By James Lunders, Insurance Agent

Life is….spending time with family and friends. Watching a ball game. Lying in a hammock on a Saturday afternoon.

Life can be all of these things and more. Life is happy and sad and all things in between. It’s about living.

But life is also about protecting your family from the unexpected.  Life is making sure your family can continue without financial hardship if you are no longer around to help them. One way to do that is to have adequate life insurance coverage on you and your spouse.  Life is….being protected with life insurance.

Whether you are the main breadwinner or not, the American Life Insurance Council states you should have five to seven years worth of your salary in coverage. Others increase it to 10 years.

According to LIMRA, 68 million adult Americans have no life insurance. With so many Americans leaving their loved ones financially vulnerable, the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE) designated September as Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM), a time for the public to take stock of their life insurance needs.

The best way to determine your needs is to begin with calculating what long-term expenses you have that your loved ones would be responsible for if you were not around. Those expenses could include a mortgage, college tuition and everyday items such as food and clothing.

The type of policy you choose is an important decision. Term coverage can be very affordable initially, but premiums may increase over the life of the policy. Permanent policies usually have higher premiums but tend to stay level. How long you need the policy is also important to consider.

A qualified life insurance professional can assist you in your calculations and show you policies that may fit your needs.

Life is ever changing. Protecting your family from financial struggles after you are gone is what life insurance is all about.

When you are trying to choose just the right gift for your grandchildren, you can have a tough time sifting through the newest trends and fads. Last week it was this pop star, next week it may be a new cartoon character. On top of that, you don’t want to get something that won’t last 10 minutes out of the package.
One gift that will last for many years is a life insurance policy. There are many reasons why it can be an excellent gift for your grandchild .
· Affordability – The younger the child’s age, the lower the premiums.
· Protection – Illness or injury may affect a child’s ability to purchase life insurance coverage later in life. Coverage purchased now will continue to provide protection, even if a child’s health changes, provided premiums are paid as required by the policy.
· Financial Security – Life insurance can be the foundation for a strong financial plan. The child may be able to borrow against the accumulated cash value (with interest charged) to pay for future expenses. While loans decrease death benefits and cash surrender values, the proceeds can be used for important expenses such as a college education or the purchase of a home.
Giving a gift of life insurance to your grandchild can be one of the most significant things you do during your lifetime. He or she may not understand at the time how important the gift is, but should grow to appreciate it in the future.
Take the guesswork out of your gift shopping. Life insurance is a gift that will last a lifetime.

By James Lunders, Agent

This site is being developed daily and should be up to speed by the end of February, 2008.

Thank you for visiting.

James