How Much Life Insurance Do You Really Need?
Some people equate life insurance with tragedy and death. In truth, life insurance is for the living. Without it, the sudden demise of a key breadwinner could leave a family stranded without the resources to maintain their lifestyle—or even retain their home.
Not so long ago, professionals recommended that families carry a life insurance policy with a death benefit of 10 times their annual household income. Today, however, in light of rising house prices in many parts of the country, spiraling college costs and low interest rates most advisors now recommend up to 20 times your household income.
Unfortunately, most American families are under-insured. The gap between what households have and what they need is nearly $320,000, according to LIMRA’s study Closing the Life Insurance Gap, 2015.
If you’d like to get a working idea of how much life insurance you may need (or how much more you may need), you can use our quick Life Insurance Needs Calculator.
-Marvin H. Feldman, CLU, ChFC, RFC, President and CEO of Life Happens
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