Understanding Who Needs Multiple Life Insurance Policies and Why

Acquiring a sufficient and thorough life insurance policy is among the most important decisions you can make for your family, ensuring that they will be taken care of and not left with undue burdens should anything happen to you. This idea is accepted and understood as responsible among the general population, but fewer people are aware that having just one life insurance policy may not be enough. Not only is it possible, but many times it is necessary for individuals to have multiple life insurance policies. Such an idea may sound wrong at first glance, but there are several reasons that multiple policies might be the right decision for you and your family.

Increased coverage

The most basic reason to have more than one life insurance policy is because it allows the total amount of coverage you have to be greater than that of one policy. If one life insurance policy caps you at $250,000 but you’ve evaluated your family’s needs and determined that it is necessary to be covered for $500,000, then the easiest way to do that is to simply add a second policy on top of your first one. The key to this decision is knowing exactly how much you want in total policy benefit and comparing that with your existing single policy.

Life changes requiring additional policies

It’s not uncommon for a single individual to acquire a life insurance policy while they are young that is on the lower end of coverage. The rationale is that they are young and do not have a family, so a large permanent coverage is not necessary for them, not to mention a larger policy could be more cost prohibitive at that early stage in their life.

However, that same individual will likely find that when they get married and/or when they have children that the initial policy they purchased is no longer sufficient. At that point, it makes sense for you to purchase additional coverages to match the needs of your growing family, while retaining that initial early-life policy as your baseline permanent life insurance policy.

Different policies have different benefits.

Life insurance policies have benefits that go beyond the death benefit. Some policies can allow access to the death benefit to help pay for long term care expenses. Other policies have cash value or other investment components. Some policies will provide coverage for a fixed number of years, while others will provide coverage for your entire life. Over time, people will have different circumstances and will need different policies to cover these different needs.

Want to find out more?

Schechner Lifson Corporation is an independent insurance agency that can serve as your one-stop shop for life insurance, as well as many other insurance and financial services. As an independent agency who is not tied to any single insurance company or investment vehicle, Schechner Lifson Corporation is able to provide unbiased and comprehensive advice and superior services through our group of creative and intelligent associates. Contact us today to see how we can make sense of the often confusing world of insurance and provide you with the best and most affordable coverage possible.