We received this from Mark Weiss of ezinsurance.com.au and thought it useful to post it.
“The key is to find an amount that neither leaves your family underinsured nor wastes money by purchasing too much coverage. In order to determine the optimal level of life insurance coverage it is important to consider which family members should be covered and how much support they will need in the event of your early demise.
Adult children living comfortably on their own will likely not need such largesse, while minor children with years of schooling and support ahead of them may need a great deal of support. Likewise a working spouse with a good income will need less financial support than a non-working spouse with a houseful of kids to take care of. It is important to take these matters into consideration in order to come up with the right size death benefit.
The amounts of any home mortgages or home equity loans is an important factor as well. In fact many people purchase term life insurance coverage equal to the outstanding amount of the mortgage, for the express purpose of paying that mortgage off in the event of the death of the policyholder. This can be an excellent and cost effective strategy for homeowners, and the amount of coverage can be adjusted as the balance remaining on the mortgage goes down.”
Thanks for this Mark.
