That’s a nearly 11% jump from 2020, which represented the largest year-over-year increase since the 1918 influenza pandemic. “For the second year in a row, life insurance benefit payments increased by double-digit percentages,” said Andrew Melnyk, ACLI Vice President, Research & Chief Economist. The ACLI data doesn’t break out the causes of death of life insurance policyholders.
When a breadwinner in a family dies, life insurance can go a long way toward alleviating any immediate financial stress their spouse and children might experience. And depending on how much insurance a policyholder buys, it can also reduce the family’s future financial worries – such as how to pay for a child’s education or pay off a mortgage. Many people have some life insurance coverage that their employer provides.