Most people don’t want to think about life insurance; it’s something they pay for and hope they never use. But, let’s face it - you just never know when life is going to throw you a curveball. It’s what makes life so incredibly exciting sometimes and so very scary at other times.
Insurance can help you and your family field many of life’s curveballs, but too many people don’t think about insurance until it’s too late. Here are three curveballs that the right insurance can help you and your family handle.
Early Death
Benjamin Franklin said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” We are all going to die; fortunately, the odds of dying at a young age are pretty slim. In fact, the odds of a 25-year-old American dying is about 1 in 3,000; for a 33-year-old, it’s 1 in 1,500; and for a 42-year-old, it’s 1 in 750. Comforting, right?
What if you have the misfortune of being one of the “1 in”? If you haven’t planned for this curveball, the financial consequences can be devastating to those you leave behind. Younger individuals often have additional debt, such as student loans and mortgages. Many have young children who still have a lifetime of expenses ahead of them. Life insurance can financially protect your loved ones.
Long Life
On the flip side of an early death, is living well into your 90’s or 100’s. Medical advances are allowing people to live longer, healthier lives. According to data compiled by the Social Security Administration:
- A man reaching age 65 today can expect to live, on average, until age 84.
- A woman turning age 65 today can expect to live, on average, until age 86.
And those are just averages. About one out of every four 65-year-olds today will live past age 90, and one out of 10 will live past age 95. Traditionally, most people expected about 15 years of retirement. Today, it can be 20, 30, or even longer. This is awesome, right?
Absolutely - if you’ve prepared for this particular curveball. A permanent life insurance policy can provide much-needed funds to help supplement your retirement income. You can also get a long-term care rider on permanent life insurance that can help cover long-term care costs.
Becoming Disabled
Your chances of becoming disabled are probably higher than you think. According to the Council for Disability awareness:
- Just over 1 in 4 of today's 20 year-olds will become disabled before they retire.
- One in eight workers will be disabled for five years or more during their working careers.
Are you prepared this curveball? Probably not.
• The average group long-term disability claim lasts 34.6 months.
• 5% of working Americans say they could not cover normal living expenses even for a year if their employment income was lost; 38% could not pay their bills for more than 3 months.
The Case for Disability Insurance
Disability insurance is important to help you make ends meet until you’re able to go back to work. Plus, many life insurance policies allow you to add a disability waiver to cover certain expenses if you become disabled, and some permanent life insurance policies have a premium waiver in the event you become disabled.
Insurance Protection for Those Curveballs!
American Insuring Group can help protect you and your family from life’s unexpected curveballs. Contact us by email or give us a call at (800) 947-1270 or (610) 775-3848.
