One thing that we can tell you for sure is that while we may not have heard of EVERY reason why someone might not think that they need to purchase a life insurance policy, we certainly have listened to our fair share of excuses.
Which is why…
We can honestly tell you that there are some situations where one might NOT need to own a life insurance policy on themselves.
But the sad truth is…
These situations where an individual wouldn’t benefit by owning a life insurance policy are much less common than one might think.
Less common because the main reason WHY someone might choose to purchase a life insurance policy is to make sure that their loved ones wouldn’t suffer a financial loss if they died.
Which means that…
Even in situations where someone may not be financially dependent on another, they may still suffer a financial loss when they die.
A financial loss may take the form of having to pay for final expenses, debt obligations, or tax penalties (when applicable).
For this reason…
We wanted to take a moment and discuss the top 13 reasons or excuses we hear from potential clients who say they either don’t need to purchase a life insurance policy or are not ready to buy one today!
So, without further ado, let’s dive right it.
Top 12 Reasons (excuses) Not to Buy a Life Insurance Policy.
#1. Life Insurance is a waste of money.
Individuals who usually make this claim have one MAJOR underlying belief that makes them feel this way. This belief is that they are not going to die any time soon. Often folks who tell us that life insurance is a complete waste of money will follow up this statement by telling us how long their mother and/or father lived.
Which is why…
In their opinion, paying years and years for life insurance (especially term which may end before they die) is a complete waste of money. And technically, they could be right. After all, if one knew for sure that they were going to die 15 years from now, it really wouldn’t make much sense to purchase a 10-year term life insurance policy, would it?
“But that’s not how the world works!”
And while…
It’s true that most people who purchase a life insurance policy won’t die during the period in which they own it.
But those who do die can be sure that their family received the death benefit attached to the policy they purchased and can rest at ease, knowing that they did protect their family financially!
Additionally…
Those who do purchase a policy and don’t die while that policy is “in force” will at least have peace of mind, knowing that if anything DOES happen, their family will be protected.
So…
While your family may not benefit financially from the insurance that you purchase, the stress relief that may come from owning one might help you personally!
#2. I’m too young to have to worry about life insurance.
OK, so it’s safe to assume that anyone making this argument believes that they are currently very healthy right now, and this “good health” is likely to continue for years and years.
“A statement that is very likely to be true.”
The only problem is…
Choosing to postpone purchasing a life insurance policy later in life is also choosing to ignore the fact that it’s entirely possible that in the end, you won’t die from a NATURAL CAUSE of death like a heart attack, stroke, or cancer.
Instead, you may end up dying from some type of ACCIDENTAL CAUSE of death like a motor vehicle accident, slip and fall, natural disease, or victim of crime.
In fact…
According to the CDC, unintentional injury death was the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States in 2018, numbering just over 167,000!
And while most of us can’t see ourselves dying from a slip or fall or being killed in a tornado, it’s not all that difficult to imagine a teenage driver on his or her cell phone smashing their car into us!
The one nice thing…
About doing this little mental exercise that envisions one dying at the hands of a reckless teenager at a young age is that if it does encourage you to purchase a life insurance at a young age, it may help you secure a very low price.
That, and waiting till your older may cause you to wait too long, to the point where you might not be able to qualify for coverage due to some type of pre-existing medical condition.
#3. I’m too old for life insurance.
Now while it is true that most life insurance companies aren’t going to be willing to accept a life insurance policy from an applicant over the age of 85, most of the time, when someone says…
“They’re too old for life insurance.”
What they’re really saying is that they believe that their insurance is going to cost too much.
Which may or may not be true, our only suggestion would be to first find out how much your life insurance costs before you make this “assumption” that it’s going to be too much for you to afford.
#4. I can’t afford the amount of insurance that I need!
Another common excuse that many folks will use is that since they can’t afford the amount of coverage they need, they’re not interested in getting ANY life insurance.
Now the problem with this line of thinking is that in most cases, the individual making this kind of statement…
First…
Most folks who make statements like these haven’t ever really “shopped” their options, so they don’t truly know what it may cost to buy the amount of insurance they need.
And second, sure, it may be true that you can’t afford the amount of insurance it would take to protect your family properly but would ½ the coverage needed to do so still help them?
Probably…
Which is why if you find yourself in a situation where you may not be able to afford the amount of coverage that you’re looking for, instead of just giving up, you should “refocus” your efforts on trying to find a more affordable option so that you can still protect your family!
#5. I can’t qualify for coverage.
Sometimes folks don’t think that they can qualify for a traditional life insurance policy. This “belief” may exist because they’ve been diagnosed with some type of pre-existing medical condition that they believe will disqualify them from coverage.
Or it could…
Be because they have already tried to purchase a life insurance policy and were told by a life insurance agent that they couldn’t qualify!
“Which may or may not be true”.
But without a second or third opinion like the one you can get by working with a life insurance brokerage like IBUSA, who really knows whether or not you’ll be able to qualify for coverage? The good news is that applying for insurance is FREE, so if you think you might be able to qualify, why not give it a try?
#6. I’m going to wait until next…
Another classic excuse a lot of folks like to use, it that they have every intention of buying life insurance; they just want to wait until…
- After the holidays,
- After they get back from vacation,
- Once their new home remodel is done,
- After they lose a few pounds,
- Etc…
Know that getting life insurance is easier than ever, with many companies offering no exam life insurance.
You see, the problem with this “type” of excuse is that you can bet even after the “initial reasons” why a person is choosing to delay applying for a life insurance policy has come and gone, another legitimate reason for waiting will arrive.
Unfortunately…
This will also mean that this person’s loved ones will continue to be at risk, and if the proposed insured ever does get around to buying a life insurance policy, chances are they’ll end up having to pay more for their coverage.
Because now, they’ll likely be a year older (or two older) than when they originally began exploring the idea of getting insured.
#7. I’ve got all the coverage I need through work.
This is an excuse that we used to get a lot. However, lately, people have begun to see how “benefits” through work aren’t always as good as they seem, particularly when it comes to life insurance.
This is especially true…
When it comes to life insurance because it’s not a guarantee that this is a benefit that an employee will always be able to keep.
For example, you may have all the insurance you need through your employer right now, but what happens if you leave your employer ten years from now?
Will you still be able to keep this coverage?
Or will you then have to seek out a new life insurance policy, only this time you’ll be ten years older?
And what happens if heaven forbid you to get sick or injured and you’re not able to continue working for your employer?
Sure, there may be…
Alternatives available to you for HEALTH INSURANCE, but life insurance companies are free to discriminate against people with pre-existing medical conditions. This means that if you can’t keep your current employer’s life insurance policy in place, there’s a good chance you may not be able to qualify for another one!
#8. I don’t have anyone financially dependent upon me.
Since one of the main reasons why someone would want to purchase a life insurance policy on themselves is so that they can financially protect those around them, it makes sense for someone to just naturally assume that they wouldn’t “need” to purchase a life insurance policy on themselves if this isn’t the case.
The only problem is…
That some folks in this situation fail to realize that when they die, they may end up leaving a mountain of burial or final expense bills behind that your loved ones may end up being responsible for.
For this reason, even if you don’t have anyone financially dependent upon you, you may want to ask yourself if when you die, will there be enough money left behind to provide you with a proper burial? If not, you may want to consider purchasing a small burial life insurance policy for yourself.
#9. I (or they) don’t work, so I don’t need a life insurance policy.
This is an “excuse” we’ll often hear when talking about a “non-working” spouse. This is because a lot of folks will often fail to realize just how much money it would cost to replace many of the things that one’s “non-working” spouse actually does!
Things like…
Maintaining the household, driving the kids around to there 1000’s of activities, and quite frequently playing an active role in many family businesses in an “unpaid” role. This is why anytime someone tells us that they don’t need to purchase a life insurance policy on a loved one that isn’t “financially contributing” to the household, we say…
“OK, that’s fine, but what might it cost you to pay someone to do everything that your “non-working” spouse does?”
Could you get someone to do it for free like you do now?
If not, then chances are if your “non-working” spouse were to die prematurely, you would probably suffer financially if you had to hire someone to help you out, which is exactly why you may want to consider purchasing a life insurance policy on him or her as well.
- I’m going to apply for coverage once I qualify for a lower rate.
This is the excuse we get all the time from smokers. I’m going to apply for life insurance right after I quit smoking, and I’m able to get a “non-tobacco” rate. The only problem is that most of the people who use this excuse aren’t ever going to quit smoking and just use the “higher premium” as a tobacco user to avoid purchasing life insurance altogether.
This excuse is also used…
In cases where someone might be able to “earn” a better rate in the future if:
- They lose weight.
- Improve their driving record.
- Stay out of trouble with the law (time removed since last felony or misdemeanor).
Or continue to remain in good health after suffering from a medical emergency (heart attack or stroke) or suffer from a serious pre-existing medical condition like cancer.
And while…
It’s difficult to blame someone for wanting to wait until they can qualify for coverage at a lower rate. The sad truth is that some may never be able to qualify for that “rate” they are hopping for, and the whole time they are waiting too, their family will remain at risk!
- I’m too busy right now!
Suppose you truly believe that you need to purchase a life insurance policy to protect your family. In that case, it’s hard to imagine anything more important than taking the time to make sure that your family has the insurance that they need!
And the best part is that purchasing life insurance nowadays doesn’t need to take hours and hours out of your day. In fact, sometimes, just a 15-minute phone call can get you started and well on your way.
#12. I don’t want to take a medical exam!
Here at IBUSA, we understand that lots of folks aren’t all that interested in having to invite an examiner into their home or office to perform a medical exam (and this was ever before COVID-19 became a “thing”).
This is why…
We here at IBUSA have worked very hard to establish working relationships with many of the top life insurance companies who are currently offering no medical exam term and whole life insurance options.
This means that if this is the only thing preventing you from purchasing the life insurance policy that your family needs, we’ll then you may not have to wait any longer because we could have a solution for you!
And there you have it…
Our top 12 excuses that we commonly hear at IBUSA. Now, after reading this article, it is our hope that you come to see that there are a lot of reasons why someone might put off getting life insurance. Some of which may make a lot of sense, while others are simply an “avoidance tactic” people will use to put off doing something that they fear or don’t want to think about.
Sadly though…
While there are many reasons why someone might choose to put off purchasing a life insurance policy, all of these reasons will have one thing in common, which is that until you do, your family will remain at risk!
So, what are you waiting for? Give us a call today and let us help you find the best life insurance policy that you can qualify for.
