William Penn Life, 2010 (45. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2010-10-01 / 10. szám
Moneywise with Doug Miller Are you a part of this growing majority? ONLY 44 PERCENT OF U.S. HOUSEHOLDS own individual life insurance, according to a recent study. That's the lowest number in 50 years. But, more significantly, that means a majority of Americans are either relying on the life insurance provided through their employers or have no life insurance coverage at all. The study, conducted every six years by the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association (LIMRA), also revealed another disturbing trend-the number of households that have no life insurance whatsoever is growing. Today, 30 percent of households—roughly 35 million families-have no life insurance coverage, compared to 22 percent of households in 2004. Among households with children under age 18, which arguably have the greatest need for life insurance, 11 million have no coverage. "Clearly, more American families are living on the edge — surviving paycheck to paycheck—and, as our new study suggests, too many without the safety net that life insurance provides," said Robert Kerzner, CLU, ChFC, president and CEO of LIMRA. "The numbers tell a grim story. A majority of families either have no life insurance or not enough, leaving them one accident or terminal illness away from a financial catastrophe for their loved ones." Why? Despite the fact that most families have less to fall back on financially than when the current economic downturn began, fewer and fewer own life insurance. The LIMRA study's findings offer a few possible answers. How many of these sound familiar to you? • • Families are focusing on other financial priorities in difficult times. More than 40 percent of Americans say a major reason they have not bought more life insurance is because they have other financial priorities right now, such as paying off debt or saving for retirement. However, the drop in life insurance ownership is not because families are not feeling vulnerable. Among households with children under 18, four in 10 say they would have immediate trouble meeting everyday living expenses if the primary breadwinner died today. Another three in 10 would have trouble keeping up with expenses after several months. • A record number of Americans see the need for more life insurance. Half of households feel they need more life insurance — the highest level ever. Moreover, 24 percent of households with children under 18 want to speak with a financial professional about their life insurance needs; and a quarter of all households plan to buy life insurance in the next year. According to LIMRA's study, life insurance beat out all other sources of financial assets or income that Americans expect to use to help pay bills and to maintain their lifestyle in the event of the primary wage-earner's death. • Families don’t know where to turn for help. About one in four middle-income households admit they don't know how to obtain or reach their financial goals, including buying life insurance. One of the biggest obstacles is lack of information. Almost eight in 10 U.S. households currently do not have a personal life insurance agent or broker to turn to and most of them say they never did. Most individual life insurance policies are sold by insurance agents and many Americans want to keep buying in this manner. IF YOU FOUND YOURSELF nodding your head while reading this, then perhaps it's time to give your local WPA agent a call. WPA can work with you to help you find the affordable solutions to you and your family's financial needs. If you don't know who to contact in your area, you can turn to Page 13 of this magazine and find a directory of our agents currently serving our members. Or, as always, you are welcome to call Barbi Tew at our Home Office tollfree at 1-800-848-7366, ext. 120, and Barbi will be happy to find the agent nearest you. Don't be a part of the majority who have insufficient life insurance coverage. Call us today. □ More American families are living on the edge, surviving paycheck to paycheck, and too many without the safety netthat life insurance provides. WPA AGENT DIRECTORY - PAGE 13 6 ° October 2010 0 William Penn Life
