Are you covered?

Market Watch

According to a Wall Street Journal Market Watch article "Coming Up Short"(Dec 2 2008), 95% of Americans make it a priority to protect their kids by using seatbelts, but only 20% have enough life insurance for family protection.

American families are increasingly in danger of missing goals like paying off a mortgage, funding college education, or saving for a secure retirement.

Americans believe they have enough life insurance to protect their families. But studies show that on average, household breadwinners have enough life insurance to cover expenses for only four years.

People don’t buy life insurance even though most people understand the need for it.

Only about 20% of today’s private sector workers are covered by a defined benefits pension plan. Today’s economy demonstrates how quickly financial circumstances can change. Life insurance can mean the difference between secure retirement and one of constant struggle.

The cost of doing nothing can be enormous, insufficient insurance leaves families exposed to undue financial risk. Look at life insurance as an asset rather than an expense.

According to the Insurance Information Institute www.iii.org premium rates for individual term life insurance are expected to fall about 1% from 2007. The general downward trend began several decades ago. The III estimates the annual premium for a 40 year old male nonsmoker buying a $500,000, 20 year level term life policy in 2008 will be about $725. Rates for women and younger people are even lower.