I had lost track of a couple we knew from our old neighborhood. Then I got a call from my wife that "Bill" had died. A few weeks later, she told me that Bill's widow was more furious than grieving. Apparently Bill had left his wife almost no life insurance. This upper-middle-income widow was suddenly thrust into the position of wondering how she'll be able to live comfortably. 

What made me think of this incident was a chart I saw showing how little life insurance is being purchased by American households. Seriously, less than a third of individuals own individual life insurance? Only a little more than half have life insurance from any source? This is financial madness. Do people think the medical profession has found a way to prevent death? Is no one in the country dependent on others for financial support these days? 

My frustration with this issue is that consumers often act as though medical technology means people rarely die young and that people simply die at very old ages and leave no dependents. I was once told by the legislative director for a U.S. senator that life insurance has a place, but only until a person retires. He explained that a combination of Social Security and personal savings will suffice thereafter. He apparently wasn't familiar with the concepts of spouses, children and grandchildren, of debt, or of the federal estate tax his senator voted for.