This is very controversial topic I am about to tackle. I am going to give you my take on a subject that I know many may not agree with. My stand on the topic is that 99% of adults should have a term policy to cover at least funeral expenses (plus keep in mind income replacement, mortgage, children's university, estate taxes, etc). When it comes to life insurance, I think of it as a small piece of a financial portfolio, so I like to ask other questions such as:
Do you have a few months of bare bones household expenses saved for an emergency (3 to 6 months)?
Do you have a college fund for children?
Do you have a investments such as mutual funds (depends risk desired)
Do you have a debt elimination plan?
Do you have a 401k, 403b, 457, SEP, IRA, etc or some type of retirement plan?
The reason I ask these questions is that many people want life insurance but there is a proper way to build financial portfolio and it is important to have the proper structure. I feel concerned when someone wants to buy a 30-year term policy, but they don't have any money saved. That is because when hard times come, and they will come, how will they be able to continue paying for the policy or will they have to let it lapse permanently?
With that said I do want to point out that the first life insurance policy I ever sold was a whole life policy and I do not regret it. Before you stop reading let me explain. My employee at the time had a mother who was very sick. She was a 70-year-old smoker who took various kinds of medication for her health. She was concerned that if anything happened to her mother she would not have the means to pay for a proper funeral. I was able to get her permanent coverage of $10,000 for $67.87 per month. I recently consulted with a good friend in the industry who only utilizes the "buy term invest the difference" strategy. He agreed that to the best of our knowledge I met the client’s needs with the best financial product available at the time. My client only wanted to know that if something happened to her mother the following day that her mother would have a proper burial. I believe that we were able to meet that need and give her a peace of mind that she desperately needed based on her budget. I tend to believe that this case is not your ordinary case. Every client has different needs. At the end of the day most should start with the fundamentals and that really means term. It is what gives you the most coverage for the least amount of money. Just make sure that you have all the other financial l tools in place as well. If you have any questions feel free to email me at mario@myuib.net or drops us a text (WhatsApp available) at (305) 225-5100.