Читать книгу Financial Security For Dummies - Eric Tyson - Страница 13

Because insurance is an admittedly dreadful and unpalatable topic for most people, many folks avoid insurance-related issues. And while well-intentioned and commission-hungry insurance agents get some people to plug insurance gaps, these salespeople may not direct you to a policy best suited to your needs. In fact, brokers may sell you costly insurance (such as cash value life insurance) that provides them with a higher commission and you with less insurance than you need.

Insurance gaps come to light when a disability or a protracted illness occurs. Too often, we believe that these problems only happen to elderly people, but they don’t. In fact, statistically, you are far more likely to miss work for an extended period of time due to a disability or lengthy illness than you are to pass away prematurely.

If others are dependent upon you financially, you likely need certain coverages that would provide for them in the event of your untimely passing. The following table shows the mortality rate for various age ranges and how the rate of course increases with age. You can see that while just 1 percent of those people between the ages of 25 and 34 pass away each decade, the portion approximately doubles with each passing decade. While 1 in 100 is a relatively small probability, it’s a much greater probability than winning your local mega-millions jackpot. Nearly 1 in every 25 people passes away during the decade between the ages of 45 and 54.

Age	Percent of People Passing Away (During Decade)
25–34	1.0%
35–44	2.0%
45–54	4.3%
55–64	9.6%
65–74	23.5%
75–84	55.8%

If you’re interested, you can check out the Journal of the American Medical Association’s research that shows how older people can determine a more accurate personal risk factor based upon personal characteristics: jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1660374.