Believe It or Not You Are Not Invincible
For most people, death is not an easy subject. It is uncomfortable thinking about no longer being alive, not seeing one’s children grow up, and leaving one’s family — perhaps a husband or wife, children, brothers and sisters, parents, and friends. Yet death is one common factor that binds the entire human family. We may not all be rich and famous, and in fact, may be necessary only to our family and close friends; yet what happens to the rich and famous happens to the not-so-rich and obscure: eventually, we will all die. You are not invincible.
It is easy for most people to put aside thoughts of death as something that happens to other people, or if they think of it happening to them, only think of it as happening sometime in the distant future. Maybe that will be your future, but maybe not. In the blink of an eye, you may go from apparently having years of life ahead to being killed in a car accident. Death does not happen only to older adults or people after a long illness. No one is invincible.
While it may be tempting to put off getting life insurance until you are older, life insurance is much less expensive when you are younger. Younger people are typically healthier, which usually translates into lower insurance rates. If you buy a permanent life insurance policy, the premium rate you sign up to pay at the beginning will stay the same for the policy’s life, even as you get older and even if your health deteriorates. This is why getting the policy when you are young is essential — the rates are lowest then!
The question is not, “If I die…” but instead becomes, “When I die…” When it comes to your financial and familial responsibilities, how would you answer that? When you die, what will happen to your family? What will happen to your debts? Are they prepared to assume your financial responsibilities after your death? Or are you prepared to take care of them even after you die? You may not be able to save up enough money today or shortly to pay off all of your debts; however, you can buy enough insurance to pay off all your debts in the event of your death so that your family will not be burdened.
While you as a person are irreplaceable, your income can be replaced by life insurance. If yours is the primary income in your family, this is vital. However, even if you don’t produce a payment but provide services in your family that would take money to replace (such as caring for young children), having life insurance would still be wise. Having life insurance to cover your debts and care for those you leave behind is the caring thing to do.
