NEW YORK, May 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As the coronavirus
pandemic continues to impact everything from the economy to daily
life, worries over personal safety have driven 83 million Americans
to consider buying life insurance or increasing their life
insurance coverage, according to a new survey from ValuePenguin.com
by LendingTree.
Key Findings:
- 1 in 4 Americans say COVID-19 has increased their interest
in life insurance, with men more likely to agree than women.
38% of men said they want to buy life insurance or increase
their life insurance coverage, compared to just 14% of women.
- Most people already have some life insurance, but many
aren't sure what it actually does. While 65% of all respondents
said they already had life insurance in place, 40% claimed they
were not very familiar with, or did not know what life insurance
does.
- Over 30% of Americans don't know how much life
insurance they need. While the appropriate amount of coverage
changes for every person based on their financial needs, most
respondents came in with estimates that were too low for a typical
scenario. Only 10% cited the common rule of thumb that coverage
should be equal to 10 times their annual salary.
- How much does life insurance cost and how much coverage
should one purchase? A $500,000
term life policy lasting 20 years would cost an average of
$30 per month for a 35-year-old
nonsmoker in good health. Even the conventional rule of thumb of 5
to 10 times their annual salary isn't a very accurate estimate of a
person's life insurance needs.
"Ultimately, the amount of coverage you have should be enough to
meet all of your future financial obligations, minus the assets
that would be liquidated on your passing," said Chris Moon, Insurance Product Manager at
ValuePenguin.com. He added, "While families are bound to cut back
spending and adjust in such unfortunate cases, calculating your
family's needs today and using that number to gauge your life
insurance coverage can minimize the financial difficulty they would
face."
ValuePenguin.com Qualtrics to conduct an online survey of 1,136
Americans, with the sample base proportioned to represent the
overall population. The survey was fielded in May 2020. To view the full report, visit:
https://www.valuepenguin.com/life-insurance-coronavirus-survey
About ValuePenguin.com: ValuePenguin.com, part of
LendingTree (NASDAQ: TREE), is a personal finance website that
conducts in-depth research and provides objective analysis to help
guide consumers to the best financial decisions. ValuePenguin
focuses on value, assessing whether the return of a particular
decision is worth the cost or risk of that option, and how this
stacks up with the other possible choices they may have. For more
information, please visit www.valuepenguin.com, like our Facebook
page or follow us on Twitter @ValuePenguin.
Additional Information:
https://www.valuepenguin.com/average-cost-life-insurance
Media Contact:
Divya Sangam (Ms.)
646 693 8445
Divya@valuepenguin.com
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SOURCE ValuePenguin.com