The pandemic reinforces the importance of covering those you love.
Somewhere between sheltering in place for too long and increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates globally, I’ve thought about the pandemic’s wakeup call: the heightened awareness of life’s fragility and unpredictable nature.
That increased awareness has made many people wonder, “What would happen to my family if something happened to me?”
A recent industry study confirmed a major uptick in life insurance interest prompted by COVID.1 As the person responsible for life insurance products at Thrivent, I take this increased interest to heart. Thrivent exists to help people make the most of all they’ve been given, and my team and I especially are committed to helping people protect what they’ve been given.
I’ve been proud to be part of this membership organization throughout the pandemic. “Business as usual” for us has meant that we’ve kept our doors open to new applicants seeking life insurance coverage—a contrast to other insurers that were unwilling to cover older applicants or individuals with health histories that make them a higher risk to cover.
Yet, recent industry data also have signaled the significant job in front of us: 48% of Americans say they do not have life insurance coverage. In other words, this means that in the event of a breadwinner’s death, more than 100 million men, women and children across the U.S. (and likely close to home) would not be financially able to live the lives to which they’ve become accustomed.2 This means families could be forced to drastically change their lives, find a new home that fits within new financial parameters, leave neighbors and friends, or find a higher-paying job.
So how do we help our clients—you—achieve financial clarity and protect what’s important? When you need advice, we can help you recognize and address your financial protection needs. Most importantly, we can help provide insight into the right amount of life insurance protection for you so that you can have a greater sense of security no matter what life brings to your doorstep.
Decades ago, as part of my actuarial training, I learned about “pooling risk.” Clients share in the cost to cover the significant financial hardship caused by the unexpected death or disability for anyone in the “pool.” I thought the concept of “we’re all in this together” was important then. And this past year of unpredictable calamity has only reinforced the importance of covering those we love most with life insurance protection.
Author Wendy McCullough is vice president of Life Insurance Products at Thrivent.
