The importance of life insurance is undisputable even if you are wealthy enough to be self insured. If you are wealth enough, you may again encounter another dilemma where you almost can’t do without a life insurance to pay the estate taxes to save all the wealth that you built for your next generation.

One way or another the purpose of life insurance is to provide funds (cash) when you need it the most. Which takes us to the main questions: How do I buy a life insurance? How do I calculate how much life insurance I need? How do I select whether I should buy a Term Insurance, Whole Life Insurance or anything else… and most importantly… which insurance company should I buy my policy from…?

When you consider above questions in today’s economy, the last question sticks out like a sour thumb. Why…? Let’s go back and take a look at the main purpose of the life insurance again: “It provides funds when you need it the most.”

Yet when the company is not around to provide those funds, what good is it how much life insurance you have or if you have a Term Policy or Whole Life Policy.

Taking it from one of the biggest insurers (i.e. AIG) to some other smaller insurers (Shenandoah Insurance Company), as well as the latest news where several struggling major life insures are seeking relief from the government’s TARP’s Capital Purchase Program (Prudential Financial Inc., Lincoln National Corp., Hartford Financial Service Group) makes you think twice and reconsider your policy.

It doesn’t necessarily mean that these companies are going to go under, but wouldn’t you like to secure the very essence, the most important purpose of your life policy as to provide funds when you need it the most?

I suggest you should consult you financial professional and ask to see your alternatives among the life insurers rather than seeing just one option from only one company!

Gurhan “Gary” Demirkan

Bishop Financial Group