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When you think life insurance, do you have it? So you think its important? Do you not have it because you think you can’t afford it?
Term Life Insurance is generally dirt cheap and is all you need.
To have a family and not have life insurance is irresponsible.
You can get $500,000 term insurance for as low as $500 a year
I have term…it’s very affordable and allows me to sleep well at night knowing my family will be taken care of…that is priceless!
When I see tzedakah ads for multiple orphans I have to wonder why life insurance was not purchased, it is certainly noble to support such causes but why would you want your family to have to ask for help?
It depends on one’s economic situations? Are you in a country with a generous safety net or not? If you die, what benefits will you get and from whom, and how will it affect expenses. In the United States, survivors’ benefits from the government can be very liberal in some cases, or non-existent in others. In the US, renters may need life insurance more than home owners since often a mortgage includes (i.e. mandates) a term insurance to pay off the loan. Major employers usually offer liberal death benefits, but not a self-employed businessman or a family in hinukh. If you are poor to begin with, your family will still be poor without you, and may actually be better off since they will gain benefits – in which case spending money for life insurance that might better be spent on food and shelter and hinukh is a questionable deal. The higher one’s standard of living, the more you many need insurance (are you a family that assumes each wedding will cost in the tens of thousands of dollars, or are you content with getting married in the shul basement at minimal cost – the wedding in each case is halachicly the same, but the socio-economic differences are great).
While term life is cheap as low as $20 per month (assuming there is no health problem) for $500,000 when you are in 20- 30 years old, it is not mandatory as is car insurance or fire insurance. You only need it when the kids are young, between the first kid and age 50, when term life is cheap, once they are adults they can fend for themselves.
“Are you in a country with a generous safety net or not?”
Why is it so ingrained to rely on govt or tzedakah? parents should be responsible for their children.
akuperma, have any of your immediate or extended family’s recent weddings been made in the shul basement?
Akuperma brings up a good point as to why some people don’t buy insurance. If the family would get the proceeds ($100,000 – 500,000) they would no longer qualify for government programs and they feel they can’t survive without these programs.
Goq: The government has gotten people addicted to the programs and it’s the only way they know.
That is unfortunately true Abba being on assistance is like drugs its an addiction, but it should be a last resort for truly impoverished people not a lifestyle! Honorable people should strive for self sufficiency.
Joseph et al.: There are many people who live modestly, and are also quite poor (meaning they have no choice but live modestly and have trouble making ends meet). If you are on an economic level where any fall in income simply triggers more “social safety net” entitlements (think in terms of WIC, food snaps, medicaid, Section 8, seriously discounted tuition, etc.), you are probably better off spending your money on things such as food, shelter and clothing rather than life insurance.
Life insurance is not a “Luxury”. A funeral costs about $15,000 nowadays and especially if the person is young you can leave the widow and orphans with alot of expenses and no money. It is almost impossible to raise $250,000 via tzdekah for a widow and orphans
As I said before life insurance in NY for a 30 year old male for $500,000 is a little over $20. a month. Is that a luxury? Joining a burial society is another $20-30 per year and it covers the whole family. For under $300 per year a family could be insured for life and death. I don’t know how much it cost for one time placement of an ad to appeal for funds but it’s probably more than $300.00.
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