What Every Senior Should Consider in Evaluating Their Life Insurance
Life Insurance is often times the forgotten asset when we evaluate our portfolios and perform our periodic review of asset performance. Once purchased, the life insurance policy gets put in a drawer and forgotten with the exception of the vague piece of mind we may have remembering there is a death benefit left for those we care about.
However, life insurance like any other valuable asset should be evaluated on at least an annual basis.
The first step in evaluating a life insurance policy is to recall why the policy was purchased in the first place. Was the policy purchased to provide an inheritance and income replacement for a spouse and/or child, to pay off certain debt, provide a contingency to pay for educational expenses for children and/or grandchildren, pay for funeral expenses or perhaps benefit a charity at one’s death? It’s important to identify the reason for purchasing the policy to determine whether that reason is still relevant?
It’s important to determine whether the life insurance is still serving its original purpose or even “a purpose” in the individual’s investment portfolio.
The following factors should be considered in evaluating life insurance on annual basis.
- Is there any reason you still need life insurance given your current circumstances?
- If there is a need for life insurance, how much insurance do you need?
- Can you afford the premiums on the insurance you currently have?
- Have the changes in the estate tax law impacted your anticipated tax liability to the point where you no longer need the insurance to pay tax liability at death?
- Do you have a need to generate cash now from your life insurance to pay for retirement expenses like health care bills or maybe just wanting to have fun?
If your insurance is no longer serving its purpose and your review identifies a circumstance where you may want to consider selling your life insurance policy, a life settlement may be your best option.
To learn more about your options with respect to life settlements for your life insurance please feel free to contact Professional Life Settlements Plus for a no obligation/no fee analysis of your situation.
Dan A. Penning
Life Insurance Settlements Specialist
Professional Life Settlements Plus
