Life Insurance in Colorado Springs — The Right Coverage for Your Family Before You Actually Need It
A woman in Briargate called Kelli’s office a few months after losing her husband. He had a life insurance policy — had it for years. But he’d set it up when they first bought their house in 2009 and never updated it. The coverage amount made sense back then. By the time he passed, they had two more kids, a refinanced mortgage, and a cost of living that looked nothing like 2009. The policy paid out. It just wasn’t enough.
That’s the most common life insurance problem Kelli sees in Colorado Springs. Not that people don’t have it. It’s that what they have hasn’t kept up with their actual life. Farmers Insurance — Kelli Holt offers Life Insurance through a full insurance agency in Colorado Springs at 5376 Tomah Drive Suite 110 — term life and universal life — and she reviews what you actually need, not just what’s easy to sell.
Why Colorado Springs Families Need to Review Their Life Insurance
Most Colorado Springs families have life insurance. A lot of them got it when they bought their first home, picked a number that felt right, and moved on. That works until life changes — and life in Colorado Springs has changed a lot in the last few years.
Home values in Briargate and Northgate have jumped significantly since 2019. Families who refinanced picked up larger mortgage balances. Cost of living has moved. Kids got older. Incomes grew. And the life insurance policy sitting in a drawer somewhere still reflects the family from five or six years ago — not the one that exists today.
The general rule is 10 to 12 times your annual income in life insurance coverage. Most Colorado Springs families are carrying less than that — not because they chose to, but because nobody sat down with them and ran the actual numbers since they first bought the policy.
Flying Horse and Northgate homeowners with $600,000 to $900,000 mortgages need a very different life insurance conversation than a renter in their twenties just starting out. Farmers Insurance — Kelli Holt looks at your specific situation — mortgage balance, income, dependents, existing coverage — and tells you what the number should actually be.
Term Life Insurance vs Universal Life Insurance — Which One Is Right for You
Farmers Insurance — Kelli Holt offers two types of Life Insurance. They serve different purposes and the right one depends entirely on your situation — not on which one is easier to explain.
Term Life Insurance
Coverage for a specific period — typically 10, 20, or 30 years. If you pass away during that term your beneficiaries receive the death benefit. If the term ends and you’re still alive the coverage ends.
- Most affordable option for most families
- Best for covering a mortgage or income replacement
- Simple — coverage amount and term length
- Common choice for Briargate and Stetson Hills families with young kids and a mortgage
- No cash value component
Universal Life Insurance
Permanent coverage that stays in force as long as premiums are paid. Builds cash value over time that can be borrowed against or used for other financial goals.
- Permanent — doesn’t expire after a set term
- Builds cash value over time
- Flexible premiums within policy limits
- Common choice for Flying Horse and Northgate homeowners thinking about estate planning
- Higher premium than term for same death benefit
Most Colorado Springs families with a mortgage and young kids start with term life. Homeowners in higher-value neighborhoods who are thinking about what they leave behind often look at universal life as a longer-term tool. Kelli doesn’t push one over the other — she looks at your mortgage, your income, your dependents, and your timeline before recommending anything.
Life Insurance for Military Families in Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs has one of the largest military populations in the country. Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base, Fort Carson, and NORAD all bring service members and their families to the area — and a lot of those families assume their SGLI coverage through the military is enough.
Sometimes it is. Often it’s not.
SGLI — Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance — maxes out at $500,000. For a military family in Briargate or Northgate carrying a $550,000 mortgage, a working spouse who might not be able to maintain the same income without the service member, and kids in Academy District 20 schools — $500,000 doesn’t always cover the full picture.
There’s also the question of what happens to SGLI coverage after separation or retirement. It converts to Veterans’ Group Life Insurance which has its own terms and costs. A lot of veterans transitioning out of service don’t realize their life insurance situation changes significantly at that point.
Farmers Insurance — Kelli Holt works with military families across Colorado Springs on life insurance reviews — active duty, reserve, veterans, and surviving spouses. She understands the SGLI structure and can tell you honestly whether a supplemental civilian policy makes sense for your specific situation.
How Much Life Insurance Does a Colorado Springs Family Actually Need
The 10 to 12 times income rule is a starting point — not a final answer. Here’s what actually goes into the calculation for a Colorado Springs family:
The first thing life insurance should cover is the mortgage. A Northgate homeowner carrying $480,000 on a 30-year mortgage needs at minimum $480,000 in coverage just to keep the surviving spouse in the house. That’s before income replacement, childcare, education, or anything else.
How many years would your family need income replaced? Most financial planners say until the youngest child is independent — often 15 to 20 years for families with young kids in Colorado Springs. Multiply your annual income by that number and add it to the mortgage payoff.
Subtract what you already have — existing life insurance, retirement accounts, spouse’s income, savings. The gap between what you have and what your family would actually need is what the new policy needs to cover.
Kelli runs through the full calculation with you — mortgage, income, dependents, existing coverage, timeline. She’ll tell you what number makes sense for your Colorado Springs household and what term length or policy type covers it most efficiently. No obligation. Call (719) 434-5588 or use the form below.