Is life insurance worth it? Only you can decide that – but we’ll give you a rundown of the benefits plus some sample rates so you can make the best decision for you and your loved ones. Of course, we love life insurance, so we think everyone should have it. But we want you to know why it’s such a useful financial tool. It can help protect your loved ones from financial insecurity, but it also offers living benefits for you, too, like early access to the death benefit it you have serious medical issues.
➡️ Want to talk to a real person about life insurance? Call us at (800) 823-4852 or click the button below to get a free term life quote!
Get a Free QuoteThe #1 Reason to Buy Life Insurance
The number one reason to own life insurance is the cash payout for your loved ones. It all boils down to this: if you have people who depend on you financially, you need life insurance. Because if anything were to happen to you:
- How would they replace that income?
- Would your partner or spouse have to get a job, or change jobs to try to earn more?
- Would they have to leave your home because they can no longer afford it?
- Could they afford to pay any final medical expenses you leave behind, plus funeral and burial costs?
If any of these scenarios makes you nervous, life insurance can provide peace of mind and banish those worries.
The money your policy provides can be used for anything your loved ones need: rent, mortgage, school tuition, and other essentials. Depending on how large of a policy you have, that money can be truly life-changing, allowing them to pay off a mortgage and keep the family home, or put the kids through college and allow them to chase their dreams without financial stress. We describe life insurance as a final gift to the people you love most.
Is life insurance worth it? It depends what you want for your loved ones, even after you pass away. If you want them to be able to dream fearlessly, with less financial stress, life insurance can make that happen.
➡️ Want to talk to a real person about life insurance? Call us at (800) 823-4852 or click the button below to get a free term life quote!
Get a Free QuoteLife Insurance Gives You Living Benefits
Most of our clients started shopping for coverage without realizing that life insurance had benefits for them, too. You don’t have to die to take advantage of your policy! There are multiple ways you can access the death benefit while you’re alive to help pay for unforeseen medical costs.
- Terminal illness. If you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness, you can access some or all of the death benefit to help pay for treatment, care, or anything else you want to use it for. Most insurers offer this benefit for free. It’s a situation you might not want to think about, but if it happened to you, imagine how helpful that money could be. You could use it to pay for in-home health care, to try an experimental treatment, or to gather your family and take a trip to check an item off your bucket list.
- Chronic illness. Most insurers offer a paid rider (policy add-on) that lets you tap into the death benefit if you’re diagnosed with a chronic illness. These are long-lasting and often permanent illnesses like diabetes or COPD. Having an extra supply of cash could help with alternative treatment options, in-home health aides, or paying family members to help take care of you.
- Critical illness. Most insurers also offer a paid rider that lets you use the death benefit if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness – something like cancer or a heart attack. That money can help pay for care as you recover, or pay for transportation to treatment centers, or anything else you need to help you recover.
- Long-term care. Some insurers also offer a paid rider that lets you access the death benefit to pay for long-term care, if you ever need it. If you don’t like the idea of paying for a stand-alone long-term care policy (in case you never need it), a rider on your life policy is a good way to hedge against that risk for much less cost. And as it turns out, someone turning 65 today has a 70% chance of needing song long-term care at a future date* – that’s a very high percentage! Handling that risk with a rider on your policy is a good way to relieve that potential cause of future stress.
Is life insurance worth it? It depends on whether you find value in having a financial solution to potential future medical problems. True, you may never be diagnosed with a serious illness. And you may never need long-term care as a senior. But what if you do? Life insurance can be an unexpectedly valuable way to handle those medical expenses.
➡️ Want to talk to a real person about life insurance? Call us at (800) 823-4852 or click the button below to get a free term life quote!
Get a Free QuoteLife Insurance Is a Financial Asset
Cash value life insurance is a particular type of lifelong coverage that can add value to your overall financial portfolio. Every payment you make gets split up: one portion covers the cost of your coverage. The rest goes into the policy’s cash value account, which also grows thanks to interest credited by the insurer.
That cash value account is an asset that grows over time. You can tap into that cash value through withdrawals and low-interest loans. There are no exclusions on how you can use that money, and no minimal age you must reach in order to withdraw it without a penalty (unlike a 401K or IRA, for example). We have clients who make regular withdrawals from their cash value to supplement retirement income, for example. Keep in mind that cash value only comes with lifelong (permanent) policies – term life policies do not build cash value.
There are several different ways to grow your cash value, depending on the policy type:
- Whole life grows cash value with a slow and steady interest rate, usually 1-3%. That growth is guaranteed, which is a helpful hedge against a portfolio heavy on stocks and other assets subject to volatility.
- Indexed universal life lets you tie the interest credited to your account to the performance of a particular stock index. When the index does well, you get more interest. When the index does poorly, you get either a low, flat rate of interest or zero interest. It lets you take advantage of market upsides with zero downside risk.
- Variable universal life lets you invest your cash value in actual market securities. This does create the potential for loss, but if you’re a careful and motivated investor, can also let you grow your cash value much faster than other policy types.
Is life insurance worth it? If you’re looking at ways to diversify your financial portfolio, it can be. High-net worth clients often overfund their life insurance policies to grow their cash value faster. That cash can be used later on for further investment opportunities, making you your own banker in a sense. Cash value is also a good hedge against more volatile assets, like stocks.
➡️ Want to talk to a real person about life insurance? Call us at (800) 823-4852 or click the button below to get a free term life quote!
Get a Free QuoteHow Much Does It Cost?
Is life insurance worth it? For you, that may depend on what a policy costs. So let’s look at a few sample rates. Keep in mind that all life insurance is priced based on your unique circumstances: health, profession, medical history, and lifestyle. The quotes below are not based on full underwriting – they’re just to give you an idea of what various face values cost at different ages.
Sample Term Life Insurance Rates
| M/F | Age | State | Health | Tobacco | Term | Face Value | Cost as Low as |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | 20 | Ohio | Best Class | No | 30 years | $500,000 | $28/month |
| F | 30 | Louisiana | Best Class | No | 25 years | $500,000 | $21/month |
| M | 40 | Missouri | Best Class | No | 20 years | $250,000 | $18/month |
| F | 50 | Hawaii | Best Class | No | 25 years | $300,000 | $57/month |
| M | 60 | W. Virginia | Best Class | No | 15 years | $150,000 | $60/month |
| F | 70 | Rhode Island | Best Class | No | 10 years | $100,000 | $67/month |
To see more sample term life rates, click here.
Sample Universal Life Insurance Rates
Universal life is just one type of lifelong coverage that grows cash value.
| M/F | Age | State | Health | Tobacco | Duration | Face Value | Cost as Low as |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | 20 | Ohio | Best Class | No | No lapse, to age 121 | $500,000 | $130/month |
| F | 30 | S. Carolina | Best Class | No | No lapse, to age 121 | $450,000 | $158/month |
| M | 40 | Kansas | Best Class | No | To age 95 | $300,000 | $154/month |
| F | 50 | Georgia | Best Class | No | To age 95 | $350,000 | $223/month |
| M | 60 | Wyoming | Best Class | No | To age 85 | $200,000 | $247/month |
| F | 70 | N. Hampshire | Best Class | No | To age 95 | $150,000 | $326/month |
➡️ Want to talk to a real person about life insurance? Call us at (800) 823-4852 or click the button below to get a free term life quote!
Get a Free QuoteIs Life Insurance Worth It?
We think so! If you’re on a budget, term life is affordable enough to make the peace of mind worth it. If you have a bigger budget and are more focused on your overall financial portfolio, cash value life insurance is a forward-thinking addition.
But, as we mentioned above, the most persuasive reason to buy life insurance is the cash it provides to your loved ones. The living benefits and financial benefits of cash value policies are great – but leaving money to your family is the true reason life insurance is worth it, if you ask us.
➡️ Want to talk to a real person about which kind of life insurance is right for you? Call us at (800) 823-4852 or click the button below to get a free term life quote!
Get a Free QuoteQuoted rates valid as of 9/29/23. Term life quotes: preferred best health class, no tobacco. Carriers quoted include Banner Life, Protective, American General, Haven Life, Pacific Life, Symetra, Transamerica, Lincoln, Cincinnati Life, and more. Universal life quotes: preferred best health class, no tobacco. Carriers quoted include Protective, Cincinnati Life, North American, Nationwide, American National, Pacific Life, and more.
*LongTermCare.gov, "How Much Care Will You Need?"