How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?

First off, since you’re here reading this - good for you! It takes a certain sense of responsibility and seriousness to think about life insurance. In fact, you might already have some amount of coverage through your employer. Still, you could be underinsured.

If you’re looking for the security of having enough life insurance coverage to meet the needs of your loved ones, you’ve come to the right place. Keep reading to find out what gaps exist in your current coverage (and how we can help you fill in those gaps).

Step 1: Figure out how much coverage you really need

To find the amount of coverage your dependents require, you will have to look at their current lifestyle and spending habits and compare them to their future sources of income and assets. This will help you realize exactly how much your dependents are likely to earn and spend in the future - and how much your total income helps them live out their lives. Basically, your life insurance should be able to replace whatever income you set aside for your loved ones (if you’re the breadwinner, your family will need insurance coverage that can take care of their daily and future expenses).

Step 2: Pick your policy - term or whole life insurance

Depending on where you are in life, you can choose either term life insurance or whole life insurance.

Term life insurance - Term life insurance is perfect for you if you have only a temporary need for life insurance (if you’ve just recently mortgaged a new house, or if you or your kids have overdue student loan debt). In other words, this type of insurance provides a safety net for a period of time to help your family pay off huge expenses if something were to happen to you out of the blue. The premiums are much lower than other life insurance policies (but can increase with your age).

Whole life insurance - Alternatively, whole life insurance can cover you until you die, literally. This policy is more expensive because it offers the benefits of a term life insurance policy coupled with a tax-reducing savings plan. In other words, while protecting your loved ones, it also builds up a cash value that you can use to pay off future premiums or simply borrow from (like a loan). So this policy has stable but higher premiums, but the coverage lasts a lifetime AND is much higher than term life policies.

Whichever policy you choose, you’re taking a step in the right direction towards giving you protection and peace of mind knowing you have the right coverage when you and your loved ones need it most. iLifeInsurance.net gives you a way to quickly look up and compare the best life insurance policies available in the market today - without the pressure of salesmen. If you need help deciding on a policy or coverage, there are insurance experts on standby ready to answer your questions.