A report $100 billion was paid out in life insurance coverage advantages final yr
That is a practically 11% leap from 2020, which represented the biggest year-over-year enhance (15.4%) for the reason that 1918 influenza pandemic.
“For the second yr in a row, life insurance coverage profit funds elevated by double-digit percentages,” mentioned Andrew Melnyk, ACLI Vice President, Analysis & Chief Economist.
The ACLI knowledge would not escape the causes of loss of life of life insurance coverage policyholders. However the report enhance in payouts could also be partly as a consequence of Covid-19, which was related to 460,513 US deaths in 2021, making it the third main reason behind loss of life in america final yr, in response to the Facilities for Illness Management.
The acquisition of life insurance coverage protection in 2021 additionally rose, with practically 46 million insurance policies offered, a 6.1% enhance over 2020, though the complete greenback protection of these newly bought insurance policies dropped by 1.3% to $3.3 trillion. The typical dimension of a brand new particular person coverage bought final yr was $189,830, in response to ACLI knowledge.
When a breadwinner in a household dies, life insurance coverage can go a good distance towards assuaging any rapid monetary stress their partner and youngsters may expertise. And relying on how a lot insurance coverage a policyholder buys, it could possibly additionally scale back the household’s future monetary worries — akin to tips on how to pay for a kid’s training or repay a mortgage.
Many individuals have some life insurance coverage protection that their employer supplies. Such insurance policies promise to pay your beneficiaries both a flat quantity or a a number of of your wage upon your loss of life.
However that free protection, whereas helpful to have, is often inadequate to cowl your survivors’ wants, particularly when you’ve got younger youngsters. That is since you’ll want that cash to cowl bills annually till your dependents do not want assist anymore.
Individually, ACLI knowledge additionally confirmed that in 2021 annuity funds, which most usually go to retirees, hit an all-time excessive, with insurers paying out $97.7 billion to annuity holders.
— CNN’s Deidre McPhillips contributed to this report