Life insurance is a financial product that many people are reluctant to buy. There are many reasons for this, such as fear of the unknown and not understanding how life insurance works.  A recent study found that a large percentage of Americans don't have any form of life insurance. The most common reasons cited for not buying life insurance are the cost, fear of losing money in their investments, and lack of knowledge about how to buy it.
However, there are also some misconceptions about it which can cause people to be even more reluctant to purchase it. If you are someone who is considering getting life insurance feel free to visit our friends over at www.anorak.life—they will have all your needs covered. If you are still not sure about insurance then keep reading. In this article, we will attempt to debunk these myths and provide you with 6 reasons why you should consider buying life insurance. 

Myth #1: I don't need life insurance if I have a family to depend on

This is one of the most common misconceptions. While it's true that your family will be dependent on the income you provide, they won't be able to maintain their current lifestyle.
For example, the average funeral costs over $8,000. According to Popular Mechanics, "the average cost of an in-ground burial plot is $7,000, and the average casket is around $2,000." The cost doesn't end there. That's just for the burial. If you've got dependents, you'll also have burial expenses and medical bills that need to be covered. Many families fear that these costs are something they simply won’t be able to cover.
Let's say you've got a family of four. You want to ensure that your wife and children are taken care of financially in the event that you pass away. You go with a typical burial policy, which only covers a burial. You are paying $200 a month for this life insurance policy, which will total $24,000 over the 20-year term that you've selected.
Now let's say your wife and children are still young when you pass away and have a lot of expenses. Your wife has a car loan that she needs to pay off, as well as your child's college tuition and student loans. In addition, if you're both a part of a health care plan that requires monthly premiums plus co-pays for medical procedures.
Add these up and you'll see that your family will still need to come up with an additional $16,000 just in monthly expenses. This calculation doesn't include any possible expenses for your funeral and long-term medical care. What this example does illustrate is that even though your family will be able to survive without you, they won't be able to maintain the same lifestyle that you provided for them.

Myth #2: Life insurance is expensive, so I'm going to wait until I can afford it

This is another misconception about life insurance. Some people assume that if they don't have enough money to buy a policy right now, then they'll just wait until they can afford it. The truth is that if you wait to buy life insurance, then you're just putting off paying for it until later on down the road when your finances improve.
It can be tough to come up with the money to buy a life insurance policy right now, but it's better to bite the bullet now than to leave it until later when you would be even more strapped for cash. It's harder to find a better policy with a better rate when you are already at a certain age.
Another reason why waiting until later on in life to buy life insurance is a bad idea is that your health could be worse. This could result in a higher premium being required from you, which means you'll have less money left over for your family after the life insurance premiums have been paid.
One of the best times to start buying life insurance is when you're young. If you're in your 20s or 30s and healthy, then it's worthwhile to study up on different policies and find which one is the best fit for you given your financial situation. In the meantime, make sure that you don't neglect other important financial goals such as retirement savings.

Myth #3: Life insurance isn't worth it because my beneficiaries wouldn't have to worry about paying off my debts or medical bills if I die

Another myth about life insurance is that it doesn't pay off if your family doesn't have to worry about paying off your debts or medical bills if you die. While it's true that this isn't a payment from the life insurance company or settlement from a lawsuit, it still has value. The reason why is because it's money which would need to be paid out of your family's pocket otherwise. Let's take a look at an example to illustrate this point.
Let's say your spouse needs a $50,000 loan from a bank in order to pay off medical bills from your hospital stay before you die. Your insurer refuses to pay out any benefits because they didn't consider the bills as contributing to your death. They also refuse to pay out any benefits if your family sues them after your death because you didn't have a valid will in place at the time of your death. Not to mention the ever-growing cost of medical bills, this is something that worries nearly every family.
Since the insurer refuses to pay out any benefits, your family is left with two options: take out a loan with a bank (which will probably have higher interest rates) or try and fight through the court system in order to recover what's owed to them. While paying off the loan isn't ideal, it's far better than having to fight through the courts for years on end in order to recover what's owed from your estate after your death.
Another way that life insurance can help your family is by providing for them financially if they're not able to obtain a loan from a bank. You can set up your beneficiary in a way you see fit, whether it be your wife or your children. This way, your wife wouldn't have to worry about taking on a second job in order to cover the bills and your children would be able to attend college instead of having to work their way through in order to make ends meet.
Unless you plan on leaving your family in debt, then life insurance can still be a valuable financial tool even if your family doesn't have to worry about paying off any debts or medical bills.

Myth #4: Life insurance isn't worth it because my family will have to pay taxes on the death benefit

When someone passes away, the benefits from their life insurance policy are taxable. The taxes are taken out by the insurance company when they pay out the death benefit. This means that if you have a $100,000 death benefit and the insurance company takes out their 20% sales commission, then you'll receive a check for $80,000.
However, this doesn't mean that the death benefit is only worth $80,000. Keep in mind that the money is coming out of the life insurance company's pockets. When they cut your check, they're losing that money from their earnings which are taxed at a lower rate. The $80,000 that you receive is actually worth more than $100,000 due to the taxes taken out by the insurance company.
This is just one more reason why life insurance can provide your family with a better means of living than if you hadn't purchased it.

Myth #5: Life insurance isn't worth it because I'll have to wait until I'm older before I can get a better policy with a lower rate

Another common misconception is that life insurance isn't worth it because you'll have to wait until you're older before you can get a better policy with a lower rate. The truth is that you can get a low-cost policy as soon as you're able to afford it. The only difference is that you won't have as many options as you would when you're older, especially if you're in good health.
A common misconception is that life insurance companies won't give you the best possible rate on a policy when you're in your 20s or 30s because they assume that you don't need the money yet or that you won't be able to afford it. In reality, if you go with a term life insurance policy, then it's actually cheaper for them when you're in your 20s or 30s because you're not going to live long enough to collect on the death benefit.
Keep in mind that you don't have to settle for the best possible rate now. Just pick one that you can afford and hope that your financial situation improves later on down the road when you're able to afford a better policy with a lower premium. You can always keep the older policy in place while adding on another one later on down the road when you can afford it.

Myth #6: Life insurance isn't worth it because I'll have to pay a long-term care premium surcharge if I need long-term care in my old age

Another common misconception is that life insurance isn't worth it because you'll have to pay a long-term care premium surcharge if you need long-term care in your old age. However, this isn't true. You don't have to pay any premium surcharges regarding long-term care on any policies which do not provide long-term care benefits. So if your policy only provides term life insurance without long-term care benefits, then there won't be any surcharges due to long-term care required.
However, this doesn't mean that all policies are the same even if they have long-term care coverage. Policies that offer long-term care benefits will have varying degrees of surcharges depending on what level of coverage they offer. 

Summary

Many myths surround life insurance and what it does and doesn’t cover. Hopefully, after reading this whole article some of the myths you might have heard about have been cleared up. At the end of the day, it’s better to be insured to secure a future for your family where they are not in debt and paying your medical bills or funeral costs. It’s not an easy thing to think about and hopefully, it doesn’t happen to any of you too early, but it does not change the fact that it is a part of life and that it is something we all need to deal with eventually. No one should have their death overshadowed, and no one’s family should have to deal with medical bills or funeral costs at a time when they clearly need to grieve their loss. Having life insurance can make sure that your family does not have to deal with these things.

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