One thing is permanent: Change!
Do you periodically evaluate your life insurance needs? If not, perhaps you should. As circumstances in our lives change, our life insurance needs may change as well. That’s why it’s a good idea to review your life insurance needs annually — more often if significant changes or life events occur. Here are some major life events that might trigger the need to re-evaluate your life insurance coverage:
The birth or adoption of a child — If you have children, you want to see them realize their hopes and dreams. These days, it’s difficult enough to make that happen with you in the picture. What if you or your spouse — or worse yet, both of you — were suddenly out of the picture? Would there be enough income to pay for day care, college, and everything in between? Life insurance may help you answer “yes” to these questions.
Change in marital status — If you’re newly married or just getting married, you probably share many dreams for the future — you also share each other’s financial obligations. If one of you were suddenly removed from the picture, would the surviving spouse have enough money to cover final expenses, eliminate debts such as credit card balances and car loans, and buy some time to adjust to a new way of life? If one of you were to die prematurely, life insurance may help ensure that these needs will be met.
If you’re on your own now, whether through death or divorce, you may want to reassess your overall financial situation, including your life insurance needs. It’s almost like starting from scratch again because being on your own will likely affect just about every financial calculation you can think of.
Home purchase — If you and your spouse recently purchased a home, there’s a good chance you acquired a mortgage as well. Could your spouse manage the mortgage payments without your income? What about property taxes, routine maintenance, utilities and unforeseen repairs? How long would your spouse have before your dream house was up for sale? Life insurance coverage may help keep the family you love in the home they love.
Job change — If you recently changed jobs, a salary increase may have come with it. You may not realize it, but when your income increases, your spending tends to increase too. If something were to happen to you, you’d probably want your family to be able to maintain their new and improved lifestyle. That’s why it’s a good idea to reassess your life insurance coverage whenever your income rises.
Planning for college — College costs continue to increase so you may want to begin your college savings efforts sooner, in order to achieve your goals. Having a regular savings strategy is just one part of a balanced college funding plan. You may also want to consider a smart risk management strategy to help ensure that your college savings goals will be achieved even if you’re not there, and that strategy may include life insurance coverage.
Call me. Things may change but I can help you analyze your needs so that you can determine an appropriate strategy to support your individual objectives.
Life insurance issued by Farmers New World Life Insurance Company, Mercer Island, WA 98040
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