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How much life insurance do I need?
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Life insurance policies shouldn’t require a lot of upkeep. Once you choose a life insurance plan you’re comfortable with, then think of it like just another bill you pay for security and peace of mind.
There are many types of life insurance policies to pick from and what’s considered the “best” really comes down to the individual. Are you looking for a $50,000 life insurance plan or one that’s closer to $1 million? You may qualify for both but the exact amount each individual needs depends on their own personal financial situation and goals.
Whether you’re looking to purchase life insurance for the first time or simply want to add to your current policy now is a good time to act. Start by getting a free price estimate.
How much life insurance do I need?
How much life insurance you need is specific to your own individual circumstances and standard of living. Here are four things you should consider when determining exactly how much coverage you need.
Finances
Are you set financially or are you still years away from paying for expenses like your children’s college education? Where you are financially in your life will help determine how much life insurance you need.
If you have debt, consider who will pay it if you die. If your home is paid off and your kids are grown and out of the house you may need less insurance than someone with the opposite circumstances.
You’ll also want to take your current income into account. If you’re the sole income earner, then you’ll likely need more coverage than if you were married with two sources of income.
Health
Life insurance companies will want to determine your health before agreeing to insure you. If you have pre-existing conditions or are currently coping with health issues or an illness then you may have higher premiums.
You should be honest about how you feel and what your plans are should an emergency arise. It’s better to be safe than sorry and that may mean taking out more life insurance than you think you currently need. You’ll typically have to take a medical exam before an insurer signs off on your application.
There are no-exam life insurance options but those tend to be pricier, although coverage is essentially guaranteed. Make sure to weigh the pros and cons and do a cost-benefit analysis before choosing this option.
Get a free life insurance price quote here now to learn more.
Goals
What are you trying to accomplish by having a life insurance policy? Do you want it to just cover-end-of life expenses like a wake, funeral and burial? In that case, you’ll need significantly less than if you wanted a policy to cover an existing mortgage loan. Similarly, if you want a policy to serve as a nest egg for beneficiaries the amount can range significantly, depending on how much you want to leave loved ones.
Understand exactly which goals you want a life insurance policy to help establish first. This will help you narrow down an exact amount to apply for.
Standard of living
What standard of living are you and your family used to? Sure, insurance can cover the basics but if you only insure yourself for that – and are used to living (and have bills) at a higher cost – your insurance amount should be set accordingly.
If you don’t have life insurance or are unsure if you have the right amount, act today. You can get the latest information on providers, review local companies and compare rates now. Use the table below to get started.
What is life insurance?
To help better determine how much life insurance you need, it’s helpful to understand what life insurance actually is and why it may be necessary for both you and your family.
Life insurance is insurance that covers you, the individual, in the event of your death. Similar to how car insurance covers your vehicle if there’s been an accident and home insurance covers damage or repairs to your dwelling, life insurance covers you monetarily after you have died. In exchange for payments made directly to an insurance company or through other means (like an employer), an insurance company will pay your beneficiaries an agreed-upon lump sum in the event of your death.
You don’t necessarily need to die to get paid, however. Depending on the terms and conditions of the insurance plan you have, other instances (like terminal or severe sickness) could also trigger a payout.
There are two primary types:
- Term life insurance: Term life insurance refers to a pre-determined set amount of time in which you’ll be insured
- Whole life insurance: Whole life insurance, which remains active for a full lifetime, comes with a unique cash-out option that allows policyholders to use their policy while they’re alive. Just note that, because of the cash factor, whole life insurance policies are typically more expensive than term plans. And you won’t have immediate access to cash once the policy goes live. You’ll still need an adequate cash amount in the account before you can use it (and it takes time to build that up).
It helps to consult a life insurance expert. They can answer any questions you may have and help you get started with a policy that you can access for cash.
Why do I need life insurance?
You need life insurance for the same reason you need all other forms of traditional insurance: To protect yourself and your family when unforeseen events occur. The financial impact a loved one’s death can cause would be significantly reduced if the person had life insurance and was covered for an appropriate amount.
How much should I pay for life insurance?
When considering how much life insurance you need, the question of cost will inevitably arise. As with many personal financial products, it’s best to shop around to compare rates and services in order to get the best deal for you and your family. With that being said, it’s difficult to provide a standard range for how much someone should pay for life insurance since there are so many factors involved.
Besides comparison shopping, however, there are some reliable ways to get inexpensive life insurance. This includes signing up with a plan early (life insurance will only become more expensive as you age), choosing term versus whole life insurance (whole has that cash option but it’s also usually pricier) and paying annually (some companies will provide a discount if you pay in one lump sum each year versus paying monthly).
There are other ways to get inexpensive but reliable life insurance plans. Speak to a life insurance expert today who can help steer you in the right direction.
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Competing measures that would expand or restrict abortion rights can appear on the ballot in Nebraska this fall, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday.
The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled days after hearing arguments in three lawsuits that sought to keep one or both of the state’s competing abortion initiatives off the November ballot.
Organizers for the competing measures each turned in far more than the 123,000 required valid signatures needed to get them on the ballot.
One initiative would enshrine in the Nebraska Constitution the right to have an abortion until viability or later to protect the health of the pregnant woman. The other would write into the constitution Nebraska’s current 12-week abortion ban, passed by the Legislature in 2023. The ban includes exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the pregnant woman.
Two lawsuits — one brought by an Omaha resident and the other by a Nebraska neonatologist who both oppose abortion — argued that the measure seeking to expand abortion rights violates the state’s prohibition against addressing more than one subject in a bill or ballot proposal. They said the ballot measure deals with three separate issues: abortion rights until viability, abortion rights after viability to protect the woman’s health and whether the state should be allowed to regulate abortion.
A similar single-subject argument on an abortion rights ballot measure before the conservative Florida Supreme Court failed earlier this year.
A third lawsuit challenged the 12-week ban initiative. That filing argued that if the high court found the abortion rights measure failed the single-subject test, it also had to find that the 12-week ban initiative failed it.
The 12-week ban ballot measure would loop in at least six separate subjects to include regulating abortion in the first, second and third trimesters and separate exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother, an attorney for that third lawsuit argued.
The state’s high court has offered mixed results on single-subject law challenges. In 2020, the Nebraska Supreme Court blocked a ballot initiative seeking to legalize medical marijuana after finding that its provisions to allow people to use marijuana and to produce it were separate subjects that violated the state’s single-subject rule.
But in July, the court ruled that a hybrid bill passed by the Legislature in 2023 combining the 12-week abortion ban with another measure to limit gender-affirming health care for minors does not violate the single-subject rule. That led to a scathing dissent by Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman, who accused the majority of applying different standards to bills passed by the Legislature and those sought by voter referendum.
The court agreed to expedite its hearings and rulings on the lawsuits to eliminate the need for any proceedings at lower courts and to get the issue decided before ballots are printed across the state. The deadline to certify the Nebraska November ballot is Friday.
Nebraska will be the first state to carry competing abortion amendments on the same ballot since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, effectively ending 50 years of national abortion rights and making abortion a state-by-state issue. But the topic of abortion in general will be on the ballot in nine states across the country this year. Measures to protect access have also qualified to go before voters in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and South Dakota.
New York also has a ballot measure that proponents say would protect abortion rights, though there’s a dispute about its impact. A measure is not on the Arkansas ballot, but an attempt to add it is being sought through litigation. Voters in all seven states with an abortion-related ballot measure since the reversal of Roe v. Wade have favored abortion rights.
Most Republican-controlled states have implemented abortion bans of some sort since Roe was overturned.
Fourteen states currently have bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions; four states ban it after about six weeks, which is before many women know they are pregnant. Nebraska and North Carolina are the only states that have opted for bans that kick in after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
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