TRW Life & Health Insurance Services

Life Insurance Myths and Facts

 

Deciding which life insurance policy to purchase or even deciding to get life insurance at all can feel overwhelming, especially when consumers are often influenced by a lot of information, some of which is not based on fact.

You may have heard that life insurance is too expensive or only healthy people qualify, but often these things are not the truth or are only partly true. Here are several life insurance myths:

 

Myth 1: Life insurance is only for healthy, middle-aged adults.
Fact: You are never too old or too young to purchase life insurance. It’s true that your costs will increase as you age and that people with illnesses or certain risk factors may pay more, but there are life insurance policies available for everyone.

 

Myth 2: I’m single or married with no children, so I don’t need life insurance.
Fact: Your loved ones can use life insurance benefits to pay off your debts, including student loans, mortgages, and car loans. It can also be used to take care of your final expenses, such as burial.

 

Myth 3: My student loans will be forgiven when I die, so I don’t need life insurance.
Fact: To keep it simple, it depends on the type of student loans you have. Federal student loan debt is forgiven upon death or total disability, and family members are not responsible for it. In this case, a life insurance payout could go to other things such as living expenses or funeral costs.

 

Private student loan debt can be different and is not as cut and dry. You’ll need to ask your lender if they provide student loan death forgiveness, which will give you a better estimate of how much life insurance coverage you need.

 

Myth 4: My beneficiaries will have to pay income taxes on the proceeds of my life insurance policy.
Fact: Life insurance benefits are generally income tax-free up to a certain threshold, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). However, any interest payments on top of the policy may be taxed.

 

Myth 5: If I get a term life insurance policy, I can’t convert it to a permanent or whole life policy.
Fact: It is possible to convert some term life insurance policies, depending on the policy you purchased. However, you should find out the details from your agent before buying your policy.

 

Myth 6: Once my children are adults, I don’t need life insurance.
Fact: Having life insurance later in life has many advantages, like relieving the burden of funeral costs, paying state estate taxes, paying off your debt, or simply giving your children a nest egg, they can use to help support their own families.

 

Myth 7: I don’t need life insurance since my savings is at a comfortable amount.
Fact: The national median cost of a funeral with a burial is $7,300, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. Your savings were likely for retirement, so your loved ones may have to pay for your funeral costs if there is not enough left over. Additionally, if you have any debts, your estate will use your savings to pay for those, which could reduce the amount left for your beneficiaries.

 

Myth 8: I cannot afford life insurance.
Fact: Consumers often overestimate the cost of a term life insurance policy. Many individuals are surprised to learn that a healthy 30-year-old could potentially get a $250,000 20-year level term policy for just $13 a month. With this policy, beneficiaries would receive the full $250,000 (as most are tax-free) if they were to pass away between 30 and 50.

Life insurance can be very affordable, depending on the type and amount of coverage you need.

 

Myth 9: I draw no income. I don’t need life insurance.
Fact: If you’re a stay-at-home parent, you don’t bring in an actual paycheck, but you likely provide services that could cost a lot of money to replace, such as childcare, daily transportation, cooking, and more. Life insurance benefits can help replace some of these costs.

 

Myth 10: Life insurance does not cover death by suicide.
Fact: Life insurance does often cover a policyholder’s death by suicide in many cases. Frequently, however, life insurance policies include contestability and suicide clauses which must expire before the benefit will be paid out. This period is usually two to three years, but beneficiaries may receive the death benefit once the clauses expire.

 

Myth 11: If you have health issues, you cannot get life insurance.
Fact: While health is often used to calculate rates and coverage amounts when determining a policy’s premium, it doesn’t mean that life insurance is out of the question with a pre-existing condition. Even further, there are some policies specifically built for consumers with pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes.

 

Additionally, suppose the individual is within the eligible age range, typically 40 to 85. In that case, they can consider guaranteed issue life insurance if they don’t want their medical information to be a factor at all.