance?

MyLin + SK: We became familiar with it after getting married but didn’t get it until we were pregnant with our first child together.

LH: Why did each of you decide to purchase life insurance?

MyLin + SK: We realized that we didn’t want the other, or our kids, to suffer financially in the midst of grieving if, or when, something happens to us.

LH: What type of coverage do both of you have and why?

MyLin + SK: We currently have term life insurance. In doing research, we found that it was the least expensive option at this point for us.

LH: Why should everyone have life insurance, especially LGBTQ+ adults?

MyLin + SK: When we, as LGBTQ+ adults, make the decision to get into a relationship and start a family, it’s not always with the support of our own family. So, if something happens to us, there is the chance that our desires are not withheld by the surviving family. Wills can be contested, things drawn out. With life insurance, you can ensure that your partner and kids receive what you want them to.

LH: Have you had conversations about life insurance with your family or friends?

MyLin + SK: Yes, we’ve had convos with both. With our moms being the most important ones because of what positions we may be left in if they don’t have life insurance.

LH: What did one of those conversations look like?

MyLin: So, I found out my mom had a very small policy through her job that was under $10,000, which isn’t covering her funeral costs. That led to us looking into getting her a proper policy that would cover her funeral costs (my mom knows a lot of people so it will be big, and we will need funds), bills/debt, mortgage, her car note. There is so much that I don’t want to fall on my brother and I or have to create a GoFundMe and beg people for it. I just want it already taken care of.

LH: What does life insurance mean to you?

MyLin + SK: For us it means security and peace of mind, knowing that if anything unfortunate happens to either of us (or both of us), our kids will be taken care of.

LH: What do you wish more people knew about life insurance?

MyLin + SK: We wish people understood the gravity it held. How much pain and stress dealing with financial struggles after losing a loved one can be and that we can do something about it now. We just need the knowledge and awareness spread that it’s not a huge, expensive monthly bill.

LH: What research findings from our 2024 Insurance Barometer Study (Life Happens and LIMRA) do you find the most interesting?

MyLin + SK: I was interested to see that 62% of people that said they don’t have life insurance also feel as though they need it. The desire is there, they just need more knowledge. So, there is opportunity there to get them the knowledge they need to make that next step.

LH: We agree—and that really is our mission!

MyLin + SK: And then that 22% of people that do have it say they need more. I feel like we land in that 22%. We’ve had life insurance for about five years now and pay $83 a month for all our policies, which includes $150,000 policies for each of us as parents and $15,000 policies for each of our three kids.

Our goal is to jump up to $500,000 of coverage on us as parents because we want our kids to have funds for their future education, just not paying off bills and debt. So even we know that there is room for growth and to receive more knowledge. That’s why we like partnering with you all. It motivates us to dig a little deeper and get more knowledge—and also to share it. Because we know more people need it.

Get Started

Don’t let being unsure of how much or what kind of life insurance to buy stop you from getting coverage. To start, you can do a quick calculation with our Life Insurance Needs Calculator to get a general idea of how much you may need. And if you want help choosing the right kind of policy that fits your budget, you can talk with an insurance professional at no cost or obligation. If you don’t have someone to work with, you can use Life Happens’ Agent Locator here.

There’s a Generational Shift Underway With Financial Concerns

by Maggie Leyes | April 15, 2024 | Financial Education, Insurance Barometer Study, Life Insurance, Research | 0 comments

Most people are not immune to the worries of the wallet—big and small. From paying for monthly bills all the way to paying for long-term care and everything in between, people from Gen Z to Boomers told us what they are concerned about financially.

Turns out, saving retirement is a key financial worry, with 44% of Americans expressing concern, according to the 2024 Insurance Barometer Study, from Life Happens and LIMRA. This has been true for every year since the study began in 2011.

It’s Millennials’ Turn

While there hasn’t been a major change retirement concern, what has shifted is who is worrying the most about a range of financial issues. This year, Millennials expressed the highest level of financial concern on nine of the 15 specific financial matters we asked them about. Just two years ago, Gen X was the most concerned on 14 of the 15. A generational shift is clearly underway.

If we take a look at the key financial concerns across all generations, we see the gap between these two generations:

Millennials vs Gen X

Having enough money for retirement: 54% vs 48%

saving for an emergency fund: 45% vs 38%

supporting myself if I couldn’t work due to a disabling illness/injury: 45% vs 39%

paying for long-term care if I couldn’t care for myself: 40% vs 37%

paying for medical expenses in case of an illness/injury: 40% vs 34%

And yet, one of the things that can bring them financial peace of mind—life insurance—is something that fewer Millennials own (50%) than their older Gen X counterparts (55%). So why don’t Millennials have coverage? Well, 42% say it’s too expensive, but 46% overestimate the true cost by 5 times or more. And it’s not surprising they were so far off with on price, as almost half (47%) admit they used a wild guess or used a gut feeling to estimate the cost.

There’s Coverage for That

Additionally, some of their other concerns can be addressed by other types of insurance coverage. For example, disability insurance is there if you are unable to work due to a disabling illness or injury (a concern for 45% of Millennials), but only 19% of Millennials say they own it, and only 20% say they are very/extremely knowledgeable about.

And this year’s Barometer Study also looked at combination products, specifically life insurance combined with long-term care. This type of coverage could allay concerns that Millennials have about both leaving their family in the lurch financially if they died (38%) and paying for long term care (40%).

An easy solution is to explore info on these products: life insurance, disability insurance and long-term care, and then talk to an insurance professional who can help you find a solution in your budget. Plus, that conversation is at no cost and no obligation. If you don’t have an someone to work with, you can use our Agent Locator here.

Life Insurance: 5 Signs You Might Be Underinsured

by Divya Sangameshwar | December 7, 2023 | Life Insurance | 0 comments

If you have dependents—or just loved ones who you want to take care of after you die—life insurance is critical. This coverage helps ensure your lost income doesn’t translate to tangible material losses for your family once you’re gone.

But how much life insurance is enough? That’s a question whose answer can change significantly over your lifetime, and an important one to answer correctly.

You may be underinsured with life insurance coverage if…

1. Your only life insurance coverage is through your employer.

While some life insurance is certainly better than no life insurance, if your only coverage is through your employer, you may not have enough. These plans generally offer very limited coverage (like a year’s worth of your salary, maybe two), which is unlikely to be enough to meet your family’s needs if you have any significant debts or children whose college educations you’re hoping to help fund.

Furthermore, life insurance offered through your employer is usually contingent on you keeping that job, so if you leave your position for any reason, the coverage disappears.

Finally, buying an individual policy gives you access to different types of life insurance policies, including permanent life insurance, which has living benefits you can use while you’re alive.

2. Your income went up.

Getting a raise is almost always a good thing, but if you’re making significantly more income today than you were when you first bought your life insurance policy, you may find yourself underinsured. A higher income usually comes with associated lifestyle changes, and learning how to live with less is likely the last thing your loved ones will want to do if you depart unexpectedly.

3. Your stay-at-home spouse doesn’t have life insurance.

If your stay-at-home spouse doesn’t have life insurance coverage, you’ll want to consider getting them a policy. Even if they don’t make an income that would need replacing, they perform valuable services like childcare that would need to be paid for if they’re no longer there.

Watch the Virgen family’s Real Life Story to see just how critical life insurance was for a family who, thankfully, insured Teresa, a stay-at-home mom. If not for the insurance, they’re certain that they would have lost their home.

4. You had a child.

As every parent knows, having a child is expensive—in fact, in 2023, raising a child costs more than $21,000 per year on average. (And that’s before you factor in college!)

All of which is to say, if you’re a new parent or you brought an additional child into your family, it’s a good time to review your life insurance coverage and ensure you have enough to meet your dependents’ long-term needs, including food, shelter and education, until they’re of age. Given the high cost of childcare (and the precarious financial position of an underinsured single parent), even one child can increase your life insurance needs significantly.

5. You bought a new home.

Paying the mortgage is one of the most pressing financial needs for any family—and more pressing, still, for a newly widowed spouse. If you purchased a new home since you first got your life insurance policy, you may find that you need more coverage to help ensure your loved ones can successfully pay down that debt. After all, moving is never fun, especially in the face of a tragic loss.

While it can feel overwhelming to determine how much life insurance coverage you need as your financial situation changes over time, it’s also well within your power to ensure you’re sufficiently covered. Life Happens’ Life Insurance Needs Calculator is a great starting point for estimating how much coverage you need. A half hour of work today can translate to years’ worth of financial stability in the future.

Join Life Happens’ 2024 Insure Your Love Facebook Chat

by Corey Goodburn | November 27, 2023 | Life Insurance | 0 comments

Join Life Happens for a Facebook Chat during Insure Your Love month this February. We’ll discuss all things life insurance and love!

Date: Thursday, February 15 from 1 to 2 p.m. ET

Where: Join us on Facebook using your personal handle or your company’s handle.

Hashtag: Use and follow #InsureYourLoveChat during the above time frame.

How to: To share a response from your company account on Life Happens’ posts, first switch your profile to your company’s Facebook page. Then look up Life Happens in the search bar. When you’re on Life Happens’ Facebook page, make sure you’re writing a comment as your company’s page by checking to see that the profile picture and name match your company and not your personal account. If you need any assistance, please contact Corey Goodburn, our Social Media Specialist, at cgoodburn@lifehappens.org.

Life Happens will moderate the discussion and drive the conversation on Facebook using the questions below. Pass your answers through company compliance beforehand if needed. We’ll share each question as a Facebook post and create a dialogue in the comments with companies’ answers. Remember, you’ll have to use the #InsureYourLoveChat hashtag in each comment. You are also encouraged to share our posts and engage with other comments.

Q1: How are love and life insurance related to one another? #InsureYourLoveChat

Q2: What are some fears people might have about discussing life insurance with their partner or family? #InsureYourLoveChat

Q3: Four in 10 single parents (43%) hadn’t started planning for their child’s financial future until early childhood (ages of 4-6) or later. Source: Single Parents and the Financial Future, August 2023. What do you think of this statistic? Any tips? #InsureYourLoveChat

Q4: How can people use a life insurance policy’s cash value for love? #InsureYourLoveChat

Q5: Can you share a real life story or example of how life insurance played a crucial role in protecting a family’s financial future? #InsureYourLoveChat

Q6: How can you create multi-generational wealth for your family with life insurance? #InsureYourLoveChat

Q7: Are there any unique life insurance solutions that can cater to the needs of single moms and their kids? #InsureYourLoveChat

And don’t forget, Life Happens is a nonprofit organization with a mission to educate people about life insurance. Want to help us further our mission by becoming a member company? Contact Brian Steiner at partnerships@lifehappens.org.

Preparing for the Unpredictable: A Checklist for Evaluating Long-Term Care Insurance Options

by Kirk Cremer | November 9, 2023 | Long-Term Care Insurance | 0 comments

Life often has a way of taking unexpected turns, especially when we get older. While there’s no way to know for sure if you’ll need long-term care in the future, it’s quite likely considering that people are living longer than ever—in fact, 69% of people will use long-term care services at some point.

As you draw closer to your golden years, getting long-term care insurance (LTCI) can be a smart decision to ensure peace of mind and financial stability for both you and your loved ones. With many options available, making the right choice can feel overwhelming. Use this checklist to help you evaluate and take that next step toward getting coverage.

1. Understanding Long-Term Care and Early Planning:

Define the types of care: Understand the various forms of long-term care, such as nursing home care, home health care or assisted living. Determine what kind of care you or a loved one might need. It’s also important to think about the kind of care that LTCI doesn’t cover, which typically includes care provided by family members or medical care costs.
Start early: The sooner you start evaluating your long-term care insurance options, the better. Early planning can allow for better financial preparation and a broader range of choices.

2. Exploration of Insurance Options and Policy Features:

Traditional vs. hybrid policies: Traditional long-term care insurance (also known as a standalone policy) covers nursing home care, home health care and assisted living, while hybrid policies combine the death benefit of life insurance or annuities with long-term care benefits.
Policy features: Look into the specific features like the daily or monthly benefit amount, length of benefit period and the elimination period. Consider inflation protection to ensure the benefit amount keeps pace with rising care costs.

3. Costs, Premiums and Coverage Specifics:

Premium costs: Understand the cost of premiums and assess if they fit within your budget. It’s also important to understand whether the premiums can increase in the future and under what circumstances.
Coverage details: Know which services are covered, which are not and any conditions or restrictions. This can help you avoid any surprises later.

4. Provider Reputation, Financial Stability and Legal Consultation:

Provider reputation: Choose companies known for servicing long-term care policies well. Check the financial strength ratings of the insurance company.
Legal and financial advice: Seek advice from legal and financial professionals familiar with long-term care planning to understand the implications of long-term care insurance.

5. Family Discussion and Continuous Evaluation:

Family discussions: Engage family members in discussions about long-term care planning to ensure everyone is on the same page. LTCI is also there to help your loved ones, as it takes the pressure off your family to provide care.
Continuous evaluation: As needs change over time, review and update your policy regularly, especially after major life events. It’s always a good idea to review any form of insurance annually.

By following this checklist, you can make informed decisions that provide peace of mind and financial stability for yourself and your loved ones. Evaluating long-term care insurance options is a crucial step in preparing for life’s uncertainties. A licensed insurance agent can help you take the next step of getting coverage.

How End-of-Life Planning Can Ease Financial Concerns

by Marc Bisson | October 26, 2023 | Financial Planning, Life Insurance | 0 comments

Too often, families are left unsure of the way forward when grieving the loss of a loved one, as plans for their final arrangements and corresponding finances are left unsettled before their passing. Taking a proactive approach to end-of-life planning can help ease these burdens and support a smoother transition for your loved ones.

Tips for preparing your end-of-life finances

Consider who you want as beneficiaries of your estate. Ensure you take time to consider which family members you want to have as decision-makers and beneficiaries of your estate. You may also need to update them across different financial accounts. For example, your spouse may have died since you originally listed your beneficiaries, which could affect the plan for your estate. Changes like these should be reported as encountered and can help your assets be released quickly after your passing.

Get life insurance coverage. Life insurance is one financial resource that helps make it easier for your loved ones to carry on financially after you die. Your beneficiaries will initiate a claim once the death certificate has been issued, and they’ll receive the death benefit (cash) to use how they see fit. This could mean funding your funeral costs, paying off your medical bills and much more.

Appoint an executor and power of attorney (POA). Even with the most meticulous pre-planning, there are often loose ends left untied. For this reason, it’s a good idea to have a trusted family member or friend appointed as the executor of your will and possibly a power of attorney who can step in and make decisions on your behalf should you be unable to.

Finalize plans in a written will and last testament. Once you speak to your loved ones and confirm who will facilitate your end-of-life plans, meet with an estate lawyer to have your will and last testament notarized. This will include the outlined roles of your family, any beneficiaries and an advanced directive should you see fit.

Consider meeting with funeral or burial experts to pre-plan your services. Pre-planning and budgeting for any services after your passing is an excellent way to relieve some of your family’s stress. Consider whether you want to be buried or cremated, where you would like to rest and any third parties you would like to have officiate. Further, write your preferences into your will to help give everyone peace of mind. While not legally binding, it helps guide your power of attorney on how to proceed during a challenging time.

Enlist the help of experts

Once your documents are finalized and you’ve made copies for the necessary parties, consulting with an attorney, financial professional and funeral consultant can help ensure everything is set in stone. An attorney will notarize your will, a financial professional can help you understand your life insurance options and your estate’s worth, and a funeral director can help ensure your end-of-life preparations are precisely what you envision. While this can feel like a somber task, it can help ensure your wishes are met and take stress off your loved ones in the future.

Why Would I Need to Get Life Insurance for My Child?

by Barbara A. Pietrangelo | October 12, 2023 | Juvenile Insurance, Life Insurance | 0 comments

Life insurance is a topic usually associated with adults since it provides peace of mind for those who have someone depending on them financially. But there is life insurance coverage for minors as well, known as child life insurance or juvenile life insurance.

It can sound unnecessary or even a little morbid, but child life insurance offers an array of benefits, including financial planning and future insurability for your child. Let’s dive into what child life insurance is, its purpose and the key considerations when exploring this option.

Understanding Child Life Insurance

Child life insurance is typically a permanent policy designed to serve multiple purposes. Its primary function is to offer a death benefit in the tragic event of a child’s passing. While no parent wants to contemplate that scenario, it can ensure financial support for your family during an emotionally challenging time.

Another common reason parents (or grandparents) get coverage for their child is to build cash value over time. This cash value is not only a monetary asset, but also a tool for supporting their future financial needs.

Who Benefits from Child Life Insurance?

Child life insurance can help with a few key things: guaranteeing your child’s future insurability, forming a fund for major expenses later in life through the cash value and providing a death benefit if needed.

Future insurability:

It can’t be overstated how important this first part is: securing your child’s future insurability. Unfortunately, you can’t predict what health conditions may impact your child as they age. Depending on the situation, they could be uninsurable later in life. If they’re insured now, they’ll be able to keep that permanent policy for life regardless of any health issues that may arise.

Plus, life insurance premiums are typically more affordable the younger and healthier you are. By getting coverage for your child at a young age (as early as two weeks old), you can safeguard your child’s access to insurance and get a better policy at a more affordable rate than if they tried to get that same coverage as an adult.

Cash value:

Secondly, child life insurance acts as an investment for giving your child a strong financial start in life. The cash value that accumulates in the policy can be tapped to fund major life milestones, like getting their first car, paying for college or even a down payment on a house later on. The beauty of child life insurance lies in its flexibility—the cash value can be utilized at the discretion of the policy owner for any purpose you wish.

Death benefit:

If the unthinkable were to happen while a child is still young, the life insurance death benefit would be there to provide financial support for things like a funeral, medical expenses or leaving a legacy. Take the Koonsman family, for example, who made the fortunate decision to purchase permanent policies for both of their daughters when they were young. Their plan was to gift the policies to their girls once they were grown. Instead, they used Hope’s policy to pay medical bills and start a foundation in her honor after she died unexpectedly at age 19 from a birth defect that they thought was long in the past.

Getting a Child Life Insurance Policy

Purchasing a child life insurance policy is relatively straightforward. Through a licensed agent, parents (or grandparents with parental consent) can initiate the process of life insurance planning for their child. Generally, healthy children can be covered with ease, involving a questionnaire and a medical record check. In most cases, there’s no requirement for a physical examination if the child is born healthy. However, if a child is born prematurely or with health concerns, there might be a waiting period until they’re a year old or older.

Child life insurance policies are permanent, providing coverage throughout their lifetime, but flexibility remains a hallmark of these policies. They can be canceled at any point through cash surrendering, cashing out the policy’s value or discontinuing premium payments. If cashed out, there might be tax implications for permanent policies. Notably, these policies also enable policyholders to take out loans against the cash value, so it’s important to consult an insurance professional about your options.

In conclusion, the benefits of child life insurance extend far beyond its surface. It’s an investment in your child’s future insurability, a vehicle for financial planning and a means of establishing a strong foundation for life’s milestones. Whether you’re a parent or grandparent, exploring child life insurance could be key to unlocking a brighter future for the ones you love.

Single Parents: Don’t Leave Your Children’s Future to a Crowdfunding Site

by Maggie Leyes | September 27, 2023 | Life Insurance | 0 comments

When it comes to parenting, your to-do list can seem never-ending, from signing up for school activities, to projects around the house, to planning for the future. It seems as soon as you check something off, a few more to-dos jump right on the list.

If you’re a single parent, that list may be even longer—and more complex—especially if you are your children’s “one and only.” And you could be feeling the pressure: Three quarters say they felt overwhelmed with becoming a single parent, and more than a quarter (27%) admit being very overwhelmed, according to Life Happens’ new survey, “Single Parents and the Financial Future.”

What’s more, single parents say they’d need a minimum of $332,705 in savings to feel at ease about raising their child. In fact, making sure their kids will be OK financially is something that the average single parent thinks about five times a day on average.

However, four in 10 single parents admit that they didn’t start planning for their child’s financial future until their kids were 4 to 6 years old—or even later. Only 10% started before their child was born, according to the data.

Don’t Leave It to Chance

Does any of this sound like you? If so, have you asked yourself: “What would happen if I were no longer in the picture? Where would the money come from to take care of my children?”

More than a quarter of single parents surveyed (28%) say they’d let others raise money on a crowdfunding site to provide for their children. Only half say they’ve purchased life insurance to protect their children’s financial future if someone else had to take care of them.

Given that life insurance is an affordable solution, why aren’t more single parents considering it? The truth is that most people overestimate the cost of life insurance by three times or more (2023 Insurance Barometer Study by Life Happens and LIMRA). So, it does stand to reason that if people think it would be out of their price range, they wouldn’t even consider it.

But let’s put it into perspective: A healthy 30-year-old can get a 20-year $250,000 level term life insurance policy for around $200 a year. That works out to about $4 a week. And if something were to happen to you, that $250,000 would go to ensuring your child’s future would be everything you dreamed it would be.

If you need any inspiration (or motivation), watch Summer’s story here. She was a young single mom who was, tragically, hit by a car and killed when she was just 22. Her son, Nathan, was just nine months old. When she was pregnant, she put a life insurance policy in place for just $12 a month that ensured Nathan’s future would be bright no matter what happened.

Why Do I Need to Review My Life Insurance Annually?

by Dr. Enoch Omololu | September 14, 2023 | Life Insurance | 0 comments

Some things can take a “set-and-forget” approach, but your life insurance shouldn’t be one of them! A lot can happen in a year. Think about the changes you’ve seen in your own life: maybe you’ve taken a new job, expanded your family, bought a house, or any number of things.

Since life insurance provides vital financial protection to your family should anything happen to you, it’s important to review it annually to ensure you have sufficient coverage aligned with your ever-evolving life circumstances.

Let’s look at the key factors that make reviewing your life insurance annually a smart choice.

Why Should You Review Your Life Insurance Annually?

You’ve had a job change.

When you start a new job where your earnings are projected to increase, make sure to review your life insurance policy. As your income rises, your spending habits may also change, so ensure that your policy can still provide adequate coverage for your family’s growing financial needs. This same principle applies to a substantial raise or promotion at the same company too.

What about if you’ve recently retired or are planning to retire soon? While it might seem like your time for life insurance is over, this job change is also an important time to review your life insurance policy and make sure that you have the right amount of coverage as you look toward covering your final expenses, paying off any debt and leaving a legacy.

Moreover, if you rely on life insurance provided by your employer, changing jobs would mean that your insurance coverage will be directly affected since policies through work usually end when the job does. This makes checking your insurance policy even more important.

You’re starting a new business.

Starting a new business means incurring more financial and tax obligations. So, whether you’re starting an online store or establishing a brick-and-mortar business, ensure that your insurance coverage can meet your needs.

This way, your business and family can avoid financial turmoil in the event of your passing. Plus, you can also adjust your life insurance coverage to distribute your current estate—including your new business—equally among your beneficiaries.

You’ve had a change in your beneficiaries.

Every year, you should check whether your list of beneficiaries still has the people you want to benefit from your life insurance policy.

The main goal of life insurance is to provide cash to your loved ones when you die, so you want that money to go to exactly who you intended. For example, you may want to remove your ex-spouse as your beneficiary after a divorce or add your adult child as a beneficiary after they turn 18 or 21.

On top of reviewing the beneficiary list of your assets upon your death, you should also consider how your insurance payout would work for each beneficiary based on their location or your relationship. And, of course, it’s important to let your beneficiaries know about your policy and keep them in the loop!

You have a new marital status.

Whether you’re recently married or have gone through a divorce, it’s important to update your life insurance policy to match your current marital status.

If you’ve just tied the knot, reviewing your life insurance ensures that your spouse is protected financially if anything happens to you. You probably have more financial obligations now as a party of two than you did when you were single. How will your partner cover all those expenses without your salary?

Similarly, if you just got divorced, updating your policy guarantees that your children and loved ones are the ones who receive the death benefit rather than your ex-spouse.

Your family has grown.

Whether you’ve had a baby or adopted a child, it’s important to adjust your life insurance policy accordingly. You have more to protect with your life insurance coverage. As children enter the picture, the cost of your expenses goes up. How would your family pay for childcare, groceries, bills and even future college tuition if you were no longer there to contribute to the costs?

Life insurance can help cover those expenses and more so that your children can maintain the same lifestyle after your death.

You bought a house.

If you’ve recently purchased a house, review how you can adjust your insurance policy to ensure that your beneficiaries can cover the cost of your new property in the event of your death.

A period of grief is no time to be forced to sell your home, pack up the family belongings and move to a new neighborhood. Make sure your policy can cover the cost of your mortgage payments, so your spouse won’t have difficulty paying it on one income.

On the other hand, it’s also a good idea to review your policy if you’ve recently paid off your mortgage or refinanced your home.

Your health status has changed.

Updating your life insurance may not be the first thing you think of when you experience a health change, but it’s also an important time to review your policy.

If your health has taken a turn for the worse, that can be a reason to increase your coverage or examine additional coverage opportunities. On the flip side, an improved health diagnosis from losing weight or quitting smoking, for example, might help you get a better rate.

Life Insurance Policy Review Checklist

These life changes are just a few of many times that it makes sense to review your life insurance. When reviewing your policy annually, it’s best to make the necessary changes to ensure that it still addresses all of the factors below:

Your death benefit is sufficient to cover the current financial needs of your beneficiaries in the event of your passing.
Your beneficiary list includes everyone you want to benefit from your life insurance.
The type of life insurance policy you have still meets your needs and expectations.
Your premium payments are still manageable and affordable.
Your policy isn’t going to lapse soon.
You’re taking advantage of any new coverage options that your insurance company may offer.

One of the best ways to make sure your loved ones are fully protected is to work with a licensed insurance agent who can walk you through the entire process.

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