Who needs life insurance anyway? Isn’t taking out a policy that insures your life a little bit like planning for death? Unless you plan to wait for two years until the exclusion period passes and find a nice bridge to leap off of, you probably plan to live forever, so you don’t need to plan for the future of your family in case they need to experience it without you around. Right?
Actually, that’s engaging in a bit of wrong thinking. People don’t buy life insurance because they plan to die, and most insurers are unlikely to accept the application of most people at death’s door anyway. Both you and your insurer expect you to survive your policy, or at least your insurer expects your policy to lapse long before you meet your maker. These companies make money because most people buy their policies and cancel or let them lapse before they are ever close to death.
Actually, you can use your life insurance policy to plan for your life. Permanent policies, like universal and whole life, can build up a cash value that you can use as an asset. Some also contain provisions that give you protection against disability or the need for long term care. Besides, if the unthinkable ever does happen — or that high bridge ever calls you name — you will have done the right thing and protected your loved ones with some cash to provide for their future.
