Have you put off buying life insurance because you’ve bought in to the lies that other people believe? Here are nine common misconceptions (“sins”) that keep people from buying a policy that will protect their family when they cannot:
I don’t have time.
Once your insurance agent finds you a few policies to consider, it doesn’t take more than a couple of hours to read through the details and choose the one that’s best for you. Filling out the application may take another hour, depending on the complexity, and add in a couple more hours for a physical and communication with your agent. You’re still well under 10 hours. That just means skipping the five hours of television that the average American watches for two nights. Don’t worry; Google will be happy to tell you who got kicked off of Dancing with the Stars or the latest drama in the Kardashian family.
If I live, I have nothing to show for my money.
Yes, that’s true. If you are still alive when your term life insurance policy expires, you’ll have “wasted” a few thousand dollars, but what about your auto insurance? How many years has it been since you’ve made a claim and received any value from it? Or homeowners insurance or your health insurance? Truth is, lots of people never make a claim on their auto or homeowners insurance, and save a few check-ups, go years without needing major medical coverage. But the law demands that citizens buy these types of policies to protect them when an emergency happens. Life insurance follows the same principle.
I need to lose 20 more pounds to qualify for better rates first.
Don’t we all! But you’ve heard stories of top-notch college athletes, super-fit moms and in-perfect-health guys who go in for a routine physical one day and find that they’ve got less than a year to live. Sobering but true. At the risk of paying a couple of Franklin’s extra for a year, hop to it and get a policy before you’re unable to and work on dropping the extra pounds as you’re able, but don’t make that a prerequisite for getting a policy.
It costs too much.
Cost is relative and for some people it will be a stretch. However, for a lot of healthy, young people term life insurance can be had for the cost of dinner out once a month. Can’t afford the recommended 10 to 12 times the amount of your annual income? Start with a $100,000 policy and purchase more coverage as you can.
The policy through my employer is good enough.
That’s great but what happens when your job is eliminated, you decide to be a stay-at-home parent or you switch to a new employer? You can take your 401k with you, but not your company life insurance. Even in a “best case scenario” company-provided life insurance policies are usually $50,000, not nearly enough for your loved ones to live on in your absence.
Buying a policy might be tempting fate.
No stats could be found to support this being false, so just ask your life insurance agent how often a new policy holder passes away in the first year. You’ll likely get a very low number once they stop laughing.
I don’t think I’ll qualify.
Remember what your parents, your first grade teacher and your high school career counselor told you? “You’ll never know (about item in question) unless you ask.” True, some people with health issues are more likely to only qualify for a policy with higher rates and a few may be turned down. You have nothing to lose, and a lot to gain, by finding out the answer.
I live abroad, I can’t get life insurance.
Not all life insurance companies just sell domestically; there are plenty that will offer expats the coverage they need. If your local agent can’t help with this, they probably know someone who can.
I’m young and single with no dependents.
Right now you may be, but wouldn’t you rather lock in the rates as a young 23-year-old rather than the ones you’ll get when you do start a family at age 30? Since rates are based on the statistic likelihood of death, they do go up as you age. You might as well get them locked in right now.
Don’t let these lies, or any others “sins”, keep you from going another day without life insurance coverage. We’ll show you just how easy and affordable it is to obtain the peace of mind that a policy gives you. Contact us today so we can find the perfect policy for your needs!
