By Shelby Handley-Hutchison
The sweltering hot summer is behind us. The Fall season isn’t quite here yet but National Life Insurance Awareness Month is.
Insurance industry professionals spend countless hours throughout the year giving rate quotes on how much it would cost to cover your home, automobile, or business for something that might happen. But September is a different time. It’s when the focus is centered specifically around Life Insurance. This is the month that a national concerted effort is made to make sure people know what Life Insurance Is. Nearly 20 years ago, this initiative was started by an organization called Life Happens.
Even with all the advertising and discussions, so many people are still left in the dark. Especially in smaller populated areas such as towns like Millington or Munford. Mostly because in small towns there are usually only a handful of insurance agents. Very little focus is on educating the community because traditionally an agent sits down with one person or family at a time. That is not to say that those agents are not benefiting the community. They are. As a community, we must get past “talking” about it and begin “doing” something about it, but not before we really “know” about it.
What is life insurance? I’m glad you asked. Life insurance is a contract between you and an insurance company. You will pay them a premium payment and in exchange, the life insurance company will pay a lump sum of money called a death benefit to a specified person or people who are called beneficiaries. The most common purpose of life insurance is to ensure that your family is taken care of financially and to ensure they are not faced with hardship. Getting life insurance gives you peace of mind.
There are 5 basic types of life insurance. No, you are not expected to know everything about each one. However, knowing something about each will help you ask questions that help narrow your choices and then you can ultimately make the decision for yourself, not your agent.
Talking about Death is a very uncomfortable but necessary conversation to have. We all know that. So how do we get started? The simple answer is, to get started. Start with arming yourself with the information necessary to make the best and most informed decision. The most important guidance I can give you is to advise you not to get your information from anyone other than a Licensed Insurance Agent. It is very tempting to ask your friends and family members about the different types of insurance and what they think is best for you. Truth is, they don’t know. They don’t know because the needs of each person are very different. What was best for them is not necessarily what is best for you. Asking them is kind of like asking your mechanic to cut your hair.
Starting with the quote (how much it costs), is not where you start. When you speak to an insurance agent, your first question should not be how much it costs. The agent should not give you any dollar amount if they have not asked you a series of questions about your needs first. That is called a Needs Analysis. For you to be able to answer those questions, you will need to know the answers regarding how much money your family would need to sustain, should you die unexpectedly. There are other things to consider but this is enough to get you started.
These decisions have always been in your heart but now they are on your mind. Let’s do something about it.
Shelby Handley-Hutchison of National Advance Planning Professional is a licensed life insurance agent and can be reached at [email protected] or 901-256-8485
