Three Ways to Start a Life Insurance Conversation with Your Family

by | Mar 28, 2022

It’s neither fun or easy to bring up life insurance with your family and loved ones. It forces us to tackle some of our “favorite” subjects, such as death, finances, taxes, estate planning, debts, and health care. Getting life insurance, on the other hand, is a gesture of affection that goes beyond words. It demonstrates to your loved ones that you are serious about safeguarding their future.
Whether you need to talk about life insurance with your spouse, parent, or other significant loved one, the first step might be the most difficult. Here are three ways to start a conversation about life insurance with your family to help you take the plunge.

Starter #1: Begin by asking and listening to questions.
Being direct and considerate is the best way to start a meaningful conversation regarding life insurance with your family members. A smart place to start is by asking intentional questions and then listening closely to your loved ones’ responses. If you’re not used to having these types of conversations, it just requires a little bravery on your behalf. Some instances are as follows:
“Hey mom, your kids all adore you and want to make sure you’re being taken care of,” says a child to a parent. This includes taking care of your affairs after you pass away. Having stated that, we need to learn more about the specifics. Do you have any kind of life insurance? Do you have a strategy in place for any remaining bills or debts?”
“I know we don’t talk about our finances very much,” I say to a spouse. Regardless of how we feel about it, we must have an open and honest discussion about what will happen to our family and assets if we die. We must specifically discuss how much life insurance we may require. I jotted down a few key questions for us to consider together. “Can we have a look at them right now?”
It’s only the beginning when it comes to life insurance questions. Then, to create a safe environment for an honest talk, you’ll need to use your active listening abilities. Allow your loved one to know that you are paying attention to their responses without passing judgment. You may believe that your loved one is behind on their planning, but keep in mind that any quantity of life insurance is better than none at all.

Starter #2: Give an example from your own life.
If you believe a less direct approach will provide better results, another method to start a life insurance conversation is to use a personal example. It could be a story about someone you know personally or about someone you’ve just read or heard about.
You may, for example, recount a tale about a friend’s father who died and how grateful your buddy was that their father was prepared for his death. You may discuss how this parent had a life insurance policy that covered all of their final expenses.
On the other hand, you can come across someone who was preparing for death and left a debt for their loved ones to pay off. Perhaps you’ve seen someone on social media raising money to assist pay for a loved one’s funeral or final medical expenditures.
To begin, consider whether sharing a pleasant or negative experience will lead to a more open dialogue. If you don’t have a personal example, share one of the Life Happens stories—this one about the Miller family shows the benefits of proper coverage, while Brentney’s tale demonstrates the implications of a parent having little or no life insurance. Then begin by telling your narrative and asking your loved one questions.

Starter #3: Use a pandemic or other current events as a starting point.
Current events might also be used to start a conversation about life insurance. According to a recent survey conducted by Life Happens and LIMRA, 31% of Americans believe that “COVID-19 has made it more likely that they will get life insurance during the next 12 months.”
Clearly, the pandemic has made some of us a little more comfortable with having difficult conversations about death planning, and you may take advantage of this. Simply be diplomatic and begin by describing how the epidemic, or another current issue, has affected you. Then, before diving into your life insurance questions, ask your loved one how it makes them feel.

Conclusions and Recommendations
Conversations about life insurance might be tough to initiate, but they are essential to have. Furthermore, we must have these discussions as soon as possible. Make an appointment with your parent, grandparent, spouse, or another family member to discuss life insurance.
First, if you need it, spend a few minutes learning the basics of life insurance.
After that, make a list of the questions you need answered. You can use this list as a resource.
Then, have a talk with your significant other. Decide whether you can be direct with your inquiries or if you need to ease into the topic with an example or event.
Finally, talk to a life insurance professional about your findings. Your life insurance agent will assist you and your family in filling any financial gaps that may exist.