Something that is often overlooked is life insurance. Life Insurance is an important part of an individual and business’s financial protection that most people do not have enough of.

The average adult in the United States has just under $50,000 in coverage and less than 50% of adults had an individual life insurance policy. Many employers provide policies for their employees but in many cases the coverage does not move with the employee should they change jobs.

Life Insurance is available for all ages with the price increasing as you get older. Unfortunately though it becomes difficult to find coverage for some as medical conditions develop in their lives which more often than not occurs as they become older.

So how much is enough? There are several theories and methods. One rule is to have insurance equal to 8 times your annual salary. Earning $50,000 a year would suggest you have a policy for $400,000. Another method is to buy enough insurance so that the investment income from the proceeds will replace about 75% to 80% of your earnings.

At different times in your life your needs will very. Early on, being single with little personal debt, the amount you need will be less (although buying it now will be cheapest). Later on as you own a home and have a family, the need to have more to protect your family will suggest a larger amount is necessary. Then as the family leaves the nest your needs will again change, and perhaps a lesser amount of life insurance will be needed for daily expenses but estate taxes may need to be covered by a life insurance policy so that you may retain assets to pass on to your heirs.

What ever your circumstance, it is important that you have life insurance in place when it is needed.

If you need more information on the types of life insurance available or would like a financial analysis performed, please give our office a call.