This is a sponsored post with Jenny Life Insurance and BraVoMark. All opinions are mine.
I feel pretty blessed to work for a company that offers some great benefits. I remember when I first became employed. There were so many options to choose from…health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, health care spending accounts, child care spending accounts, etc… The list seriously goes on and on. Being relatively young and naive, I just signed up for what I thought I needed. There was no looking back after that day. I have pretty much survived nicely on what I had signed up for. Why would I need to look at it again?
Well, believe it or not, there comes a time when you really need to think about what you have signed up for, even at an early age. Whether you have a family or not, there are just some lessons about benefits you just need to be aware of! Life insurance is one.
Death, although it is not a topic that people want to discuss, is something that affects us all. Being prepared in advance will help to lessen the burden and hardship that a grieving loved one will be faced with. The costs associated with death are enormous. Funerals can easily cost loved ones thousands of dollars. This does not include the cemetery plot or the actual burial.
A life insurance policy can cover the cost associated with the death of a loved one. The last thing you want to do is leave your family with the financial burden of paying for a funeral when they are already grieving the loss of you.
I have witnessed this firsthand. My maternal grandmother passed many years ago. The family was not prepared to address the loss because they discovered that there was no life insurance. As a result, my mother had to bear the burden of all the costs. We were fortunate that one piece had been taken care of prior and that was the cemetery plot. Everything else was her burden to bear. I sat by and watched her not only grieve for the loss of her mother but also worry about where the money would come from to deal with this. Had there been life insurance in place, my mother would not have had to use her credit card to cover the expenses. Imagine being reminded month after month of that loss as payment after payment had to be made.
No one is promised tomorrow. Making sure that you are prepared is something that should be a priority in your life. Just look at the highlights below from interviews that Jenny Life Insurance had with four separate women that recently lost their spouses.
- All stated that they wished they had MORE life insurance.
- All were surprised by how LITTLE the policy face value was through their spouse’s employer.
- All were uncertain (at first) about how they would get the insurance $$$ (payout/redemption).
- Anticipate that some will try to take advantage of you (e.g. overcharging for expenses) during your time of weakness.
- Discuss all financial transactions above a couple hundred dollars with a friend/family member to make sure the purchase/financial decision is sound.
- Immediately connect with a friend who has lost a spouse as they can prove a source for a wealth of information.
- Build a “support team” of 3-5 friends/family that you can put around you. Ask them for help and lean on them for help.
- They recommend that when you lose someone to start two boxes: 1) one for bills, 2) one for condolence cards. You’ll want to have a central place for all the bills that you can in time organize. Many condolence cards include thoughtfulness and even $$$. In time, you may want to send out hand-written notes and thank you cards to some of those people who showed they care. The process can prove therapeutic.
- Expect that the groups you hung out with previously can change. Two women cited being felt like they were left out because their spouse was no longer alive.
- Learning how to cope with the state of shock/blur/cloud/haze was difficult.
- Anticipate people who you think you should be able to lean on won’t be there to support you, and people who you could have never imagined will step up and help you.
- Find a counselor, therapist or other mental health professionals who you can work with.
As you can see, life insurance is necessary and sometimes complicated. What you have to realize is that the benefits you signed up for under your employer only cover you when you are employed. Let’s say you retire from your job when you are in your early 60s. For a short period of time, you may elect to continue your coverage but the fees associated with that will be greatly increased. There will come a time when you will not be able to continue to carry it, and that will leave you stuck with nothing until you qualify for Medicare or Social Security. Now you might not think that is a big deal, but I disagree. These programs do not cover those death expenses. They are not life insurance.
Investing in life insurance that can continue long after you are employed is ideal. If you are in your 50s and beyond trying to find life insurance, you may run into some issues. The first of which is a healthcare screening. Companies do not want to cover you if your health is not what it should be. That is why they ask for a healthcare screening prior to you signing up. While your health may be fine as a young person, you can not guarantee that will be the case as you grow older. Even if you do qualify, the cost of insuring someone late in life is much more expensive. Investing in it at an early age would be best! That way you can get the best rate.
The entire process of purchasing just the right plan can be exhausting and time-consuming. Thankfully, Lief and Chirag, two husbands, created a way for people to navigate through the process of purchasing life insurance through the convenience of an app. That’s right! No more tedious amounts of time need to be taken away from your family trying to meet agents, taking medical exams, filling out applications, and answering questions over the telephone. Simply download the app and on you are on your way to ensuring your family’s future.
Jenny Life iTunes AppStore App
Jenny Life, created by a Seattle-based team of insurance specialists and software engineers, have made purchasing life insurance less complicated so you can devote your time to what’s important in your life, family! Using modern technology, anyone can find the insurance plan that fits their life and budget. The Jenny Life app allows you to get an instant quote and apply for life insurance entirely from your mobile phone. It can’t get much easier than that!
Don’t be fooled into thinking that you can do it later or that what you and/or your spouse have from employers is enough or will last your lifetime. The truth is it never is! Invest in your family’s future today while you are still here and have that opportunity!
“Moms can’t live carefree. Your whole life is built around caring. We’re making it easier for you to care.”
Chirag, One of the founders of Jenny Life
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