Life Insurance--do you have it? Should I have it? Cost?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am in a similar situation as OP as far as salary, ages and kids. We do not have life insurance. I know it is risky, but from what I understand, term is the best to have yet only 2% of term pays out. So I would rather keep that $30,000 or so and then when I am 70 and term runs out, I didn't waste it.

Holy crap, this is perhaps the most self-centered and irresponsible post I've ever seen on DCUM. And that's sayin' something.

PP, I don't even know where to begin. You need your head examined. That some people don't have life insurance is kinda irresponsible. That you have made a considered decision NOT to purchase life insurance is mind boggling.

[Anonymous]

We have a $1M 20 year term policy on me for $450/year (I'm a SAHM so the money would go for childcare/allowing my husband to move into a job with better hours).

My husband has $1.5M through work and two $1M term policies (one 20 year for $550/year and one 30 year for $700/year).

We are mid thirties w/ 2 kids.

[Anonymous]

This is an interesting thread. I'm wondering how much LI one should get? My DS works for the gov't and he gets his life insurance through the Feds. He maxed it out. I'm only working PT right now and my employer does not offer any LI, therefore I have none on myself right now, but my salary is only about $30,000/year. I'm planning on returning to work FT next year, hopefully for an employer that also offers LI benefits.

I'm 40 years old, healthy and not overweight and I'm wondering if I should get a policy somewhere else on myself? DH only has one policy. He is 10 years old, healthy, at a normal weight, but he does take meds for BP and Cholesterol. Could you get a separate policy on him?

We do not have a lot of debt (about 3K) and we owe about $100,000 on our home. We do have retirement savings and an Emergency fund.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is an interesting thread. I'm wondering how much LI one should get? My DS works for the gov't and he gets his life insurance through the Feds. He maxed it out. I'm only working PT right now and my employer does not offer any LI, therefore I have none on myself right now, but my salary is only about $30,000/year. I'm planning on returning to work FT next year, hopefully for an employer that also offers LI benefits.

I'm 40 years old, healthy and not overweight and I'm wondering if I should get a policy somewhere else on myself? DH only has one policy. He is 10 years old, healthy, at a normal weight, but he does take meds for BP and Cholesterol. Could you get a separate policy on him?

We do not have a lot of debt (about 3K) and we owe about $100,000 on our home. We do have retirement savings and an Emergency fund.

Most of the companies offering life ins. have a needs calculator. This one is done by a non-profit. No idea if it's good but they aren't trying to sell you anything... http://www.lifehappens.org/life-insurance/life-calculator

[Anonymous]

In my experience it is cheaper getting quotes online. Some of the top insurance companies offer discounts when ordering online, because it is less work for them. But to be safe you could compare rates online, pick the best offer and try a local agency to see if they can match it or do better.

I recommend this site for online comparing: http://www.quotes-center.com/life-insurance-premium-calculator

[Anonymous]

5 million on husband 1 million on me. We pay 3k I think a year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am in a similar situation as OP as far as salary, ages and kids. We do not have life insurance. I know it is risky, but from what I understand, term is the best to have yet only 2% of term pays out. So I would rather keep that $30,000 or so and then when I am 70 and term runs out, I didn't waste it.

Holy crap, this is perhaps the most self-centered and irresponsible post I've ever seen on DCUM. And that's sayin' something.

PP, I don't even know where to begin. You need your head examined. That some people don't have life insurance is kinda irresponsible. That you have made a considered decision NOT to purchase life insurance is mind boggling.

Actually, it's fairly smart. Life insurance is a bad deal, with a low expected rate of return on your investment. If you can save on your own, you can do better - at the end of say 30 years, you'd have a lot more money in the pot, and you or your kids could use it without you having to die first. But the problem is, most people don't save, so they need life insurance or 401(k)s or whatever to make them save.

The other reason to get life insurance is for mental piece of mind - if you lie and bed and worry about what will happen to your family. In this case, you're not making an economic calculation (because, as I said, you can do much better by saving on your own). You're buying something non-tangible, i.e. peace of mind.

[Anonymous]

I read somewhere recently that insurance companies don't always pay out the sum that they are supposed to right away and sometimes they even make money by putting the LI money into an account that accrues interest or even an investment. I think this concerned mainly military families and SGLI, but I wonder if 'regular' LI companies work like that as well. Peope actually had to wait for a long time to get to their money. If this is the case, then what is the point of LI? Is it really beneficial?

[Anonymous]

peace of mind, not piece of mind. Ugh!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am in a similar situation as OP as far as salary, ages and kids. We do not have life insurance. I know it is risky, but from what I understand, term is the best to have yet only 2% of term pays out. So I would rather keep that $30,000 or so and then when I am 70 and term runs out, I didn't waste it.

That's why they call it 'insurance'. You never know if you will need it. I would not want to learn a hard lesson...think of the car accidents in this area.

[Anonymous]

Yes - 2 million for DH, 1.5 for me. We just upgraded (I am still upgrading mine).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am in a similar situation as OP as far as salary, ages and kids. We do not have life insurance. I know it is risky, but from what I understand, term is the best to have yet only 2% of term pays out. So I would rather keep that $30,000 or so and then when I am 70 and term runs out, I didn't waste it.

I am not a fan of the following type of policy, but not having life insurance is just stupid (if there is someone that depends on your income). But because people think like you there exists what is called a return of premium policy. If you outlive the policy you get back your premium (the cost is more and you don't get compounded interest), It is a far better alternative than nothing at all. Think of it as forced savings like under the mattress.

[Anonymous]

Well I guess I am self-centered too because we are foregoing it. Family of 4, dual incomes. Oh well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well I guess I am self-centered too because we are foregoing it. Family of 4, dual incomes. Oh well.

Don't forget irresponsible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am in a similar situation as OP as far as salary, ages and kids. We do not have life insurance. I know it is risky, but from what I understand, term is the best to have yet only 2% of term pays out. So I would rather keep that $30,000 or so and then when I am 70 and term runs out, I didn't waste it.

Holy crap, this is perhaps the most self-centered and irresponsible post I've ever seen on DCUM. And that's sayin' something.

PP, I don't even know where to begin. You need your head examined. That some people don't have life insurance is kinda irresponsible. That you have made a considered decision NOT to purchase life insurance is mind boggling.

"That you have made a considered decision NOT to purchase life insurance is mind boggling."

Ditto.
Gotta wonder what their educational levels are.
I was very glad we had life insurance when DH dropped dead at age 40.