Life Insurance Ownership Linked To Feelings Of Security

By Cyril Tuohy

InsuranceNewsNet

Owners of life insurance products are more likely to feel secure about their lives than owners who own no life insurance, according to an analysis of data collected by Matthew Greenwald & Associates and sponsored by New York Life. The data, collected last August by a survey of 2,069 adults as part of New York Life’s Keep Good Going Report, also underscores a correlation between owning life insurance products and acting ethically over the long term.

“The results of the survey validate what we hear from agents working with individuals and families across the country – there is much more than a sense of checking a box that life insurance is in place,” Mark W. Pfaff, executive vice president and head of agency for New York Life, said in a news release. “There is a sense that you’ve taken care of a key element of protection for your family, and that brings comfort and confidence that an important base is covered.”

On the issue of happiness, 42 percent of life insurance owners report being very happy compared to 32 percent of owners without life insurance.

In addition, 64 percent of life owners report a better than average quality of life compared to 51 percent of owners without life insurance.

And finally, on the issue of “living life as a good person,” 43 percent of life owners feel as though they are fulfilling that goal, compared to 37 percent without life insurance.

Brian Perlman, a partner with Greenwald & Associates, said the analysis had revealed a link between life insurance coverage, financial preparedness and the willingness or ability to translate that into a positive outlook.

Connections between “keeping good going” and life insurance underscores that it is relatively easy to “be altruistic when you've got things taken care of,” he said.

“Having peace of mind with things having been taken care off, it really frees you up,” Perlman said in an interview with InsuranceNewsNet.

Plenty of other research has documented the link between life insurance ownership and financial preparedness, but this data connects life insurance with the intangible wealth of a positive outlook, a “feeling of overall goodness” and the ability to convey that to others, Perlman also said.

The majority of life insurance surveys analyze market trends and sales figures for different insurance products, but linking life insurance ownership with the predisposition to perpetuate “the good” and act on what is right, is rare.

Cyril Tuohy is a writer based in Pennsylvania. He has covered the financial services industry for more than 15 years. He can be reached at Cyril.Tuohy@innfeedback.com.

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Cyril Tuohy is a writer based in Pennsylvania. He has covered the financial services industry for more than 15 years. He can be reached at cyril.tuohy@innfeedback.com.