Life Insurance: Caring for Your Family, Even in Death

When Gabriel was a baby, I went back to school. I didn’t really want a career, but I felt the need to be able to support our small family if anything ever happened to Gary. I knew there was almost no way for me to do so with the amount of schooling I had. But, I didn’t fully understand the urgency I had to go to school. Then, over the winter break from school, I finally understood the reason I had that urgency. I realized a quick and easy way to fix that, and be able to return to being a full-time mom, was to raise Gary’s life insurance. Over the years, I continued to raise it until it is at a level I am comfortable with. Now, if Gary ever dies, I know that I will never have to worry about money. The same goes for Gary. I made sure that I had enough life insurance on me that he would be able to hire a nanny, a maid, pay off the house, pay for private schools, and/or whatever else they might desire.

Last year, I met a woman whose husband had died in a house fire when her sons were very young. They did not have life insurance, or if they did, it was definitely not sufficient. She has struggled to make ends meet, while still caring for her sons.

To me, life insurance is very important. It gives me a peace of mind I would not have, otherwise. If we did not have the life insurance we do, I would worry about our life every time Gary was late coming home. I would worry the entire time he was gone anywhere, about our ability to survive, financially, without him. I still worry; don’t get me wrong. I’m a worrier. But, this is one less thing I have to worry about. I encourage you to look at your life insurance and make sure it is enough. There are many types of insurance. If your family is basically supported if you die, you may still need to worry about debts you leave behind. There are two specific types of insurance for this scenario, final expense insurance, and mortgage insurance. If your family has a guaranteed income (say from a 401K or retirement fund), but your mortgage payment would put a financial burden on them, you might check out mortgage insurance. Regardless of what your final conclusion is, this is a very important subject. Take care of it, today. You don’t want to leave your family in the lurch.