It is difficult to think about, but what would happen to your family if you were gone tomorrow? Would your children be able to go to college? Would your spouse be able to continue making mortgage payments?

Life insurance is one of those things no one really wants to think about. But it’s something that everyone, especially those who have children or loved ones who depend on them for financial support, needs to consider.

Who Really Needs Life Insurance?

Many families mistakenly believe that it’s only the primary breadwinner or earner who needs life insurance coverage. That simply isn’t true. Even if one spouse stays home to take care of the family, that contribution has value that goes far beyond a paycheck.

Think about the costs involved in finding someone else to take care of the children, prepare meals, provide transportation for children to and from school, practices, activities, etc., tutor children, provide homework help, stay home with them when they’re sick and provide all the other valuable services.

Life insurance matters for all family members and it goes well beyond paying for those final expenses. It’s about providing a life for your family in case you’re no longer there to do it.

It’s not just children and spouses that may need the financial assistance life insurance provides. If you’re caring for aging parents, it’s about ensuring that their needs can be provided for if or when you’re no longer able to see to those needs. Whether it’s paying for an assisted living community or providing in home health care services, life insurance is about taking care of the people we love.

Benefits of Life Insurance Coverage

People purchase life insurance for different reasons. Most reasons are deeply personal. If you’re considering life insurance, chances are that you feel a very real need to provide for and protect your family.

These are a few reasons people invest in life insurance:

• Provide your spouse time to grieve and heal before returning to work.
• Help your family maintain its current standard of living.
• Pay for final expenses and burial costs.
• Enable children to attend college.
• Help your spouse pay off your home.
• Replace your salary.
• Leave a legacy for your family or even a cause that’s important to you.

Finding the Right Policy

Life insurance comes in many shapes and sizes. Like most insurance, the costs of life insurance are based on a series of risks. The two most common options are whole and term life insurance.

Whole Life Policies – For the most part, it’s best to purchase a whole life policy at an early age. In fact, one of the best gifts you can give your children is a whole life policy purchased at their births. It will lock in a low rate for as long as the policy is maintained and builds cash value.

Term Life Policies – Most adults reading this, however, will find that term life policies provide a helpful combination of lower rates for the term of the policy that enables you to have coverage while your children are young.

The flipside though is that terms often go up significantly with each term renewal. This means that once your children are older the policy becomes more expensive to maintain. Many people feel that this is great as a supplemental life insurance plan for periods in life when their income or contribution to the household is needed most.

Phoenix Insurance Group can help you build a life insurance policy that fits your lifestyle and matches your needs.