I was somewhat hesitant to write this post, because I did not want to make light of the devastation and atrocities happening all around the world. I hope as you read this article you will see the importance of why this was necessary, especially for those in the Habesha community and other minority communities throughout the USA and world at large.

When you turn the news on there seems to be tragedy and devastation happening everyday and everywhere in the world. From the USA to Ethiopia to India the news lately has been something difficult to pay attention to. While we sympathize with those who have lost tremendously, it is important to recognize that we have a responsibility in the midst of all this tragedy: to prepare our families and loved ones in the sudden event we are no longer here.

Now, when it comes to no longer being here I’m sure my family would be so emotionally devastated that they would need a lot of time to heal and recover. When this happens there will be a huge financial problem they will face if there isn’t a life insurance policy in place. This is why every parent, provider, and anyone who has people or organizations that depend on them needs to have a life insurance policy in place. It is hard to imagine one’s death and I understand the difficulty having this thought. However, I would argue that it is more difficult to think about your family trying to survive without you, emotionally, spiritually, and financially.

If you want to learn about the different kinds of life insurance products out there the you can read this article I wrote that gets into more detail. There are some recommended companies in that post you can obtain a life insurance policy with. That’s not what this post is about. This post is about you ensuring you do everything possible for your loved ones in the event you are no longer around to help.

Now, there are a lot of things to consider if and when you decide to sign up for life insurance. It isn’t that you just sign up and you’re done. That’s why I hope you really pay attention to the rest of this article and save it for when you get ready to apply for life insurance.

Some things to consider when applying for life insurance :

1. Get term life insurance (20 to 30 years). The key word here is term. It’s very cheap compared to the other kinds of life insurance products and gives you the flexibility to save and invest in other areas of your finances so that you can build wealth. The idea here is that you would no longer have the need for life insurance, because of your savings and investments. There are more expensive options out there, but the overwhelming majority of the personal finance community agrees that term life insurance is the way to go for most of us who qualify for such a policy.

2. Don’t underestimate the amount of life insurance you need to have. Some experts recommend at least 10 times your annual pay. However, it would be HIGHLY beneficial to add more. Think about all the costs your family and loved ones will have to face without you: paying off a mortgage or buying a home, kids future weddings, kids college education costs, and the list goes on. Whether you just have a spouse, or a spouse with kid(s) I think having at least a $1 million policy would be the minimum for all households.

Now, I understand extenuating circumstances and even this may be too expensive. At the end of the day I just want you to have some sort of a policy in place if you don’t already have a solid financial plan for your family in the event of you’re no longer here.

3. Check the policy each year to make sure the designated beneficiary is correct. Some times errors happen. This isn’t common, but it would be good to make sure whoever you designated as the beneficiary is still the beneficiary. There may be a reason where you need to change who or what the beneficiary is and that’s something you want to keep in mind too. So, check and follow up with the policy every year.

4. If you are not eligible for life insurance, you can look into getting multiple “no medical exam” policies. This would be expensive, but could work for certain situations. Also, you can get a life insurance policy against your home. In the event your death, the policy would pay off what’s left on the mortgage of the home. Unfortunately, there a times when people with certain sicknesses do not qualify for the low rates life insurance policies offer.

5. Don’t just rely on your policy at work. That policy doesn’t go with you in the event you no longer have that job. It’s good practice to have a separate policy outside of your work’s life insurance.

For more about life insurance you can read this post and hopefully find some help in making a decision that’s best for you and your loved ones. Check out a YouTube video I created below on getting life insurance.