The Two Approaches to Life Insurance

You can use one of two approaches to estimate how much life insurance you should buy: the needs approach or the replacement-income approach. Using the needs approach, you calculate the amount of life insurance necessary to cover your familys financial needs if you die. Using the replacement-income approach, you calculate the amount of life insurance you need to equal the income your family will lose. Lets look briefly at each approach.

You need how much?

Using the needs approach, you add up the amounts that represent all the needs your family will have after your death, including funeral and burial costs, uninsured medical expenses, and estate taxes. However, your family depends on you to pay for other needs, such as your childs college tuition, business or personal debts, and food and housing expenses over time.

The needs approach is somewhat limiting. The task of identifying and tallying family needs is difficult, and separating the true needs of your family from what you want for them is often impossible.

Replacing Income

Using the replacement-income approach for estimating life insurance requirements, you calculate the life insurance proceeds that would replace your earnings over a specified number of years after your death.

Life insurance companies sometimes approximate your replacement income at four or five times your annual income. A more precise estimation considers the actual amount your family members need annually, the number of years for which they will need this amount, and the interest rate your family will earn on the life insurance proceeds, as well as inflation over the years during which your family draws on the life insurance proceeds.
Note: Do remember as you quantify the income you want to replace that Social Security provides generous survivors benefits if youve qualified. These benefits can easily total $2,000 a month or more.

Calculating Replacement-Income Amounts with Excel

If youve got access to a computer running Microsoft Excel, the popular spreadsheet program, you can use your computer to calculate the amount of insurance you need to replace a specified number of years of income. Suppose, for example, that you want to buy enough life insurance to replace the income from a $50,000-a-year job for 15 years. If you figure your family will earn 5% on the life insurance proceeds should the worst case scenario occur, you enter the following formula into a cell in an Excel workbook to calculate the replacement income life insurance amount:

=-PV(5%,15,50000)

Excel returns the formula result 518,982.90 indicating that you would need roughly $520,000 of life insurance, invested at 5%, to payout $50,000 a year for 15 years.

Two Calculation Tips

If you want to factor in inflation because youre trying to replace income over a long period of time, you should use a real rate of return rather a regular, or nominal, rate of return.
To calculate a real rate of return, subtract the inflation rate from the interest rate in the formula. For example, if you expect 2% inflation, you could replace the formula shown earlier with this formula:

=-PV(5%-2%,15,50000)

Heres a final calculation tip: You probably want to round up your number. For example, if the formula provided earlier returns the value 518982.90, you might want to round up this value to $600,000. Or $750,000.

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Yes it is wise. Actually buying a policy of child life insurance leads your childs life to a future that is financially secured. It helps to keep plans for your childs carrier alive. Also, as they step into adulthood, the child life insurance policy builds cash value that supports your childs life with a financial cushion.

Child life insurance policies are affordable as compared to any adult life insurance policies.

Many financial experts consider it as a foolish decision to spent money on any child life insurance policy. But let me tell you how important and beneficial a child life insurance policy could be.

1. In case your child suffers from illness that may take his/her life, you may be left with funeral and burial costs or may be even medical bills. So the pre existing life insurance proceeds could provide the extra cash you need to settle the worries.

2. In case of fatal illness of a youngster, you may have to bear huge medical expenses. So the juvenile or child life insurance policys proceeds can support the family with significant financial relief.

3. If your child develops any serious medical condition while he/she is uninsured, parents may find premiums to be expensive. However, early coverage results in significant cost-savings.

It is agreeable that children hardly show any significant contribution to familys income, but purchasing some insurance policy for children can really give good financial support under certain events.

You can also collect information about the different child life insurance policies by shopping online and visiting several online insurance companies.

If you hesitate to get a separate life insurance policy for your child then you can add a rider to your own life insurance policy. This will cost you few more but it will make your children future financially supported.

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When a budget is tight it is easy to dismiss the need for life insurance. Lack of knowledge can also make an individual put off purchasing a life insurance policy. And, of course, planning for ones own death and discussing it with loved ones is always difficult. However, the lack of life insurance can leave those you care about with burdens after your death.

Why is it necessary?

In the period immediately following a death it is much easier to arrange for a funeral if a life insurance policy is in place. The average cost of a funeral is more than $7,500.

Also, within a marital partnership, the death of the spouse does not relieve debt. Your partner will be liable for any payments that need to be made. Standard housekeeping expenses will need to be met as well. The ability for your loved ones to continue living in the same manner as they did prior to your death will also be important to you. Funding the education of any children will certainly be important.

What amount should be bought?

In order to calculate the amount of life insurance you need you must consider immediate and short term needs as well as long term requirements. Burial costs and existing debt would fall into the current needs category. Mortgage payments and child care would also fall into this group. College expenses would be an example of future expenses to be considered. Dont forget taxes that may be due. There are many calculators available on the net which can help you to estimate the amount of life insurance you may need.

If you need help

In a matter as important as life insurance it is always good advice to get many quotes and compare them. Quotes are free and are the best way to compare plans, pricing and options. After receiving some quotes it may be prudent to consult a life insurance professional or even an attorney. Many times life insurance proceeds can be protected from taxation.

The best way to learn and save money on insurance is to collect as many quotes as possible in order to compare services and rates.

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