26 May As Death Tolls Rise, A Generation Without Seeds Is Born
Dying without life insurance is like leaving your children without any seeds. The moment parents learn of the pregnancy, they start planning for the baby shower. Moving forward, they dutifully engage in the planning of countless life events and milestones. But for some reason, far too many parents fall short of planning for death.
In the wake of the coronavirus, authorities mandated the shelter-in-place policies, prompting countless businesses to shut-down. The shut-down of the economy has caused an all-time high global debt, presenting unforeseen financial strain to families. Along with the shut-down came lay-offs and terminations, resulting in the inevitable for some — loss of medical coverage and group life insurance.
While it is true that apart from the essential workers, many have been blessed to maintain employment and their benefits by working from home; the sad reality is that many Americans were headed for a financial tsunami long before COVID-19 emerged. If you lined up ten of your closest family and friends, at least four of them would not be able to cover a $400 emergency. And it is not just your family and friends — a whopping 78 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. As many are sinking into the deep waters of debt, others feel that the unforeseen economic shut-down, along with the unexpected passing of loved ones during this pandemic, has removed all hope of ever landing on dry land.
Although death is never welcomed or anticipated, we all know that we will one day transition from the terrestrial and into eternity. While death is a guaranteed occurrence of life, life insurance is the least talked about topic amongst families. With all the dangers and risks associated with COVID-19 and its massive death tolls which now include children, consider securing the future wealth of your family by purchasing a policy today.
September is Life Insurance Awareness Month, but with death rates climbing daily due to the virus, it behooves families to have the conversation sooner rather than later. It would be helpful if you would not only express your personal wishes with your family, but to document these directives in a living will. We fail to realize that even after our voice has been hushed, our funeral is our last statement. Determine within yourself to take care of your business; do not transition from this life leaving your family and children under undue financial stress.
According to the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association, only 59 percent of Americans have life insurance, and approximately half of those with insurance are underinsured. The top reason people cite for not buying life insurance is that they think that life insurance is too expensive. Two out of three adults overestimate its true cost, deterring them from purchasing a policy. Another conception is that life insurance is only necessary to cover funeral expenses. Unbeknown to some, people buy life insurance for various reasons. For instance, to pass wealth along to future generations, to provide liquidity for mortgage payments, or to help make up for the loss of your income (especially if you have dependents), to name a few. These motivations all depend upon the demographic populations.
Despite your economic status, life insurance is crucial. It is just as necessary as your lights and water. Spare your survivors the embarrassment and the daunting task of securing funds for your funeral expenses through “Go Fund Me” initiatives. When it comes to how much life insurance coverage your family needs, there is no “magic” number. There are many expenses associated with death, including autopsy fees, purchasing a plot and the digging of the grave. Although some services are optional, just bear-in-mind that even simple services such as cremation carry a cost.
Most individual life insurance policies require a medical exam. Since the emergence of COVID- 19, we discovered that the health of lower-income earners is disproportionately deteriorating relative to that of higher earners. If life insurance companies put more weight on health risks and life expectancy than the individuals do, then the price of life insurance for lower earners will continue to rise.
How could you expect your grandchildren to live off a harvest, if you have not left them any seeds? Leaving your survivors to struggle with funeral expenses after your death propels them into a medieval fight with creditors and debt, without warning and proper financial armor. Failure to adhere to the familiar proverb of King Solomon, “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children”… causes your children (especially young survivors), to begin their lives behind the curve. The grim reality is that some will some scarcely make it beyond the ranks of poverty.
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