About 37 percent of adults lack life insurance, poll says

You have insurance for your car, your home, why not your life?

In a recent survey by insuranceQuotes.com, 37 percent of the 1,000 adults polled by insuranceQuotes and Princeton Survey Research Associates International, said they didn’t have life insurance. Nearly 60 percent of them said they didn’t purchase a policy because of the expense; some said even if money weren’t an issue, they wouldn’t buy a policy.

• Who could disagree that life insurance is important?

“The benefits of protecting yourself with life insurance are immeasurable when you consider the adverse effects your family would face should a tragedy occur. Insurance provides income replacement if the breadwinner of a family passes away prematurely,” says Hunter Gimbel, a financial adviser at the Gaber Group in Manhattan.

Jamie Hopkins, professor of taxation at The American College of Financial Services in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, points out, “Life insurance is one of the few ways you can create a million-dollar estate for your family out of thin air.”

• Don’t believe myths

There is a notion that life insurance is expensive. However, a healthy, 35-year-old woman can purchase a 20-year, $500,000 policy for less than $20 a month, according to Haven Life.

“For the amount of money people spend on one to three cups of coffee each day, a person can alternatively spend on protecting their family with life insurance coverage,” says Gimbel.

Adds Hopkins, “It’s unfortunate. People have insurance for their cellphones but not life insurance; it’s a misalignment of priorities.”

SEE PHOTOSAverage weekly wages: $1,535 in Texas, $1,349 in Suffolk

• Go for it

Like other types of insurance, shop around for the best prices and policies. Use online calculators and talk to your financial adviser about how much and what type of life insurance — term or whole life — is best for you.