Black Americans are purchasing more life insurance. Here is why.

He had been diagnosed with the coronavirus only two days before, after being sent home from work because of excessive coughing.Jonathan was Oaks’ only son, whom he raised as a single parent before getting remarried.Even though he was devastated, Oaks said he still felt fortunate that he was able to give his son a proper burial because he had life insurance.“Ever since he was 4 or 5, I had him covered,” he told NBC News. “So generally, we found that because of the pandemic, almost a third of customers said they were more likely to buy life insurance because of it, but that number goes up for different demographic groups, like Black Americans.”Erwin McGowan’s father was 32 when a car accident ended his life. Additionally, it found that Black Americans were significantly more likely to be concerned about being able to save for an emergency fund, pay their monthly bills and their mortgage, and about leaving their families in a difficult situation due to a premature death.Beyond living expenses and savings, Salka said, considering insurance is important “to protect your family, in case something happens to a wage-earner.”An average Black family’s net worth is less than 15 percent of that of the average white family as of 2020, according to the Federal Reserve, creating a stark racial wealth gap that Salka said could be impacted if Black people purchased more life insurance.According to the study, Black Americans are more likely than other racial groups to view life insurance only for burial and final expenses. Life insurance can be the financial security for our future and our children’s children, because the quickest form of transferring wealth is life insurance.”McGowan said the idea of planning for the harsh reality of death can be hard for some people.“But it’s going to happen,” he said. It’s better than what I have seen a lot of lately, where there are GoFundMe accounts to raise money to bury a loved one.”He said he has seen people without life insurance try to raise money for burials and costs “through a fish fry, washing cars, raffle tickets.” He said, “You’ll never raise enough money.