May 2nd was National Life Insurance Day but today seems as good of a day as any to discuss the subject. On May 2nd, 1759, a charter was recorded for the Corporation for Relief of Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of Presbyterian Ministers. The need was seen and answered by the synods in Philadelphia and New York City. By 1769, the Episcopalians started their own similar program. Within a short time, about a dozen companies were created but within a short time, half were dissolved.
Today, life insurance is big business. There are over 700 companies that sell life insurance. Some of those companies have been in existence over 100 years.1 “There were 134,193,000 individual life insurance policies in force in 2023, according to the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI). There were over 118,000,000 people with group life insurance…There are an estimated 102 million uninsured and underinsured adults in the U.S. who say they need life insurance or more of it, according to LIMRA’s 2024 Insurance Barometer study. That’s about 42% of adults. Households that earn under $50,000 a year were most likely (56%) to say they need life insurance.2
The top five life insurance companies are names we recognize: Met Life, Lincoln Financial, Northwest Mutual, New York Life, and Prudential. While it may be called life insurance, it’s an insurance that doesn’t pay out until we are dead. At that time, our beneficiaries are able to use those fund to bury us, cover lingering bills, and hopefully have a comfortable amount left over to help them live without financial worries through the remainder of their lives. We, the insured, do not collect a single penny!
I have always believed that it is extremely wise to have a sizable term life policy, especially on the husband. If we were to die, we want to know that our spouse and children will be provided for after our deaths. A million-dollar policy only costs a few dollars per month (the younger you are, the better!).3 That seems like a good deal to provide some peace of mind to our loved ones when we are gone.
As you come to church today, you will hear us talk about a life insurance policy like no other. There is only one beneficiary per policy and that is the one who takes out the policy. ALL of the benefits go to the insured. Only one lifetime premium is paid, the cost is astronomical, but the cost is paid by someone other than the one who is insured.
This policy is a bit different. We get to withdraw many benefits from the policy throughout our lives, but the greatest payout comes to us at death. As for the loved ones left behind, they will definitely have great peace of mind if we have this policy.
Paul said in Philippians 1:21-24, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. 23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: 24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.”
Salvation is that insurance policy. The policy is paid for and provided by the blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection. Many blessings are afforded to us in life because of this policy but the best is yet to come! Ephesians 1:3 gives us this promise. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”
Our salvation policy comes with a seal of guarantee that the policy can never be revoked. Ephesians 4:30 says, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” Even though we can grieve the Spirit, there’s nothing we can do to break that seal. Since the seal is a Person, we need to be mindful not to grieve Him.
When the day comes where we get to collect on that policy, 2 Corinthians 5:8 gives us this reassurance. “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”
Do you have the Lord’s life insurance policy? Have you trusted Jesus as your Savior? You can know for sure and never wonder again. “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13)
1https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/insurance/life-insurance-biggest-companies?msockid=2561a4ccecbf68802162b105ed30697f
2https://www.forbes.com/advisor/life-insurance/life-insurance-statistics/
3https://www.forbes.com/advisor/life-insurance/million-dollar-life-insurance-cost/
Images are taken from https://pixabay.com/, https://www.pexels.com/, or https://unsplash.com/images or created in Windows Copilot. According to the websites, they are Royalty Free and free to be used for our purposes.
