Three quarters of Americans believe life insurance coverage represents a critical piece of financial security. Two-thirds say it delivers peace of mind. One third tell themselves they ought to be investing more in life insurance.
Yet only 49 percent actually have a life insurance policy.
These are the key takeaways from a survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults paid for by Lincoln Financial and executed by Whitman Insight Strategies. Dubbed the MOOD poll—for Measuring Optimism, Outlook, and Direction—the survey team concluded that, while people recognize life insurance’s value, it is still not on their daily list of must-do action items.
“Clearly Americans see the importance of life insurance, yet it’s often viewed as a longer term safety net, and therefore not always considered on the list of day-to-day financial priorities,” said Mark Konen, president, Insurance and Retirement Solutions, Lincoln Financial Group.
Delving deeper into the survey results, here are some tidbits:
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35 percent of consumers believe life insurance provides immediate benefits;
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Life insurance owners are significantly more likely than non-owners (75 percent vs. 64 percent) to feel “in control”;
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Consumers spend only 1 percent of their monthly household budget on life insurance while spending nearly 3.5 times as much on entertainment and restaurants;
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41 percent of millennials and 37 percent of Gen Xers think they should be putting more money towards life insurance;
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Of those who own life insurance policies, 51 percent purchased them through an agent/advisor, 32 percent through their work, and 17 percent got it through both.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
