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Some Myths About Life Insurance

Here are some myths we have heard about life insurance.

  • First Myth: I need life insurance only if I have children.
    Most people think they need life insurance only when they have a family, so survivors are not left stranded after a premature death.

    Life insurance matters for several reasons: replacing a spouse's income during a difficult adjustment period, serving as an investment or tax shelter, and supporting estate planning.

  • Second Myth: Life insurance is a bad investment.
    Life insurance may not be the most profitable investment, but it is rarely a bad one. If you measure an investment solely by its return, life insurance may or may not be worthwhile. When buying a policy, you put money into an account that will pay your survivors that same money, part of it, or that money and more when you die. If survivors receive more than you contributed—or more than the money could have earned elsewhere—it is a good investment. If they receive less, it is not. But life insurance is much more than a return on investment.

    Life insurance provides
    ■ Protection for your dependents
    ■ Peace of mind for you

    If you seek pure return on capital, many investments—including tax-deferred or tax-free options—may earn considerably more than a life policy. But insurance's primary function is protection, not investment.
    No other investment can offer the same protection.

  • Third Myth: Life insurance is unnecessary for older people.
    There was a time when "older" meant 35, and not long ago it meant "over 50." Yet many people need life insurance at 50, 55, 60, or 65.

    Age is not always a reason to abandon life insurance. Even so-called older people may need income protection for survivors if they die prematurely as breadwinners or primary caregivers. You may want loved ones to have time to adjust without changing their normal standard of living.

    Today, many more people in their 50s and 60s still support young children. A woman who has a child at 40 or 42, for example, will be at least 62 when that child finishes college. Or suppose you have a nonworking spouse and die at 60; your spouse may be unable to find a job providing comparable income to maintain the same lifestyle.

    Many older people actually need more life insurance for several reasons:
    ■ You may have less time to replace lost income.
    ■ Inflation may have reduced your death benefit's value.
    ■ Estate planning becomes more important as you age because you have less time to carry out the plan.
    ■ Tax planning becomes more important as you age because you likely earn more, and life insurance can play an important role.

Consult our insurance specialists.