Life insurance is a must have for people of all ages, no exceptions. You may believe that this is some big sales pitch to sell you life insurance. Well, actually, no, it's not. I'm no longer an agent, however, this is a topic that's "near and dear" to my heart after the recent loss of one of my children and the previous loss of my father in-law, both of whom had no life insurance coverage.

 

I've put together a few simple reasons why it's so very important that ALL family members have some type of coverage.

# 1. For young adults it's important because, with certain types of insurance policies, they can get a "fixed rate" that will never increase. This is most prevalent with "Term Life Insurance" that you can buy in ten and twenty year increments. The premiums will never increase as long as you continue to renew the policy each time that it comes due.

# 2. Another reason that young adults should buy life insurance is because, with "Whole Life Insurance" policies, they can build a nest egg by the accumulation of the cash value of the policy. Whole life policies cover an individual for their whole life or up to the age of 100, whichever comes first. When you make a payment on the policy, also known as the "premium", a portion of the money goes toward buying your insurance, while the other portion goes into an account that will continue to grow, as long as you continue to make the payments. You may borrow against this later on in life if you need to.

# 3. For all other members of the family it's important to have individual coverage in order not to become a financial burden on the remaining members.

Funeral costs today cost upwards of ten thousand dollars. The majority of this cost is for the casket with the remainder going towards the burial plot, headstone and funeral home.

There are less expensive alternatives such as cremation, but even this option has an "upside" and a "downside". The cost for someone to be cremated is pretty standard, around $1,000.00, but what's done with the remains will determine how much the final total on this option will be.

You'll be offered a selection of extravagant containers for your loved one's remains (Urn's). They quickly go from extravagant to something more economical, to, finally, a specially designed cardboard box. This is absolutely true and not a fabrication.

Whatever method chosen is not free and someone must sign for financial responsibility. This means that whoever signs the agreement for the deceased is legally liable to pay these expenses just as if they were financing a car. The only difference in this case is that if a person were financing a vehicle, or some other type of physical possession, then, in the event that they were unable to make the payments, they could simply return the item. This is known as "voluntary repossession".

In the case of funeral expenses, there's nothing too repossess, although some funeral homes won't release the loved one's remains until the debt is satisfied. In many cases, unpaid debts such as this end up in court and if the family is unable to pay then they will have a "judgement" placed against them. This can result in a damaged credit rating and, depending on how hard the funeral home wishes to pursue the matter, possible loss of the family member's own assets.

Do you see the importance of having your own life insurance policy now? If something were to happen to you then you could leave your loved one's financially devastated. Life insurance is not just a "luxury", it's absolutely necessary, for ALL family members.