Life Insurance

KDENISE977

KDENISE977

New Member
My husband and I are looking into purchasing additional life insurance, and we have NO IDEA where to start. We have life insurance through work, but want additional coverage now that we have a baby and are trying to be responsible, but, we aren't sure where to go? We have our State Farm who offers it... the Met Life who we see on TV and so many more options and I am told their are SO many different terms and options and stuff. Does any one have the short/cliffs note version. Thank You in advance.
 
RPMDAD

RPMDAD

Well-Known Member
KDENISE, you stated you have some insurance with state farm, you can always call your agent and schedule a free appt. They can then answer all your questions and explain the differences between whole, universal, and term insurance. They can probably work out a price for all with no obligations, and then you could shop around if you want to. Just went through this with my wife and son.
 
KDENISE977

KDENISE977

New Member
RPMDAD said:
KDENISE, you stated you have some insurance with state farm, you can always call your agent and schedule a free appt. They can then answer all your questions and explain the differences between whole, universal, and term insurance. They can probably work out a price for all with no obligations, and then you could shop around if you want to. Just went through this with my wife and son.
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Thanks, we have scheduled an appt. with them, but don't want that to be our only option. LIke I said, we are clueless when it comes to this and I see the advertisements on the television from Metlife (which is who our mortgage is with) and wonder what the differences are??
 
Pete

Pete

Repete
Many companies allow you to "buy up" multiples of your annual salary as a benefit.

My company provides 2X my annual salary free. I buy up an additional 5X for something cheap like $9 a month.
 
getbent

getbent

Thats how them b*tch's R
Pete said:
Many companies allow you to "buy up" multiples of your annual salary as a benefit.

My company provides 2X my annual salary free. I buy up an additional 5X for something cheap like $9 a month.
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This is what my husband did. He was unable to purchase life insurance elsewhere.
 
libertytyranny

libertytyranny

Dream Stealer
KDENISE977 said:
So you can purchase a policy that will provide you or your spouse's annual salary for how long?
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Its a payment. My co provides 2x my salary (more if on travel) that would be paid to my beneficiary. I can choose to add additional coverage for fairly cheap, like pete said. Another good thing to have is of course a will outlining who would be guardian and such..and a policy on the baby. My mom took out one for me when I was an infant, fairly cheaply. She remained the beneficiary on it while I was in college as protection..if I died, she would be on the hook for my tuition/loans..then I cashed it out to put a down payment on my house once I had my own job and insurance..awesome investment of hers came in handy for me.
 
itsbob

itsbob

I bowl overhand
What is "term" life insurance?
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Affordable....

You have to decide what you need, but in simple terms life insurance should replace the income of the person who dies, and normally the younger you are the more you meed.

You want to make sure your kid(s) are taken care of, colllege for.when they get older, get enough to cover all your debt.

A normal minimum would be 10 times your annual salary. If somethimg happens the survivors can invest the payout and using the interest replace the lost income forever if need be. No financial.upset to deal with on top of the lost person.

Everyday consumers can't normally afford that much whole life premiums, but buying term could be VERY affordable... 500k on level 20 year term, depending on age $50 - 75 maybe?
 
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ProfMoneyWise

ProfMoneyWise

Member
DoWhat said:
If anything ..................
Go with Term Life Insurance.
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Agree. If you agent attempts to talk you into anything else or add on gimmicks fire them or don't hire them if you are interviewing.

And keep in mind you are the consumer and do not buy anything you do not understand. After your agent is done explaining what you are buying to you explain it to a 7th grader. If you cannot explain it to a 7th grader then tell the agent to try again.

Insurance agents sell insurance not investments. Do not let them lead you down the road of anything but level term insurance. You and yours figure up how much each wants if the other passes during the period of time you are concerned about and buy a level term policy that pays that amount. No games, no tricks, no exclusions.

Example: If determine you need $500K if he passes. You buy a $500K level term life insurance policy that pays you $500K if he passes during the term you selected (10 yrs, 20 yrs).
 
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V

vince77

Active Member
ProfMoneyWise said:
Agree. If the agent attempts to talk you into anything else or add on gimmicks fire them if your current agent or don't hire them if you are interviewing.

And keep in mind you are the consumer and do not buy anything you do not understand. After your agent is done explaining what you are buying to you explain it to a 7th grader. If you cannot explain it to a 7th grader then tell the agent to try again.

Insurance agents sell insurance not investments. Do not let them lead you down the road of anything but level term insurance. You and yours figure up how much each wants if the other passes during the period of time you are concerned about and buy a level term policy that pays that amount. No games, no tricks, no exclusions.

Example: If determine you need $500K if he passes. You buy a $500K level term life insurance policy that pays you $500K if he passes during the term you selected (10 yrs, 20 yrs).
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:yeahthat:

don't let any insurance agent try to talk you into any life insurance that is described as tied into an investment...you want term ilfe insurance only

terms such as "whole life", which combine an investment product with pure term insurance and and claim to build cash value are bull$...

other terms you don't want to hear are variable life and variable universal life

also stay away from so-called mortgage insurance policies, which pay off the balance on your mortgage if you die...if you need to pay off a mortgage as part of your life insurance, buy more term insurance

Keep your investing and insurance strictly separate.
 
awpitt

awpitt

Main Streeter
Term is cheaper but once the "term" is up, the policy is gone and you have to get another one at the prevailing rates.

Whole life is expensive but does build cash value. Whole life is not good to buy as an adult because it's expensive. When each of my kids were born, I took out a whole life policy for each one. Buying whole life for a baby is dirt cheap and by the time each kid turns 18, the policy has a nice chunk of cash value and the policy reaches a point where it is paid up and good which means each of my kids have life insurance policies that are paid for.
 
ProfMoneyWise

ProfMoneyWise

Member
awpitt said:
Term is cheaper but once the "term" is up, the policy is gone and you have to get another one at the prevailing rates.

Whole life is expensive but does build cash value. Whole life is not good to buy as an adult because it's expensive. When each of my kids were born, I took out a whole life policy for each one. Buying whole life for a baby is dirt cheap and by the time each kid turns 18, the policy has a nice chunk of cash value and the policy reaches a point where it is paid up and good which means each of my kids have life insurance policies that are paid for.
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The Truth About Life Insurance - daveramsey.com

http://www.daveramsey.com/article/term-life-vs-whole-life-insurance/lifeandmoney_insurance/

I am in concert with this thinking regarding Whole Life policies and the eventual elimination of the need of insurance completely.
 
Gilligan

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
awpitt said:
Term is cheaper but once the "term" is up, the policy is gone and you have to get another one at the prevailing rates.

Whole life is expensive but does build cash value. Whole life is not good to buy as an adult because it's expensive. When each of my kids were born, I took out a whole life policy for each one. Buying whole life for a baby is dirt cheap and by the time each kid turns 18, the policy has a nice chunk of cash value and the policy reaches a point where it is paid up and good which means each of my kids have life insurance policies that are paid for.
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I did the same. I turn the policies over to them at age 25 and its their option to cash out or continue paying the premium each month.

That said..I'm not sure that its still a financially sound thing to do since rates of return are so low any more. I'd certainly consult someone who knows a lot about today's instruments and options.
 
awpitt

awpitt

Main Streeter
ProfMoneyWise said:
The Truth About Life Insurance - daveramsey.com

Term Life vs. Whole Life Insurance - daveramsey.com

I am in concert with this thinking regarding Whole Life policies and the eventual elimination of the need of insurance completely.
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The article does make since. As I already said, whole life policies are not a good choice for adults. In my case, I started whole life policies for each of my kids when they were born. The premiums for each of those policies are less than what a term policy would be. It's very cheap to buy insurance for babies. I basically was able to lock in that rate. My kids will never have to bother with having to by life insurance.
 
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