New Year’s Resolution: Get Life Insurance
We all resolve to do things a little differently in the new year. And while our resolutions might not all stick – studies have shown that 80 percent of people have difficulty keeping their New Year’s resolutions after February — there is one positive change you can make that will ensure a permanent benefit down the road: life insurance.
Thinking About the Future
Chris Schofield, a Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Agent in Weatherford, says the best time to buy life insurance is any time of year — but the new year is when many clients are thinking about the future and about family.
“At the beginning of the year, people are thinking about fresh beginnings and fresh starts,” Schofield says. “They have just come out of Christmas, which is family time, and they are thinking about trying to protect their family.”
Never Too Early
Schofield says a common misunderstanding about life insurance is that people don’t believe they need it until they are either older, getting married, or starting a family. But the truth is it is important for everyone to have.
“A lot of people think, ‘Oh I don’t have kids, I don’t need it,’ or ‘I don’t have a lot of debt, I don’t need it,’” he says. “But you don’t know how your life is going to change over the next five years.” The earlier you think about life insurance, the easier — and cheaper — it can be to purchase a policy.
The Right Policy
Some great options for younger clients include Texas Farm Bureau Insurance’s 20 Pay Whole Life policy, which allows clients to pay off their entire policy in 20 years. After that, you own the policy and do not need to make any additional payments — kind of like the mortgage on a house. But even if you are older, it is still important to create a plan for the future.
“The difference in the conversations you have with 60-year-olds and 28-year-olds is vast,” Schofield says. “It is going to cost more if you wait, and the odds of you becoming uninsurable are higher. But if you are 60, you can still get a policy.”
Texas Farm Bureau Insurance tailors its plans to individual clients’ needs.
What’s Right for You
Schofield says he doesn’t like using the word “policy” when he discusses life insurance with clients. Rather, what he’s doing with his customers is creating a plan. That means clients should have face-to-face conversations with their Agent to determine their life insurance needs.
Considerations include what kind of income replacement a spouse or child may require after their loved one passes; whether or not the client would like the policy to create college funds, pay off a mortgage or debts, or create a retirement nest egg; and what likely funeral and/or medical expenses there might be.
Even though you can’t know everything that is going to happen in the future, what you do know, Schofield says, is that everyone’s needs will be different.
“Life insurance is something that is designed to get you to where you need to be,” Schofield says. “There is no way to know when a plan ends, but we do know where it begins.”
Talk to your local Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Agent today about starting off the new year right with a life insurance policy; you can also get a quote here.
Coverage and discounts are subject to qualifications and policy terms and may vary by situation. Life insurance products are offered through Southern Farm Bureau Insurance Company. © 2018 Texas Farm Bureau Insurance
