Executive Summary
- People own life insurance for specific jobs: 57% burial and final expenses, 39% wealth transfer or inheritance, 32% because the employer provides it, 27% to replace lost wages, 21% to help pay off a mortgage (2026 Insurance Barometer Study, LIMRA and Life Happens).
- 54% of consumers say their family would rely on life insurance if a primary wage earner passed away unexpectedly.
- An annual review checks whether the beneficiary line and the face amount still match the people who give your life purpose — not a calculator.
Names on the form vs people in the house
Life Insurance Awareness Month is coordinated by Life Happens. The campaign exists to spread awareness of life insurance and the impact it can have on a family’s financial future.
A useful September question is not “what would a quote engine return.” It is:
- Who are the people who give my life purpose?
- Who depends on me the most?
- What would protecting them look like if something happened tomorrow?
Those prompts are purpose-and-family framing. They are not a quote, a calculator, or an application.
Then look at the actual contract. Who is listed as beneficiary? Is a former spouse still there? Is a child missing? Is the estate named because nobody updated the form? Workplace certificates and individual policies can list different people. Drift is common. Drift is how a check goes to the wrong place, or to no one who still depends on you.
Bring the declarations page and the beneficiary line to a 15-minute review. That is the work.
Why people say they own — and whether the check would still do that
The 2026 Insurance Barometer Study, LIMRA and Life Happens, lists the top reasons Americans give for owning life insurance:
- 57% — cover burial and final expenses
- 39% — transfer wealth or leave an inheritance
- 32% — employer provides it
- 27% — help replace lost wages or income of a wage earner
- 21% — help pay off the mortgage
54% say their family would rely on life insurance if a primary wage earner passed away unexpectedly. 47% would have trouble paying living expenses within six months. Only 29% say they would remain financially secure for more than two years.
Those are population figures. Your review is personal: which of those jobs was this policy bought to do, and does the current face amount still do it for the current household.
A policy bought to cover a funeral is not automatically a policy that replaces years of income. A workplace certificate the employer provides is not automatically a mortgage payoff. Naming the job is how you stop treating “I have life insurance” as the whole answer.
Purpose is a coverage question, not a calculator
Nearly a quarter of Americans have not purchased coverage because they do not know how much they need or what type to buy. Just 32% of consumers believe they are knowledgeable about life insurance (2026 Insurance Barometer Study, LIMRA and Life Happens).
Not knowing the type or amount is a review problem. It is not solved by a life insurance calculator, and this site will not offer one.
If the in-force policy still matches the people and the job, the honest outcome is to leave it. If names have changed, if a mortgage is new, if workplace is the only layer, or if a term conversion window is still open, those are path questions. Coverage decisions are made in underwriting — not by a quote engine. Carriers evaluate data, not intentions.
Protect the people who depend on you by reading the file you already have, before anyone files a new one.
Understand how to protect your insurability before applying.
Bring the declarations page and the beneficiary line. A confidential 15-minute annual review with Gregory M. Sloan, CLU®, ChFC®, Licensed Insurance Representative. Not an application. Not a quote engine. Not a calculator.
Call 800.365.TERM (800-365-8376) Direct/Text 754-313-6200 Email greg@insureprotector.com
Information only. This article is not tax, legal, or investment advice.
Figures: 2026 Insurance Barometer Study, LIMRA and Life Happens. Purpose/family prompts follow Life Happens / LIAM awareness framing.