RADNOR, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Approximately 37.5 million U.S. households currently have no life insurance coverage, and nearly half of all households are underinsured, putting them at risk of not being able replace their income and missing out on a valuable financial tool.1 During Life Insurance Awareness Month (September), Lincoln Financial Group (NYSE: LNC) shares ‘9 Things You Need to Know About Life Insurance’ along with interactive tools to help you understand and plan for your life insurance needs.
“Life insurance can help families build, manage, protect and pass on their wealth,” said Mike Burns, senior vice president, Life Solutions, Lincoln Financial Group. “Yet often, life insurance is underutilized due to misperceptions. Today, there are diverse life insurance options that offer greater financial planning flexibility and a range in costs, as well as simpler and faster purchase experiences.”
Here are the 9 things you need to know about life insurance today:
- It’s actually pretty affordable. The top reason people cite for not buying life insurance is it’s too expensive. But it may be possible to get coverage for less than your monthly utility bill.2
- No magic number. When it comes to how much life insurance coverage your family needs, there is no 'magic number.’ Use this calculator to see what is right for you.
- You can use life insurance now and later. There are flexible policies that also provide ‘living benefits’ to address needs for every stage of life, such as retirement income or charitable gifting.
- Prepare for care. Certain types of life insurance can be used to help protect against potential long-term care expenses in the future. Start building your long-term care plan with these resources.
- Life at work. 108 million Americans have employer-provided life insurance.3 Your employer may offer coverage for free. Plus, you may be able to buy additional coverage there too.
- Get and keep talent. With fierce competition for workers, life insurance can play an important role in recruitment and retention as well as protecting small businesses. If you’re a small business owner, click here to see how.
- Quicker and easier than you think. It may be possible for healthy individuals to get life insurance in as little as 24 hours and without blood tests.
- Put a name on it. When naming your beneficiary – the person who receives the benefit of your policy - one isn’t enough. You should consider two more in case the unthinkable happens. But you shouldn’t name minors as outright beneficiaries.
- Life changes, your policy might also need too. Consider reviewing your policy at least every three years to make sure it still makes sense for you and your circumstances. Click here to see what you should consider when reviewing your policy.
“Life insurance is an extremely powerful tool as part of a well-rounded financial portfolio, and it’s important that people understand all that it offers,” said Andy Bucklee, senior vice president and head of Life and Executive Benefits Distribution for Lincoln Financial Distributors. “In addition to helping provide for your family and covering final expenses, many types of coverage also offer lifetime benefits that can be used for needs such as supplementing retirement income, protecting a business or addressing long-term care expenses. Life Insurance Awareness Month is a great time to meet with a financial advisor and discuss where life insurance fits into your financial plan.”
Now that you know the basics of life insurance, hear directly from financial advisors on why it’s important to ensure that you and those you’re responsible for are covered, in Lincoln’s newest video series, The Difference Life Insurance Can Make. In the first videos, Gary Katz of Sagemark Consulting, and Laura Teter of Pilot Financial, draw from their 50 years of combined experience to provide perspective on how life insurance can protect loved one and entities, and help you reach your financial goals in different phases of life.
About Lincoln Financial Group
Lincoln Financial Group provides advice and solutions that help empower people to take charge of their financial lives with confidence and optimism. Today, more than 17 million customers trust our retirement, insurance and wealth protection expertise to help address their lifestyle, savings and income goals, as well as to guard against long-term care expenses. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE: LNC) and its affiliates. The company had $260 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2019. Lincoln Financial Group is a committed corporate citizen included on major sustainability indices including the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America and FTSE4Good. Dedicated to diversity and inclusion, Lincoln was recognized by Forbes as one of the Best Large Employers, Best Employers for Diversity, and Best Employers for Women. Lincoln also earned perfect 100 percent scores on the Corporate Equality Index and the Disability Equality Index. Learn more at: www.LincolnFinancial.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Sign up for email alerts at http://newsroom.lfg.com.
1 LIMRA, Life Insurance Ownership in Focus, U.S. Household Trends – 2016, September 2016
2 Lincoln Financial Group, 2019 Life Insurance Non-Buyer Research, April 2019
3 LIMRA, Employment-Based Life Insurance Ownership Trends, September 2017
Sagemark Consulting is a division of Lincoln Financial Advisors, the retail brokerage of Lincoln National Corporation. Gary Katz is a registered representative of Lincoln Financial Advisors. Laura Teeter is a registered representative of Lincoln Financial Securities. Pilot Financial is not an affiliate of Lincoln Financial Securities.
LCN: 2708938-083019
