2 Life Insurance Myths That May Be Putting You at Risk
Recent studies have shown that nearly half of U.S. adults don’t have life insurance. According to LIMBRA’s 2020 Insurance Barometer Study, 46% of the nation’s adults have no life insurance, which may be putting their families at risk for financial devastation. This stat might seem shocking —since few families can afford to lose their primary income. In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2019 nearly 50% of all married-couple families in the country were two-income families. So why do so many opt not to buy life insurance?
There are two persistent life insurance myths:
MYTH 1: Life Insurance is Unaffordable
Over half of the respondents of the 2020 Insurance Barometer Study estimated that life insurance costs are three times more than its actual cost. And younger respondents overestimated the cost by a factor of five. Even more concerning, the cost was a top reason two-thirds of respondents didn’t own life.
TRUTH: Life insurance may be a lot less expensive than you thought.
There are different types of life insurance policies available. For example, “term life” is designed to be the most affordable because it provides coverage for only a set period of time.
Whereas, locking in a “whole life” premium can save you money in the long run, especially if you buy it when you’re young. If you buy a whole life policy at age 30, the rate you pay then is the rate you’ll pay when you’re fifty. This type of life insurance provides coverage for the rest of your life, providing you make your premium payments.
MYTH 2: Life insurance is complex and comes with difficult qualifiers.
LIMRA’s Insurance Barometer study found 52% of respondents didn’t own life insurance because they weren’t sure what kind to buy or how much they should get. Also, many people feel that the application process, which can include blood work and physicals, is time consuming, scary, or may prevent them from qualifying for affordable, good coverage.
TRUTH: Getting a policy may be much easier than you think.
In the past, most life insurance policies required physical exams and blood tests, but many policies today do not. Many life insurance companies, such as AHFCU’s provider, TruStage, allows you to apply online, and in some cases, get approved the same day.
