National Life Insurance Day is a holiday observed annually on May 2nd, commemorating the day life insurance first became available in the United States. At least that is what this holiday is about superficially. However, it’s our belief that this holiday intends to take us a little bit deeper into insurance and actually encourages us to think seriously about our life insurance needs.

Every year, families have to figure out how to shoulder the burial expenses of their loved ones because those loved ones didn’t have insurance or had inadequate insurance. This is something that everyone should think about as they celebrate this holiday every year.

The History of National Life Insurance Day

This holiday was created by Liran Hirschkorn in 2014. He worked as an independent insurance agent at Best Life Quote, and he created this holiday to commemorate the anniversary of the first life insurance policy available in the U.S.

Interesting Facts About Life Insurance

Since we’re on the subject of life insurance, let’s take a few moments to lay down some facts about it that some of our readers might find interesting. Ready? Good, let’s go.

• Approximately 6 out of 10 adults own life insurance.
• Between 2006 and 2017, there was a 23% decrease in life insurance being offered by employers.
• About 15-16% of Americans don’t know how much life insurance their spouse has.
• Approximately half of all Americans purchase their insurance online.
• About 70% of Whole Life Insurance policies are bought by Boomers and Gen Xers.
• There are over 800 life insurance companies in the U.S.

Observing National Life Insurance Day

National Life Insurance Day is observed by taking the time to learn more about life insurance and its history. But we urge people to look deeper into the holiday, to think about their life insurance needs, and to consider whether they are sufficient. While you’re pondering that fact, take a moment to use the hashtag #LifeInsuranceDay to spread the word about this holiday.