From loss to security: Supporting widowed clients with life insurance

The loss of a spouse can quickly shake a client’s emotional and financial foundation. That’s why a life insurance conversation is so important. It can help a widowed client determine whether they have the financial protection they deserve after their partner’s death.

Once an advisor learns their client’s spouse has passed away, they should be patient and focus on listening and addressing their questions rather than inundating them with too much information.

“Widows already feel like they have an overwhelming amount of considerations to deal with, over and above the emotional pain they’re experiencing,” said Nichole Myers, chief underwriter at Ethos.

Advisors should answer pressing questions and concerns as they come up and work through problems in a methodical, conversational manner instead of presenting clients with an intimidating to-do list.

Determining if spouse still needs a policy

Life comes with twists and turns, so widowed clients may still need life insurance even if they no longer have dependent children.

“A policy can help offset any debts that may be owed in the event of a client’s passing, or to cover the costs of their funeral, for example,” said Myers.

Also, if the client has a business partner or employees who would be financially impacted should they pass away, they might consider a policy to help their business recover from that loss.

Additionally, consider if they have debt with someone else, like a business partner or parent, who could become responsible for the payments.

“A policy can help cover these debts so that the client’s co-signers aren’t burdened by paying them,” Myers added.

Lastly, it’s important to reinforce that children are not the only legacy that a life insurance policy may benefit. Widowed clients may name organizations or causes as their beneficiaries, and can make community contributions, such as establishing a scholarship fund in the event of their death.

“At the end of the day, we want our clients and surviving spouses to live the life that they've always wanted to, and with some planning, we can enhance their wealth transfer goals to the people and causes they care about,” said Dave Buckwald, partner at Prosperity Capital Advisors.

When it makes sense to increase coverage

There are a variety of reasons why a widowed client might want (and need to) increase their life insurance policy.

One of the most common scenarios is when the deceased spouse provided the bulk of the childcare and/or caregiving work.

“In these cases, the surviving spouse often needs to increase their policy to cover the additional costs of adequately caring for their dependents,” Myers explained.

The financial costs of this care work are often invisible when one spouse takes on these responsibilities themselves, so the surviving spouse may find themselves surprised by the real amount they need to cover.

This is an important area for advisors to help guide widowed clients through.

Factors to consider when reviewing needs

The advisor role is to provide widowed clients with a comprehensive overview of their existing estate documents.

In many cases, the deceased spouse will likely still be listed as the owner on various policies and accounts. Going through these accounts methodically and early on in the process helps reduce ongoing labor for the client.

Another key step is reviewing the client’s beneficiary designations, as most married couples typically list one another as beneficiaries of their life insurance policies.

In addition, Buckwald recommends updating the surviving spouse on how their partner’s death might affect their Social Security and tax situation.

“They’ll likely lose a Social Security check and be in a higher tax bracket going forward because they’ll no longer file jointly,” Buckwald explained.

Above all, advisors should give widowed clients time to process their loss before they make major financial decisions. Otherwise, they may rush into emotionally driven decisions while still grieving.

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