September is Life Insurance Awareness Month: Why It Matters for Your Family’s Future
At 2nd Story Wealth, we spend a lot of time helping clients grow, manage, and protect their wealth. Retirement accounts, investment strategies, and tax planning all matter. But one part of the financial picture often gets overlooked until it is too late: life insurance.
September is Life Insurance Awareness Month, which makes this the perfect time to pause and reflect on how you are protecting the people who matter most.
A Story That Stays With Me
In my early days as an Advisor, one of the families I worked with was a young couple who had just welcomed their first child. They were full of excitement, with all the dreams that new parents bring. Like many, they had life insurance through their employer, but didn’t have an additional policy beyond the employer minimum. We had a heartfelt conversation about what it really means to protect a family and encouraged them to take steps sooner rather than later.
A few years later, the unthinkable happened and the husband passed away suddenly from an accident. It was devastating. I kept thinking about how difficult it is to lose someone you love, but so suddenly. It still brings me back to that phone call, and the range of emotions she was experiencing all at once.
Fortunately, they had secured additional life insurance, and his wife did not have to uproot her family or worry about how to keep the lights on. She was able to stay in their home, keep childcare consistent, and focus on her children during a time of deep grief. That experience underscored for us why life insurance is not just a financial product. It is an act of love and protection.
The Reality: Too Many Families Are Underinsured
Their story is not unique. According to LIMRA’s 2024 Insurance Barometer Study, more than 100 million Americans say they do not have enough life insurance. There are many reservations around purchasing life insurance; costs, it’s morbid, other financial priorities, lack of urgency, or like my earlier couple, they think they have enough through their employer.
That affordability gap is important, because life insurance is designed to do far more than cover funeral expenses. It can:
- Pay off debts such as a mortgage or student loans
- Provide ongoing income for daily living expenses
- Fund children’s education
- Protect small businesses and employees
- Give families space to grieve without financial pressure
For business owners especially, life insurance can be the difference between continuity and closure. It can fund buy-sell agreements, protect employees, and help ensure the hard work of building a business does not disappear overnight.
Why We Avoid Talking About It
It is natural to want to avoid uncomfortable conversations about what might happen after we are gone. Yet avoiding it does not remove the risk. Life insurance is not about expecting the worst. It is about preparing for it in a way that protects the people you love.
In our work, we often remind clients that wealth planning is not just about dollars and cents. It is about values. Choosing to put a life insurance policy in place is choosing stability, dignity, and peace of mind for the people you care about most.
Three Simple Steps You Can Take This Month
As you think about your financial goals this September, we encourage you to:
- Review your current coverage. Do you already have life insurance, and is it still enough for where you are today? Life changes like marriage, children, or buying a home can shift your needs.
- Understand your options. Term life insurance is often affordable and straightforward, while permanent policies may provide additional benefits like cash value. We can help you evaluate which type fits best with your goals.
- Take action sooner rather than later. The younger and healthier you are, the more affordable coverage tends to be. Waiting only makes it more costly and risky.
Your Next Step
Life insurance is one of the most selfless and impactful decisions you can make for your family. It is not flashy, but it provides something far more important: security.
If you are unsure about your current coverage or simply want to explore your options, we invite you to schedule a conversation with us this month. Together, we can review your needs and design a plan that ensures your loved ones are protected no matter what the future holds.
At 2nd Story Wealth, our goal is to help families like yours build wealth with clarity and confidence. Life insurance is one of the building blocks that allows you to do just that.