Protect Family

Every senior wants to protect their family and even their extended families.  They mean a lot to each one of us.  Nothing is more important to us than our family.  We cherish each family member and want each one to be safe, secure, and well provided for.    

Life insurance contract

In today's society that usually means there must be adequate money available to provide those things.  Many times grandparents provide assistance to parents to help make these things possible.  Families need both parents working just to say afloat.  Living paycheck to paycheck leaves no margin for error, yet that is the reality for many Americans.  

How Do I protect My Family?

I have no interest of any kind in pointing to a specific company or a specific product.  I feel totally unbiased.  My only interest is to explain what life insurance is, what it does, and help explain how to shop for it.

In its simplest terms, insurance is simply a group of people pooling their money together to create a fund for someone in the group who experiences loss, which would otherwise be catastrophic, except for the fund created by the group.  Think of it as spreading the risk from one individual to a large group of people, thus minimizing the risk to the individual.

Risk Insurance

Today, insurance has evolved into something that, while it still does the above, is very much more complex than the above simple scenario.

Say That Again?

For example, today there is a large variety of senior life insurance policies, including, whole life insurance (read article), term insurance, single premium life insurance, 5-pay life, 10-pay life, ad infinitum.  There are many, many kinds of life insurance. 

A good first question to ask might be this: Do I, or a loved one, need life insurance?  If you have enough liquid assets to leave your surviving family in a financially secure position, the answer could be “no”.

Pregnant mom

On the other hand, if your passing would create a financial burden for someone else, the answer may be “yes”.

If your answer is “no”, have a nice day.  If your answer it “yes”, you may wish to keep reading.

But, What if I Do Need It?

If you determine you need senior life insurance, the next questions to ask are these:  How much do I need? And what kind of insurance do I need?

The answer to the first question, how much do I need? may be somewhat easier to determine.  Picture yourself out of the picture.  In addition to dealing with the grief of losing you, how will your family manage in your absence? 

What initial expenses will they have?  

Some Examples

Burial expenses.  These costs can vary widely depending on what kind of service your family wants.  Depending on their wishes and where you live, a bottom line low end figure might be $2000 to $3000, but could go much higher.  The national average for a funeral is around $7,000. 

Medical expenses.  Was a long illness a cause?  Predicting the cost here can be almost impossible, but it might well be a very large amount.

Piggy Bank

Any unpaid bills you would need to provide for?  Maybe this cost could be more easily determined.

Ongoing monthly or annual expenses.  Any need to make provision to provide for these necessities?  This too may be somewhat easier to determine. 

Gifts or charitable contributions.  Any causes or charities, projects, or missions you greatly love and wish to support?  Insurance can help with that too.

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