Term life insurance: What you need to know
Whether you're a new parent, a working spouse, or even an empty nester, life insurance could play a crucial role in your family's financial well-being if the unthinkable happens. Term life insurance is one way to get your family covered without spending a fortune.
People often think life insurance is too expensive or they can't afford it because of other financial priorities, such as paying off debt or saving for retirement. However, depending on your age and the amount of coverage you need, term life insurance could cost you less than $1 a day.
"Consistently consumers have told our researchers they believe they can't afford life insurance, but when we dug deeper, our research showed that many overestimate the cost by as much as 300 percent," says Robert Kerzner, LIMRA's president and chief executive officer.
According to LIMRA's 2016 "Trends in Life Insurance Ownership" study and LIMRA's 2017 Insurance Barometer Study:
30 percent of households don't have life insurance
20 percent of households with children under age 18 don't have life insurance
43 percent of families without life insurance say they would be in immediate financial trouble if a primary wage earner died
If these sound like you, term life insurance could be a low-cost option to get coverage. Let's walk through term life and see if it's right for you.