HOW MUCH LIFE INSURANCE DO YOU NEED?

The answer depends on your financial situation. These guidelines can help you review your income, calculate annual expense, and assess the needs of your family:

• Avoid cut-and-dried formulas and calculators. Although these can help provide a baseline amount, most fail to take your individual situation into account. For example, you'll need more insurance if you have a large family and several beneficiaries, children who will need college expenses, or high mortgage payments.

• Adjust your current earnings for rising expenses and higher prices. Buying Life insurance to replace future earnings doesn't factor in outlays your beneficiaries might incur, such as college tuition, wedding costs, or a home purchase. You should also allow for inflation.

• Calculate current and future annual expenses. Determine the cost of your family's current lifestyle and how to these expenses might change in the near future. You can separate this category into living costs and big ticket items such as college tuition for your kids. Remember, your family's lifestyle might change significantly if a young adult leaves home, a family member needs ongoing medical care, or you plan on moving.

  Multiply the family's annual budget by the length of the policy. If this is more than five or ten years, adjust expenses for inflation.

• Review your current financial resources. Factor in any savings or assets that you can liquidate, include them in your will, and reduce the face value of the policy acc ordingly.

Our agency's Life insurance experts stand ready to review your situation and recommend the amount of coverage you need, free of charge. Just give us a call.