What Type Of Life Insurance The Experts Own: Sheila Walkington

Sheila-Walkington

Sheila Walkington

CFO and co-founder of Women’s Financial Learning Centre

1. What type of life insurance do you own?

My husband and I have term life insurance (10-year). My business partner and I also have “key person” term life insurance on each other to help the business cover costs and hire help in order to replace Karin or I if one of us should pass away.

2. What factors did you consider when determining the coverage amount?

For the private life insurance, my husband and I bought it years ago and we bought enough so that the other could reasonably afford to own a home or condo in Vancouver. We don’t have kids, so the amount still seems to work for us now. For the business insurance, we calculated the cost of replacing ourselves and letting the surviving business partner buy out the other half of the business.

3. Do you believe in life insurance for children?

No. I think it is more important that parents ensure they are adequately covered themselves.

4. What is the biggest life insurance mistake people make?

I think the biggest mistake is simply not having the coverage they need. Life insurance can be key when you have young children, large debts, and few assets. If you are young and healthy, it is inexpensive and can be a financial lifesaver if one parent dies prematurely. No one needs financial stress when dealing with the loss of a spouse.

5. Outside of life insurance, what other types of individual insurance are often overlooked?

Disability is the other one people often neglect. If you are unable to work due to accident or illness, who is going to pay the bills? Disability can be expensive, but it’s because people use it. Alleviating that financial stress can make all the difference for someone who needs time off work to heal or get better.

Sheila Walkington is the CFO of The Women’s Financial Learning Centre and co-authored Unstuck – How to Get Out Of Your Money Rut and Start Living the Life you Want.

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  • Horrace
    February 5, 2014 at 8:02 am

    I agree Sheila I have yet to see a good argument why a parent should insure a child. They are not the primary income earners.

    • LSM Insurance
      February 5, 2014 at 8:46 am

      Thanks Horrace one of the other experts Paul Lalonde makes a good point on this issue. “To me, the coverage is to help the parents pay for final expenses, but more importantly, to afford them the time to be with their families during the grieving process. If something happened to one of my kids, I know I would not go to work for some time and I would focus on getting that sense of security back to the family. If anything is extra, I would use it for seed money to start a foundation in my child’s name. The idea is that I will never see the money, but I know I would need it if, God forbid, my nightmares came true.