Typically getting the insurance you need is pretty straightforward. Generally someone else will tell you how much you need for your car insurance, homeowners insurance and health insurance. But with life insurance, the amount you need is up to you to decide.
There are a lot of great things about being empowered to choose how much life insurance you need, and unlike car insurance, have a say in how much coverage you want.
You get to decide how much your life is worth, and how much you want your beneficiaries to receive.
This is a great thing, because while you might be able to tolerate an insurance company giving a low value for your moderately-aged car (depending on the car), you might take it more personally if it’s your life that’s being insured.
This difference presents another choice though, because rather than being told how much to purchase and then just needing to choose what policy features, like deductibles, that you want, with life insurance you get to decide which life insurance policy features are best for you and how much you want to purchase (up to the insurance company limits).
When it comes to deciding how much life insurance to purchase, you need to decide between what you need and what you want. What is the difference between need and want? A lot of people only consider an amount that would be needed to pay off certain debt and to cover final expenses like medical and funeral costs. But are there other things that you want for your family—like college for your children, an annual family vacation or a secure retirement for your spouse? If you want to make sure your loved ones get to live the life you imagined, then you will want to make sure the amount of life insurance you choose reflects what you want.
Having this much control over the decision making can sometimes be a difficult decision for many people, especially if you have never purchased life insurance before. But with the right tools you can get started in evaluating your options and getting the information and knowledge you need so when you do decide to meet with an agent, together you can arrive at just the right amount of coverage for you and your life, so you can get back to living it!
How much life insurance do you think you need?
Use this calculator to help you get started.
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