Term Life Insurance needs To Be Reviewed

Author: Ivon T. Hughes

Term life insurance can't control what the investment markets will do, but with it you can control how you prepare for retirement or your children's college education. More importantly a term life policy protects your family against unforeseen financial setbacks such as the death of a breadwinner.

Term life insurance is for anyone who has children, gets married, buys a home or assumes other financial responsibilities. "Term life insurance needs to be reviewed on a regular basis" says, Ivon T. Hughes of The Hughes Trustco Group.

"Like most people, you probably already own some term life insurance. But surveys say that most just don't know how much term life insurance they have."

While your term life insurance coverage may have remained unchanged, your life circumstances undoubtedly have not. A recent survey found that 43 percent of North Americans fail to review their coverage after a major life event, defined as the birth or adoption of a child, marriage or divorce, the purchase of a house or graduation of a child.

"Term life insurance is so important that the life insurance industry needs to educate more people about the importance of protecting their loved ones; their families' financial futures are at stake" says, Mr. Hughes.

THERE ARE MANY CIRCUMSTANCES THAT CAN AFFECT YOUR LIFE INSURANCE COVERAGE.

Is your policy's death benefit adequate? If your goal is income protection, is the policy's death benefit large enough for your family to maintain today's standard of living? If the policy was purchased for wealth preservation, is the death benefit adequate to cover current estate settlement costs?

How is your policy performing compared to what is needed now? After a decade of declining interest rates, the coverage you are paying for today will earn less if invested to earn a monthly income.

Are you paying too much? Sometimes, you can pay less for the same amount of coverage. Or, you may be able to obtain additional coverage for the same price.

Is the policy's ownership structured correctly? The ownership of a life insurance policy should be considered carefully.

Are your beneficiary designations up to date? Births, deaths, marriages and divorces all have an impact. You would be amazed at how many people fail to update this critical piece of information. You could, unwittingly, make your ex a very wealthy person!

The Hughes Trustco Group helps you answer these questions and determine whether or not you have enough life insurance," says Ivon T. Hughes of The Hughes Trustco Group. "You may find your coverage is fine; you may even discover you need less than you own. Just make sure you find out where the policy is and have it reviewed. Your family will be grateful you did".