I'm 32, single and gay. By all stereotypical notions of why use life insurance coverage, I've no enterprise writing this. People usually hear “Now that you are married, you should think about life insurance” or “Well now that you have children, not need to make sure they're protected?” In fact, should you take a look at how life insurance is usually marketed, a happy and carefree single person (who may be gay) rarely shows up. But despite all of this, I have three life insurance policies.
My first life insurance policy was through work. It's a standard group policy, the kind most large employers offer within the U.S. In my case, my employer is a life insurance coverage company, so it's only natural! When I signed up, the most important question they inquired about was who my beneficiaries ought to be. And I didn't know things to put. I possibly could put my parents, but they're doing just fine by themselves. I possibly could put my estate, but at that time, that consisted exclusively of the Ford mommy wagon (hey, I had been just starting out!). I needed living and breathing humans, and finally it struck me: my nieces and nephews. Do they rely on me? No. Are they already covered? Yes, by my sister and her husband. But I couldn't imagine a better method to leave a legacy in my family than to help make sure that my nieces and nephews would be able to attend college, travel the planet, or just be generally cool and flashy thanks to Uncle Mark.
So which was the way it began. And that's how it begins for a lot of single people in the LGBTQ community – deciding who to mention as a beneficiary through their work-sponsored life insurance coverage.
Over time, one policy grew into three policies, including another group life policy and something individual life policy. (As a proud policyholder, I must note that my individual policy was bought through Haven Life.)
By definition, I do not need life insurance because I don't have any financial dependents. I made a decision to obtain a person policy since it is cheaper younger and healthier you're, as well as for me, leaving behind a legacy is essential – maybe it's a legacy to my future husband or to my nieces and nephews.
Each time I got another policy, Gurus myself again, who should the beneficiary be? In a certain point, I discovered that my beneficiaries don't even have to be people – they can be organizations through my estate – and decided I wanted to leave behind a legacy to my personal favorite non-profit organizations. It is a long list, and it's filled with super gay such things as the opera, the ballet, and LGBTQ scholarship funds.
And maybe someday I will not be single. Maybe I'll actually have a family. The good thing is that I won't have to start throughout with buying life insurance. Anytime, I'm able to change my beneficiaries to include my hubby or the kids, all with quick and easy clicks online. The best part is my rate won't change, so I'll still pay my super low rate per month from when I was healthy and 30, even while the dad fat piles up throughout my midsection and my hair begins to turn gray.
So yeah – I'm more vital dead than alive right now, particularly if your name is the Metropolitan Opera. And sure, the probability of me dying is extremely low, and I don't have any real financial dependents. But i am not saying life insurance coverage isn't for me. Which doesn't mean it's not for other men and women within the LGBTQ community who might think life insurance doesn't make sense on their behalf.
At no more your day, owning life insurance coverage is one of the legacy I wish to bid farewell to for the people and the organizations who matter most to me – and that simply cause you to feel good?
