Many Americans Overestimate the Cost of Life Insurance, Fail to Protect Their Families' Financial Wellbeing

The increasing demand for car safety features and home security systems underscores the importance Americans place on protecting themselves and their belongings. But it turns out that more than 55 million Americans aren’t doing enough to protect the financial wellbeing of their families,1 and more than 70 percent say they have no life insurance or not enough life insurance protection. 2

The lack of adequate life insurance isn’t surprising when you consider consumers’ general misconceptions about the cost of life insurance. Many Americans grossly overestimate the cost of life insurance coverage. In fact, a 2012 study by the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE) found that Americans estimate the cost of insurance at nearly three times higher than the actual cost.3

The reality is that financially protecting your family costs less than many of life’s little luxuries. In fact, the estimated cost of a 20-year $250,000 term coverage life insurance policy for a 30-year-old male is $150 a year.4 That’s less than your annual gym membership, satellite or cable TV service, or even a night out with friends.

Still think you can’t afford life insurance? Compare the yearly cost of life insurance with items you wouldn’t give a second thought about buying.

1,2 LIMRA, Inc., Facts About Life 2013, http://www.limra.com/uploadedFiles/limracom/Posts/PR/LIAM/PDF/Facts-Life-2013.pdf, accessed October 30, 2013.
3,4 LIFE Foundation, 2013 Insurance Barometer Study, http://www.lifehappens.org/wp-content/themes/showtime/barometer/2013_LIFE_LIMRA_Insurance_Barometer_Study.pdf, accessed October 30, 2013

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