Very expensive life insurance - WWYD?

[Anonymous]

For a few health reasons, getting life insurance will be very expensive for me, around $200/month, even though I am young. We can afford that but it seems like an awful lot of money. Is it still financially smart to do? We have two young children and I out earn my spouse by a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a few health reasons, getting life insurance will be very expensive for me, around $200/month, even though I am young. We can afford that but it seems like an awful lot of money. Is it still financially smart to do? We have two young children and I out earn my spouse by a lot.

You have to consider what would happen to your spouse and your kids if you pass away. $2400 per year for that peace of mind sounds ok to me. But I don't know your financial situation.

[Anonymous]

We pay $250/mo for a $1M policy for my husband. Not ideal, but worth it for peace of mind that we could pay off the mortgage and send the kids to college if he croaks. (I also have a $1M policy but it's much less expensive.) If you could do those two things easily even without life insurance, then not worth it, otherwise I think it is.

[Anonymous]

Did you figure out the amount of insurance that you need?

try this calculator and let us know how much insurance you need:

http://ing.us/employers/employee-benefits/products-services/life-insurance-add/life-insurance-calculator

[Anonymous]

Only get the amount of insurance you need. For me, if DH were to die, I could live comfortable on my salary. So we only got enough insurance to pay off our mortgage.

[Anonymous]

I woudl check your budget, also consider SS benefits for widows and orphans and your retirement accounts when considering what would be available-- maybe talk to an insurance agent to see if some companies might be a little cheaper

[Anonymous]

I would if you outearn your spouse. I'd make sure you had a enough for college, pay off the house and some retirement. We take an private life insurance, have employer and would probably get the SS benefit (but it is not enough to live off of).

[Anonymous]

I would do it in a heartbeat. It sucks but it's worth every penny.

[Anonymous]

OP - $200 is not a lot of money at all. people spend that at Starbucks in a month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We pay $250/mo for a $1M policy for my husband. Not ideal, but worth it for peace of mind that we could pay off the mortgage and send the kids to college if he croaks. (I also have a $1M policy but it's much less expensive.) If you could do those two things easily even without life insurance, then not worth it, otherwise I think it is.

we do the same. so worth it if anything were to happen when the kids are young and the mortgage is still there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a few health reasons, getting life insurance will be very expensive for me, around $200/month, even though I am young. We can afford that but it seems like an awful lot of money. Is it still financially smart to do? We have two young children and I out earn my spouse by a lot.

how much insurance is that for? if it is for whole life, get a term life instead. consider also getting a few policies. for example, we have a 10 year and a 20 year policy for my husband. we thought about how much our mortgage is now and what our college savings accounts look life and wanted to be able to pay off mortgage and fully fund college if dh were to die. 10 years from now our mortgage is much lower and we will have almost fully funded college fund so we would need less. the savings were pretty good but we actually used that to get more coverage. on the other hand, with my health history- mostly complications from pregnancy - i am uninsurable so i would love a 200 a month quote!

[Anonymous]

I understand your predicament. I can not afford additional life insurance. Because of medical issues (cancer, heart disease), no one will insure me*. I have an existing policy through my job, which I can convert to a private plan upon separation.

However, according to the above calculator, I am actually ok assuming my wife moves to a lower cost of living area.

*I can get a 500K policy for about 150k/year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a few health reasons, getting life insurance will be very expensive for me, around $200/month, even though I am young. We can afford that but it seems like an awful lot of money. Is it still financially smart to do? We have two young children and I out earn my spouse by a lot.

how much insurance is that for? if it is for whole life, get a term life instead. consider also getting a few policies. for example, we have a 10 year and a 20 year policy for my husband. we thought about how much our mortgage is now and what our college savings accounts look life and wanted to be able to pay off mortgage and fully fund college if dh were to die. 10 years from now our mortgage is much lower and we will have almost fully funded college fund so we would need less. the savings were pretty good but we actually used that to get more coverage. on the other hand, with my health history- mostly complications from pregnancy - i am uninsurable so i would love a 200 a month quote!

I consider it a luxury but we have enough to cover all costs including mortgage, education and not having to work a lot, or at all, in the event that I die. A big chunk is term, some is whole but I sleep better knowing that there will be a great lifestyle without any financial worries if I am gone.

Personal situation aside, I think insurance is a great peace of mine. I get pleasure from writing that check.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We pay $250/mo for a $1M policy for my husband. Not ideal, but worth it for peace of mind that we could pay off the mortgage and send the kids to college if he croaks. (I also have a $1M policy but it's much less expensive.) If you could do those two things easily even without life insurance, then not worth it, otherwise I think it is.

All of these seem like quite a lot- we pay $900 per year for a $1M 20 year policy for DH..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We pay $250/mo for a $1M policy for my husband. Not ideal, but worth it for peace of mind that we could pay off the mortgage and send the kids to college if he croaks. (I also have a $1M policy but it's much less expensive.) If you could do those two things easily even without life insurance, then not worth it, otherwise I think it is.

All of these seem like quite a lot- we pay $900 per year for a $1M 20 year policy for DH..

Ours is 30 years, and DH was already over 40 when we got it. Plus his health background isn't the greatest. I have an identical policy but was <30 when we got it and it's only $250/yr. I don't think DH's premiums are out of line given the circumstances, but if someone has a suggestion for where to get it for cheaper I'm all ears!