Why Life Insurance?

What kind of life do you envision for your family? Most of us see our loved ones with a comfortable lifestyle, doing the things they love to do and living life to its fullest. Now imagine that picture without you. If you were gone, would your family be financially able to continue the lifestyle you want for them? Or would the absence of your earnings jeopardize what you want? That’s what life insurance is for: to make sure that your financial support of your family is there even if you aren't.

Statistics show the need.

• Between 1995 and 1997, almost 40% of all deaths that occurred were people between the ages of 25 and 64.¹
• More than half of Americans are living from paycheck to paycheck.²
• During the past two decades, the number of households in America without life insurance has increased by 103% -- even though the number of households has risen only 39%.³

Where can I get coverage?

Traditionally, many people bought life insurance from an insurance agent across the kitchen table. Today, more and more employers are offering products to employees in the workplace, and individual policy ownership has declined fairly steeply. Most employers have grown to regard life insurance as an essential part of their employee benefits package. They usually provide some level of life insurance - perhaps a year's salary or more - and often offer cost-effective opportunities for employees to purchase additional insurance. (A helpful rule of thumb: most people today need an amount of life insurance that is equal to 3-5 years of their current salaries.)

1. Death Rates by Age, Sex and Race: 1970 to 1997, U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1999, page 95.
2. Consumer Federation of America study conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates, February 20, 2001.
3. "Trends in U.S. Household Life Insurance Ownership, Life Insurance Marketing Research Association (LIMRA) Report, 2000.