Many of the people I've talked to over the years have stated that they don't need life insurance. These are typically younger people, people in good health and people without children. Based upon these responses a lot of people think life insurance is only for older people, people who aren't healthy, or people with children. This is a dangerous misconception.
I have several clients who have learned first hand the inaccuracy of this belief. One has spent all of her life's savings funding funerals for family who didn't think they needed it. When we first met to get life insurance for her sick husband she had already paid for four funerals in less than four years for family members who passed away unexpectedly without coverage. Health plays a big part in the cost of insurance also, so her husband's premium was expensive. During our visit I ran quotes on her four healthy adult children as well. Unfortunately, she couldn't afford the children's insurance at the time so she began searching for a second job. Some months later her 34 year old son came home to visit and slipped off the roof while taking down her Christmas lights. The accident was fatal. It was devastating for everyone, but on top of that the financial burden of paying for yet another funeral fell on her. A GoFundMe account was started and a little money was raised, but I imagine she is still making payments to a funeral home to this day.
The truth is that, unless you have prepaid for your funeral and burial, if you are breathing you need life insurance. None of us knows how or when we will leave this world, but we won't get out alive and leaving is expensive. Unless we want to put that financial burden on our loved ones we must protect them from it. The average funeral today ranges from $8,000 to $15,000, depending upon location and personal preferences. Most people would be pressed to come up with this amount of money on the spot.
There are also people who tell me they will just save money for final expenses. This may seem like a good alternative but how do we know we have time to save? Also, life insurance goes directly to the beneficiary tax-free, while money in a savings account doesn't.
The bottom line is that life insurance is for everyone. We insure our cars, houses, cell phones, health, and other items of importance with absolutely no guarantee we will ever submit a claim. Life insurance is the only insurance we are guaranteed to use. It isn't for us, it's for those we love. Do you want to be responsible for paying for your parents', siblings', children's or cousins', funerals? Do you want them to have to pay for yours? Let's be responsible, let's make our passing easier, not harder, on those we leave behind.