Right in time for Life Insurance Awareness Month this September, Northwestern Mutual has uncovered some interesting facts about women and life insurance.

For starters, women feel significantly more secure than men in owning a variety of insurance products, according to a new poll from Northwestern Mutual.

Ironically, though, many women are still underestimating their true life insurance needs.

Northwestern Mutual’s findings revealed that:

·         70% of women who own life insurance report that it makes them feel ‘extremely secure’ (versus 61% of men)

·         Women are more likely than men to have been motivated to purchase life insurance mainly in order to pay final expenses like funeral costs (44% vs. 33% of men) (Read this related article on what to do if you can’t afford to bury a loved one).

·         People are most often prompted to buy life insurance as a result of marriage (32%), retirement planning (25%) or the birth of a child (22%)

·         Women don’t seem to fully understand how to properly estimate their life insurance needs. Nearly one in five women (18%) have not taken any of their current expenses into account in determining how much insurance they need.

·         Less than one in four (24%) of women who own life insurance were prompted to purchase it as part of their retirement planning.

Let’s face it: life insurance isn’t the most incredibly interesting topic you can tackle.

Besides, there are a million other things do to, right? Things like working, or even just working out; cleaning the house; getting the kids to soccer practice; cooking dinner, helping out at church, and so on.

So you may be thinking: Who has time to even think about life insurance, let alone act on it?

The answer is: you do – or at least you should make time for it.

For women, especially those of us with a never-ending things-to-do list, making sure you’re properly insured is one of the smartest, most important and selfless things you can ever do.

You might have to save and invest for decades to amass a $500,000 or $1,000,000 investment portfolio.

But when you buy life insurance, you can instantly and affordably get insurance coverage that would provide a $500,000 or $1,000,000 payout to your beneficiaries in the event of your death – whether that’s next week, next year, or in 30 or more years.

And the payoff of having life insurance isn’t just financial.

Getting proper life insurance coverage means that you don’t have to worry about loved ones you leave behind, and they don’t have to worry that they won’t be able to survive economically, without you.

That kind of peace of mind is priceless.

So if you’re married, have children who are minors, or simply have family members who rely on you financially, you owe it to yourself and to them to make sure that you’re adequately insured.

Statistics show that women typically live longer than men. So instead of fretting about getting older and worrying about the risk of dying, why not simply manage this risk wisely by getting an adequate amount of life insurance to protect your loved ones?

Don’t know where to begin? Here are two easy options:

1. Reach out to a trusted financial advisor.

2. Get busy researching insurance information online. You can try using the Lifespan Calculator offered by Northwestern Mutual to understand and plan for longevity. Alternatively, try their basic How much insurance do I need? calculator if you have questions about how much insurance coverage is right for you.

Whatever you do, don’t procrastinate. This September, while it’s Life Insurance Awareness Month, put “life insurance” at the top of your “to do” list.

Come this time next month – and in the years ahead – you’ll be glad you did.