Skip to content
secureepic.com - logo

Secure Epic

Health Secure Epic

Primary Menu
  • Home
  • Selenium Supplement
  • Clover Health
  • Gnc Supplements
  • Health Insurance Companies
  • 1800 Medicare
  • Medicare Dental Coverage
  • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Contact Us
    • Sitemap
    • Advertise Here
  • Home
  • Changing how Black Americans use life insurance could help shrink the racial wealth gap [Video]
Changing how Black Americans use life insurance could help shrink the racial wealth gap [Video]
  • Health Insurance Companies

Changing how Black Americans use life insurance could help shrink the racial wealth gap [Video]

By Arsa Pradipta 9 months ago

Table of Contents

  • ‘It’s simple math’
  • Financial concerns
  • ‘A disservice to the Black community’
  • Understanding the ‘many benefits to a permanent life insurance’
  • Wealth building

Black Americans are more likely to carry life insurance than the average American, but their coverage does little more than provide for funeral costs.

Fifty-six percent of Black Americans have life insurance, according to a study by LIMRA and Life Happens, compared with 52% of all Americans. But 46% remain underinsured, with their benefits not enough to replace income or provide wealth transfer across generations.

But more coverage could help close the racial wealth gap, experts said, but many Black Americans are missing out because of financial concerns, a misunderstanding of how life insurance works, and mistrust of the industry at large.

Related Posts:

  • Is Hypertension Considered a Preexisting Condition by Insurance?

“What I hear is, ‘My parents didn’t help me, so I’m just going to bury myself’…[leaving] every generation starting over, unlike other communities where they’re giving legacy to the next generation,” Wendy Edwards, a financial services professional with over 30 years of experience representing New York Life and other insurers, told Yahoo Money. “Instead, we have a financial loss and an emotional loss creating a recipe for disaster.”

life insurance
Fifty-six percent of Black Americans have life insurance, according to a study by LIMRA and Life Happens, compared with 52% of all Americans. (Photo: Getty Images)

‘It’s simple math’

Just like insuring a car or home, life insurance protects an individual’s income potential, providing their family with a financial legacy if something happens to them.

The rule of thumb is to have 10 times your annual income in life insurance, according to insurance nonprofit Life Happens, to cover expenses beyond the funeral like housing, mortgage, childcare, health care, and education, so your family won’t be in debt.

Even if you only make $40,000 a year and work at least 35 years, your human capital would be $1.4 million. But many Black Americans aren’t accounting that way and therefore, pass along smaller windfalls to their heirs.

Federal Reserve Board 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances

Federal Reserve Board 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances

Only 10% of Black families receive a wealth transfer, versus 46% of white families, according to one 2014 study. The median transfer for Black families who get an inheritance is $52,240, or 60% less than the median transfer for white households.

“Is anybody educating our people that your human capital is worth millions?” Edwards said.

“It’s simple math,” Edwards added. “If you make $100,000 a year and work for 35 years, your human capital is worth $3.5 million. You pay a life insurance premium and automatically create an estate for that amount, whatever that amount is. But I am still getting calls about burial insurance.”

Financial concerns

One reason Black Americans may be underinsured is fewer resources.

The average income for Black households was $60,276 in 2020, according to the Census Bureau, compared with $86,770 for white Americans. Black workers historically are hit harder in recessions — including the latest during the pandemic — suffering disproportionate job losses and an unemployment rate that takes longer to recover.

In a 2021 LIMRA study, Black Americans expressed these money worries and were more likely to report concerns about saving for an emergency, reducing student loan debt, and paying monthly bills than Americans overall.

LIMMRA/Life Happens study Black Americans: Life Insurance Ownership and Attitudes 2021

LIMRA/Life Happens study Black Americans: Life Insurance Ownership and Attitudes 2021

“When you have enough savings so the ‘threat of survival’ is no longer apparent, you can afford to look further down the road to wealth creation and think about where you want to be 20 years from now,” Dr. Pamela Jolly, CEO and founder of Torch Enterprises, a strategic investment firm, told Yahoo Money. “Audacious goals and plans require a margin of safety so you can afford to take a risk; but if you can only afford to see a good meal, you can’t build a place of economic safety.”

‘A disservice to the Black community’

There’s also a long history of mistrust of financial institutions, including insurers, among Black Americans.

For instance, MetLife, John Hancock Life, and other life insurance companies in the early 2000s “settled multi-million dollar civil rights lawsuits involving race-based life insurance rates and benefits,” as outlined in the Northwestern Journal of Law and Social Policy’s “Ending Jim Crow Life Insurance Rates,” for the practice of charging Black Americans more for life insurance — marketed as burial insurance — that had little value compared to the premiums paid. This continued into the 1970s.

“The insurance industry and financial services did a disservice to the Black community,” Dr. Jolly said.

Just this year, the Casualty Actuarial Society also acknowledged “the potential impact of systemic racism on insurance underwriting, rating and claims practices” in its Methods for Quantifying Discriminatory Effects on Protected Classes in Insurance.

“So when I say you can’t have enough insurance and need at least a half-million policy, they view me as, ‘Oh, she just wants to make money off of me’,” Edwards said. “This is where you have a lack of trust.”

Understanding the ‘many benefits to a permanent life insurance’

Life insurance also can be complex for everyone with many different types of products with varied benefits and drawbacks. For example, you can outlive a term life insurance policy, while permanent life insurance policies have cash value in addition to death benefits that can be invested.

The LIMRA study found that 68% of Black Americans who have individual life insurance have permanent life insurance with the intent of using the cash value for burial and final expense costs. But that use is missing other ways the cash value can be utilized to help build wealth.

LIMRA/Life Happens study Black Americans: Life Insurance Ownership and Attitudes

LIMRA/Life Happens study Black Americans: Life Insurance Ownership and Attitudes

“One of the greatest benefits of permanent life insurance is the ability to accumulate cash value that grows tax deferred,” Mark Williams, CEO of Brokers International, told Yahoo Money, “and can be accessed in the form of loans, withdrawals, or surrender for the life of the policy,”

Cash value can be used as a retirement savings vehicle or to fund a business, college education, or purchase a home — all ways to create wealth.

“There’s so many benefits to a permanent life insurance policy,” Edwards said. “I got a call from a client who said, ‘Wendy, I’m short on paying the tuition for the kids.’ Okay, I’m going to send you $10,000 from your policy. Another client called and said they were short on closing costs for their home. They didn’t realize they could use the cash value from their permanent life insurance to fund these things.”

Wealth building

“It takes three generations to build legacy wealth, one generation to lose it, and four generations to solidify,” Dr. Jolly’s research into barriers to wealth generation in the Black community showed.

Outside of home ownership, life insurance is one of the most common avenues for wealth creation — if utilized correctly. There is no one size fits all. It’s also just as important for heirs to think of the future when they benefit from a life insurance windfall to build a legacy of wealth.

“Early in my career, a client struggled to pay premiums. When she died, her son bought a Maxima with the insurance proceeds and drove it off the road the following week. I was so angry,” Edwards said. “Now I see beneficiaries asking how to invest the proceeds and starting their own businesses from the life insurance proceeds.”

YF Plus

YF Plus

Ronda is a personal finance senior reporter for Yahoo Money and attorney with experience in law, insurance, education, and government. Follow her on Twitter @writesronda

Read the latest personal finance trends and news from Yahoo Money.

Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn

Tags: 9 Round Fitness, Amino Acid Supplements, Aurora Health Care, Best Fiber Supplement, Biotin Supplement, Call Medicare, Christus Health, Community Health Care, Compass Health, Dan Patrick Health, Enzyme Supplements, Estrogen Supplements, Fit Naked Girls, Fitness Gym, Fitness Motivation Quotes, Fitted Caps, Google Fit, Health Care Gov, Health Insurance Mississippi, Health Science, Hmb Supplement, Inspire Fitness, Joint Health Supplements, Joint Supplements, Kantime Medicare Login, Maca Supplement, Max Fitness, Medicare Card Image, Medicare Dental Plans, Medicare Extra Help, Medicare Ny, Meritain Health, Msm Supplement, Ngs Medicare, Onnit Supplements, Passport Health, Physical Fitness, Premier Health, Reddit Fit Girls, Resurge Supplement, Sanford Health, Signify Health, Sole Fitness, Soluble Fiber Supplement, Supplemental Oxygen, Supplemental Pay, Supplements For Diabetes, Sutter Health Online, Syneos Health, Texas Family Fitness, Trump Medicare Cuts, Uf Health, Vitamins And Supplements

Continue Reading

Previous Digital Innovation Spurs Seamless Healthcare Engagement
Next Do you LOVE your dermatologist? Importance of Providers You Can Trust

Recent Posts

  • The Benefits of a Gym Membership
  • How to Treat Graves’ Disease Naturally
  • What’s Nordic Walking?
  • What Can Hinder Your Weight Loss? – Nics Nutrition
  • New Merch & New Site is Here! Evolved, Transcended, Brand New 💕

Recent Comments

No comments to show.

Archives

  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022

Categories

  • 1800 Medicare
  • Clover Health
  • Gnc Supplements
  • Health Insurance Companies
  • Medicare Dental Coverage
  • Selenium Supplement

Backlinks

Textlinks

Friend Ads

Wonderful Home Design
fabrikanttech.com © All rights reserved. | Magazine 7 by AF themes.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT