Helping to Provide a Financially Secure Start to Your Marriage

As you get ready to tie the knot, there’s a list a mile long of what needs to get done. Your list of items can range from the easy—like sending out save-the-date cards and choosing your cake flavor, to the more difficult—like deciding on where you’re going to live and how you’ll manage finances as a couple.

And while it’s tempting to spend hours online looking for the perfect honeymoon getaway, it’s also important to take time to make some financial decisions as well.

Each couple will approach their joint financial lives differently: how bills will get paid, who will manage the day-to-day finances, how to combine your finances over the long term, and much more. And as you’re sorting through these issues, it’s also important to think about the “what ifs.”

Thinking About the Unthinkable

Now that you’ll have joint financial obligations and bills, it just makes sense to consider how those would continue to get paid if the unthinkable happened, and one of you dies prematurely. For example, if you decide to buy a home, will your mortgage depend on two incomes? If so, have you considered how your spouse would handle the payments if your income were no longer in the picture?

How about student loan payments, credit card debt, and other financial obligations that you both have? While it depends on what state you live in and the type of debt, one spouse may be responsible for the others’ debt, even if they were to die.

An easy answer to these somewhat complex questions is life insurance. Life insurance can be there for the “what ifs.” The money you receive if your spouse were to die, called the death benefit, can be used to meet any of those financial obligations, as well as help provide a financial cushion for you to face an uncertain future.

Easier to Get Than You Might Think

Getting life insurance doesn’t have to be time consuming (we know you’d much rather be spending time finding the perfect band for your reception). You may be able to get coverage online in as little as 10 minutes, by answering just a few health questions. If approved, you get your coverage immediately. These online offerings offer a big incentive for many people: convenience. But keep in mind that these policies generally have a cap on the amount of coverage you can get.

The traditional—and longer—underwriting process involves you answering more in-depth questions about your health history and lifestyle, and includes a paramed exam. The advantage of getting life insurance this way is that you’re typically able to get larger amounts of coverage, which may be what you want and need. Plus, because there is more underwriting, your monthly premiums may be lower than with newer, online offers.

Either way, getting coverage now can help protect your spouse for years to come. Plus, if you have plans to expand your family in the future, you’ll already have some solid protection in place.

Don’t put it off. Add this to your pre-wedding list and get your married life off to a good start.