Deciding how much life insurance is enough is a critical decision. You want to make sure you have enough to care for your dependents if anything should happen to you, but you also don’t want to pay for more than you can easily afford. At Hedgepeth-Hutson Insurance Services Inc. in Nashville, NC, as independent insurance agents, our first responsibility is to make sure our customers have the right coverage and that we are there for them if they ever need to file a claim. 

The first question you need to ask when trying to determine the amount of life insurance that is enough for you is who depends on your income? If your answer is nobody, then the amount of life insurance you need is different from someone who has a spouse and three children. 

The next question you need to answer is how long will they need me to support them? If your children are young, it could be 15 years or more. Social Security will provide dependent care for children up to the age of 18, so that is something you can consider when figuring out how much life insurance you need to have. 

You may also have life insurance as a work benefit, but that is just a bonus. It should not be considered in your figures because you can’t guarantee it will even be available if you have a long illness and cannot work. 

The last thing to consider is your income and how much of a mortgage you have. Ideally, you can have enough to pay off the mortgage and leave enough for several years of salary. But the reality is, you need to consider what you can comfortably afford to pay for life insurance today. By working with your insurance agent, you can develop the right figure. 

Contact Hedgepeth-Hutson Insurance Services Inc. Nashville, NC when you need to review or discuss your life insurance.