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Holy Cow Batman!
Americans Think Superheroes Need Life Insurance
More Than Moms
and Dads; Insurance Expert Disagrees
National Survey
Illustrates Common Misconceptions Contributing to Crisis of Underinsurance
Asked to assess the life insurance needs of five fictional characters, Americans
believe superheroes Batman and Spiderman have much greater needs than cartoon
parents Fred Flintstone and Marge Simpson.
Insurance expert David F. Woods, CLU, ChFC, president of the Life and Health
Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE), which sponsored the survey as part of
Life Insurance Awareness Month, says these findings suggest that many Americans
harbor misconceptions that prevent them from getting the financial protection
their families need.
"It's clear that confusion exists about the basic reason people need life
insurance," says Woods. "If your loved ones stand to suffer financially
upon your death, you need life insurance. Whether you're a superhero or a
super-parent really misses the point because no matter how dangerous your job
is, you never know what tomorrow will bring. If someone depends on you, it is
imperative to make arrangements now that ensure they will be taken care of if
you were no longer there."
Survey
Findings
Conducted by KRC Research between August 11 -14, 2005, the survey asked 1,014
Americans above the age of 18 to consider five fictional characters and select
the one they believe has the greatest need for life insurance. Here's how
consumers weighed in, along with expert assessment by LIFE president David
Woods:
- 28% chose Spiderman, an
unmarried freelance photographer with an elderly aunt he supports.
David F. Woods' Reaction:
"Peter Parker
probably needs life insurance to ensure that if his superpowers ever failed
him and he died, his aunt could stay in their home and be cared for."
- 18% chose Batman, a
wealthy bachelor.
David F. Woods' Reaction:
"Unmarried and quite
wealthy, Batman doesn't have anyone who depends on him financially and
therefore probably doesn't need life insurance."
- 16% chose Fred
Flintstone, a married father with a young child.
David F. Woods' Reaction:
"Fred, the primary breadwinner of the Flintstone family, has a pressing need
for life insurance to ensure that Wilma and Pebbles could maintain their
standard of living if he were no longer able to provide for them."
- 15% chose Harry Potter, a
teenager and student.
David F. Woods' Reaction:
"A full-time student with no siblings or parents who might be affected
financially by his premature death, Harry Potter doesn't have a need for
life insurance."
- 11% chose Marge Simpson,
a stay-at-home mom.
David F. Woods' Reaction:
"Not all family contributions are monetary: Stay-at-home parents like Marge
perform many household services that would be expensive to replace, and
consequently have a significant need for life insurance."
- None of the Above/Don't
Know: 13%
"Though fictional, the life situations of these characters illustrate just how
different real people's individual life insurance needs can be," says Woods.
"During Life Insurance Awareness Month, in September, we encourage Americans to
think seriously about their need for life insurance and to consult a qualified
insurance professional for assistance in obtaining the right amount and type of
coverage for their particular financial needs and circumstances."
Determining Your Need for Life Insurance
LIFE offers the following tips to
help Americans evaluate their individual life insurance needs:
- Think about who
depends on you -
This includes anyone who relies on you financially, including your
spouse, children, parents or other loved ones. It is important to
periodically re-evaluate your insurance needs whenever circumstances in
your life change, such as getting married, having a child, buying a
home, or getting a new job or promotion.
- Get a sense of how
much life insurance you need
- Determine how much money your family will need to cover immediate
expenses and how much they will need over the long-term to maintain
their standard of living. An interactive calculator is available at
www.life-line.org/lifecalculator
to help you estimate your needs.
- Learn about the
different kinds of life insurance
- Life insurance policies exist for virtually every need and budget.
Evaluate the different types of coverage available, including term and
permanent policies, and figure out what kind of life insurance might be
right for you by using LIFE's interactive decision guide at
www.life-line.org/whatkind.
- Get help
- While it's important to be an educated consumer, life insurance is one
product where an expert's opinion can make all the difference. One
way to find a good insurance agent is through recommendations from
friends and family, and above all, choose someone you know you can
trust. Find a listing of qualified insurance professionals in your
community by using LIFE's agent locator at
www.life-line.org/agentlocator.
New Release:
Life-line.org has created the first-ever Term vs. Permanent Decision
Guide and provide them with a link to the guide.
One of the most common questions people have when shopping for life
insurance is, "Do I need a term or permanent policy?" It's a tricky
question, and until now, there wasn't any online tool to help you sort
through it.
That's why the Life and Health
Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE) created the first-ever Term
vs. Permanent Decision Guide (www.life-line.org/swf/term_vs_perm.html),
a proprietary interactive tool to help consumers get smart about their
life insurance needs.
LIFE invented the Decision Guide in response to studies revealing that
"lack of knowledge" is one of the most common reasons people cite for
avoiding a life insurance purchase. While the Decision Guide is not
meant to be a substitute for working with a qualified insurance agent,
your visitors can use the Guide to learn more about what kind of policy
may be right for them.
Term vs. Perm Differences:
As the name implies, term insurance provides protection for a specific
period of time and generally pays a benefit only if you die during the
"term." Term periods typically range from one year to 30 years, with 20
years being the most common term. For more information on Term insurance
please visit:
www.life-line.org/life_what_term.html.
Permanent insurance provides lifelong protection. As long as you pay the
premiums, the death benefit will be paid. These policies are designed and
priced for you to keep over a long period of time. So if you don't intend to
keep the policy for the long term, this may be the wrong type of insurance
for you.
For more information on Permanent insurance, please visit:
www.life-line.org/life_what_perm.html.
Following is
a sample of some of the site features:
Sample questions include:
What is the average cost to raise a child from
birth to age 17? And in 2010, what are
tuition, room and board projected to cost at a
private college for one year?
Detailed answers
are provided to help gain a better
understanding of the issue. Upon completion of
the quiz contestants will be automatically
entered into a drawing for a chance to win a
home computer, a DVD player or other great
prizes.
 A human life
calculator lets you estimate the value of your
lifetime financial contribution to your
household and helps estimate the amount of
life insurance coverage you need to protect
those who depend on you financially.
A glossary is
available to help consumers understand the
language commonly used when discussing
insurance.
A Term Vs.
Perm Decision Guide to help make a better
decision on which option to choose as well as
a Life Insurance Needs Calculator.
A find-an-agent
component that will allow you to find
assistance for your insurance needs in your
area.
About LIFE
The Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE) was founded in
1994 in response to the public's growing need for information and education on
life, health, disability and long-term care insurance. LIFE also seeks to
remind people of the important role insurance professionals perform in helping
families and businesses safeguard their financial futures. To learn more about
these topics, please visit
www.life-line.org.
About Life Insurance Awareness
Month
Life Insurance Awareness Month is an industry-wide educational campaign created
to address growing concerns about the large number of Americans who lack
adequate life insurance protection.
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