In this current economy, your hard earned cash slips through your fingers like sand through the hour glass. It’s so hard to hold on to it with so many outside entities pinching off the pile bit by bit. They come at you in waves right after pay day, your creditors, the government, the utility companies. Your relationship with your money is so fleeting, you didn’t even have the opportunity to start a relationship with it. You barely got to touch it before it was off to the banks, and just a credit mark on your statement. So why would you wish to part with even more of it for something as transparent as life insurance? You can’t touch life insurance. You can’t drive it, play with it, or taste it. It’s just a piece of paper, much like a gambling slip.
When you buy life insurance, you have just placed a bet. We all love the big casinos, lights flashing, bells ringing, money all over the place. We love the race track, too. It’s the wheel of fortune, the chance of a life time, you gamble, you bet your life. Basically, that is what life insurance is, you have just placed a bet on your longevity. A macabre thought indeed, you are gambling on how long you are going to live. The Grim Reaper, scythe in hand, stands on the horizon of everyman. But we are not wont to acknowledge his presence, ignore him, he’ll go away. By buying life insurance, you just waved hello to Death and dared him to come and get you.
Is the bet worth the risk? That all depends on what you are trying to protect. At the race track, you are betting on the performance of an animal in a contest against other animals. In the casino, you are betting on a number or a roll of the dice. Life is often similar to that roll of the dice. Things change and you need to be ready to face the changes. As you go through life, you acquire things, a spouse, a house or two, some nice automobiles, and a few kids. You take homeowners insurance to protect the houses against fire, flood or all sorts of other catastrophes. You take auto insurance to cover theft, collision, or liability in case you are involved in an accident. You need to protect the assets you’ve acquired, and life insurance is just that, protection. So it only makes sense that you protect the other assets you have, your family.
How much you can afford, what’s left in that pile of sand after pay day, can influence what type of life insurance you buy. There are basically two types. Temporary, or term life, is the real gamble because the money you pay out is just covering the amount your estate receives in the event of your death. The longer you live, the gap between what you paid and what you get back closes. Permanent, of which whole life or universal are the two biggest sellers, is an annuity. You will pay much more for the same coverage but, you are paying into an account with the prospect that someday you can tap into the amount and get some of your money back while still maintaining the coverage in the event of your death. In either case, you are gambling on your life and in return, you are only buying peace of mind that your heirs and beneficiaries will profit from your death. However, if you can afford the premium, peace of mind is an awful nice thing to have as you wave at the Grim Reaper.