Group items tagged

Few personal milestones compel someone to buy life insurance coverage like becoming a parent. In the event of an untimely death, life insurance can serve as a financial safety net to ensure there's money available to pay for everything from medical bills to a home mortgage and future college education costs. Many Americans have taken steps to line up such a financial cushion. At the end of 2012, 146.2 million individual life insurance policies were in effect, with coverage totaling $11.2 trillion, according to the American Council of Life Insurers. Yet the distribution model has changed during the past few decades, and fewer Americans are relying on local financial advisers in their community to look at their overall financial situation and recommend a life insurance strategy, said Brian Bulakites, national sales manager for life insurance for Henrico County-based insurance company Genworth Financial Inc. The Internet has enabled consumers to shop more widely for insurance, but it might also cost them the face-to-face advice that can be helpful, he said. "The biggest thing we see in our industry today is that people don't have advisers," he said. "You want to find an adviser that you can build a relationship with - somebody that you can trust."