February is here and that means it’s “Insure Your Love” month. You all know that I am not one to shy away from serious topics, which is why I have partnered with the nonprofit Life Happens to talk about the importance of life insurance. Life Happens’ mission is to give you unbiased information to help you make smart insurance choices to protect your loved ones. They are the only third-party, nonprofit organization directly educating consumers and do not endorse any specific insurance product, company or advisor. Their only interest is seeing that consumers take necessary measures to protect themselves and their loved ones.
They have so many helpful resources on their website. There are free online calculators that offer real-time, comprehensive estimates and a Real Life Stories video series. I love that they highlight how people and businesses have benefited from life, disability and long-term care insurance. I always find it so inspiring to hear about other people’s experiences. They also have this video that breaks down life insurance in 60 seconds. I’ll be sharing what I have learned so far along with my own personal experience with life insurance and why I feel it’s important for me to get it sooner rather than later.
How My Father’s Life Insurance Helped My Family
I’ve mentioned my father’s story many times before, but it’s important to note that he passed away only three months after his cancer diagnosis. There were a lot of conversations that we probably should have had as a family before he died, but I don’t think any of us expected him to go so soon. You always think that you’ll have more time, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for us.
I can admit that I didn’t want to speak with him about the possibility of him dying because, in my mind, we were trying to do everything we could to prevent that from happening. Whenever he’d start to say things like, “In case I don’t make it…” I would cut him off because I couldn’t talk about it. I wholeheartedly believed that he was going to pull through and when his final days came, it was an extremely difficult realization that I had to accept.
I remember the month before he passed, he started to make a list of the things that he wanted at his funeral. We were in my sister’s condo at the time, and he was writing it all down on his big yellow note pad. He told me that he wanted me to sing “The Wind Beneath My Wings” at his service. At that moment, I knew that he had given so much thought to the possibility of dying. He would always say things like, “I’m going to beat this,” but I often wonder if deep down he knew what was coming.
When you are grieving the loss of a loved one, especially a parent or a partner, the last thing you want to worry about is the financial debt that they left behind. You are already experiencing a culmination of emotions and that can be such a heavy weight to carry.
My father had life insurance through his pension and had wanted to take out another policy, but since everything happened so quickly, he never got the chance to do that. Thankfully with the life insurance that he did have, it was enough to cover the cost of any credit card debt, that year’s taxes and all of the funeral expenses. My sister and I even received a small inheritance from it. At the time, it helped me tremendously since I had also just lost my job. It was one last gift and act of love that he gave us. I know that if he had been in the right state of mind and had more time, he definitely would have tried to leave us more. I was so grateful for it though because it helped me get through those difficult times.
That moment of my life often feels like one big blur. I have to give a lot of credit to my sister for stepping up and handling so much of the financial aspect of everything because there were days that I didn’t even want to get out of my bed. Those times showed me just how important family is, and I don’t think I would have ever made it through without my mom and sister.
Why I Want To Get Life Insurance Now
As a single 37-year-old, I admittedly never gave much thought to getting life insurance before. I always assumed that I should wait until I got married or had children, but I realize now more than ever that it’s to help protect my loved ones and to provide them with a bit more financial security. I don’t need to be in a marriage to do that.
While I don’t currently have anyone relying on my income, I do want to make sure that all of my debt is taken care of and that I’ll be able to leave behind some sort of legacy, whenever that time comes. This topic isn’t always comfortable to talk about, but I know it’s a necessary one. After losing my dad, I have learned the importance of having these kinds of conversations much sooner.
2020 completely shifted all of our lives and it’s only made me realize how things can change in an instant. So many of us go through life as if we are invincible, but that obviously is not the case. I want to ensure that I’m doing all I can for the people I love while I’m here and even after I’m gone. It’s something that will give me peace of mind, especially after all we endured last year.
It’s More Affordable Than I Thought
I recently read this blog post from Life Happens titled, “Why Single People Need Life Insurance” and found it really helpful and eye-opening. They listed out 7 different reasons why single people need to get life insurance. The one that stood out the most to me is locking in coverage at an affordable rate while you’re young and healthy. If you wait until you develop a health condition, it can be very difficult to get life insurance.
I used to think that I wouldn’t be able to afford this, especially after the work challenges I faced in 2020. An example they provide on their site shows that a healthy 30-year-old can get a $250,000 20-year level term policy for just $13 a month. This means that if you purchase that policy and pay the $13 a month without fail, your loved ones would get $250,000 if you were to die at any point during those 20 years.
If you’re looking to get more information about life insurance, then Life Happens is the perfect place to start. It’s a topic that I definitely needed to learn more about, and I am so happy that I did. They describe life insurance as “a simple act of love” that you can do for yourself and your family. That’s exactly what it is! I hope you found this post helpful. I’d love to hear about your own personal experience with life insurance if you’re willing to share. Thanks for reading!
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