When we purchase a health or life insurance, we are better prepared to face the worst things that life may throw at us. Some life and health insurance policies are affordable, although they may not provide complete coverage. However, we still spend a fraction of the money needed to pay for potentially huge expenses. It is clear that risks related to our health and life are quite obvious. Buying health and life insurance are justified, but here are some misconceptions that prevent people to purchase both policies.
- Bad things won’t happen to me: Happy and healthy individuals often shrouded with a false sense of invulnerability. They may think that they won’t get hurt, get sick or die too soon. They may think that when it is the time for them to die, it will happen peacefully in old age when they are sleeping. Unfortunately, many people suffer from life-altering injuries or illnesses. There’s 10 percent chance that we die before the age 65. There’s 33 percent chance that we will suffer critical health problems before age 65. Of course, there’s 100 percent chance that we will eventually die.
- I can’t afford insurance right now: It is true that many people are living on a tight budget. However, premiums for health and life insurance should be seen as discretionary expenses. Many insurers allow us to stop paying for specific number of months if things get tight. After a few months, we should be at better financial shape to re-start the coverage again.
- Saving money is better than giving it to the insurance company: This is one of the most common justifications among people who don’t pay insurance policies. People have worked hard to earn money and they don’t want to spend it for insurance premiums. Saving money may seem a reasonable thing to do, but there’s always a big risk of dying or getting sick too soon. It is important to ensure that we are still financially secure after having a serious illness.
- Life insurance isn’t needed, my spouse will remarry if I die: This sounds like a really illogical reason. This could be a sign of marriage troubles or distrust in the family. It won’t be a good thing to leave the spouse and children a mountain of debts, due to medical, funeral and loss of wages expenses. Caring and compassionate husband should make sure that their loved ones will be financially stable, no matter whether his wife will remarry or not.
- I already have group insurance at work: Group insurance often pays two times our annual salary. This may sound like a lot, but our loved ones will live more than two years. Group insurance under-insures us and a good life insurance policy should provide at least seven times the last annual salary. This will provide the surviving family members with enough time to make preparations.
In reality, these justifications don’t really make sense and it will be much more logical to keep ourselves financially protected at all times.