Do all insurance companies require a physical exam for term life?

Anonymous wrote:There are no pros to whole life. It's a ripoff.

Decide how much coverage you need (there are a million calculators online) and then get a term life policy that's good for 20 years. I'm sure there are also online reviews of life insurance companies, too. We had Northwestern Mutual until we paid off the mortgage. Then we cancelled, since our purpose for insurance was to pay off the house.

Completely not true. Lot's of reasons for whole life. It shouldn't be the only piece to your puzzle but it can be a good piece. It is a long term investment piece - tax deferred earnings, a chance to borrow against it if you need it down the road and finally some insurance to help family deal with expenses and estate taxes when the final day comes.

It is absolutely not for everyone and it is expensive but you can look at it as a conservative, net 4-5% (again, when taxes are considered) and allows you to take risk in other parts of your portfolio.

Congratulations!!

I was able to get life insurance when I was pregnant, but pregnancy can be a factor in whether you're able to get the lowest rates, especially if you have to get a physical as part of the policy. *Sometimes* pregnancy can throw off things like your cholesterol, which might normally be fine when you're not pregnant.

But don't let that stop you, because as someone mentioned, insurance companies can take some little abnormalities into account. I just encourage you to get the ball rolling. I had a good experience with Ian Sumner: ian@Ltc-Broker.com
301-576-4187

Figure out how much you need (to cover bills) and how much it will cost per month (and how much it will increase and how often.)

We could only afford enough to (pay off) the house and burial.

Congrats on the twins! Get as much rest as you can, you will never be able to again.

Term is the way to go. We got 25 years with USAA (it's open to non-millitary members as well) to make sure it'll support our children until after they are finished with college. We got a million for each (my husband and I) to pay off all our properties, to support the kids through college etc. etc. etc. BTW you can get life insurance during a pregnancy. I had my blood drawn when I was pregnant, it did not raise my rate because they have guidelines to offset that. It was my bad driving that did it

Call a company like Zander / Xander insurance who works with multiple companies to get you a good policy at a good price. You need TERM life insurance on each of you, at least 10x your annual salary. A 20-year term is probably fine, but I did 30 year policies and it's a good comfort, especially if you plan to have more children after you twins are, God-willing, born safely. (Multiple loss Mom here, can't take things for granted but always have hope!)

Don't book policies through work - those go away if your job goes away.

This is one of the easier things to do, so just call today and get it started. They came to our house and did a health checkup on each of us and all was fine. But do it today. You never know what tomorrow brings.

Good luck, and best wishes to you OP!

Just a comment, but I wouldn't consider the life insurance that you get through your job at all when considering your total life insurance needs. This insurance is tied to your job and if you or your husband get sick with a lengthy illness that eventually kills you, say cancer, you will most likely lose your job and your insurance before you die and you will collect nothing.

My husband and I just got new term life policies. We each got 10-year term policies with a broker from The Meltzer Group in Bethesda when I was pregnant with our first, and those premiums more than tripled once the term was up. So we just signed up for a $2M 20-year term for him and a $500K 10-year term for me with Cassie Hinnen of Primerica. Great experience throughout.

Anonymous wrote:+1 you should stay far away from whole life, or anyone who recommends it.

You want term life with a guaranteed level premium for as long as you think you'll need it-- 20 years is good, could consider 30 as well (the longer the term is, the more expensive each year is though).

Another possibility is to layer policies, so you get some 30 year insurance, some 20 year insurance, etc.-- then you have a core of insurance for when you most need it, but additional insurance for later years.

IIRC, getting it while you are pregnant may be more expensive than if you wait til later.

You probably should use a life insurance calculator but I found them contradictory and confusing, so I will just say that somewhere in 7-10x salary is a good range.

You can get good quotes from sites like insure.com, or you can find an insurance broker who may know which companies are best for you (if you have specific health issues).

In general term policies are all very much alike, but keep an eye on the financial rating of the company-- you want them to be around if you need them in 20 years.

Because being pregnant, particularly with twins, is dangerous.

I would not consider whole life. Get 20 year term, 1 to 2 million.

Agree with others about whole life unless you are high wealth individual (tax shield at maturation).

+1 you should stay far away from whole life, or anyone who recommends it.

You want term life with a guaranteed level premium for as long as you think you'll need it-- 20 years is good, could consider 30 as well (the longer the term is, the more expensive each year is though).

Another possibility is to layer policies, so you get some 30 year insurance, some 20 year insurance, etc.-- then you have a core of insurance for when you most need it, but additional insurance for later years.

IIRC, getting it while you are pregnant may be more expensive than if you wait til later.

You probably should use a life insurance calculator but I found them contradictory and confusing, so I will just say that somewhere in 7-10x salary is a good range.

You can get good quotes from sites like insure.com, or you can find an insurance broker who may know which companies are best for you (if you have specific health issues).

In general term policies are all very much alike, but keep an eye on the financial rating of the company-- you want them to be around if you need them in 20 years.

There are no pros to whole life. It's a ripoff.

Decide how much coverage you need (there are a million calculators online) and then get a term life policy that's good for 20 years. I'm sure there are also online reviews of life insurance companies, too. We had Northwestern Mutual until we paid off the mortgage. Then we cancelled, since our purpose for insurance was to pay off the house.

You should repost this on the Money forum where you will get a lot of feedback, that said, congrats!!

There are pros and cons to both term and whole life. it all depends on your end goals. You need to find a reputable life insurance BROKER - one that works with many different companies that way he/she can find you the best company and product for you. This person will also look at all of your assets and discuss your goals to determine how much insurance is appropriate for you. once you talk to someone it will all be much clearer and less daunting.

also ask on the Money board for a reputable insurance broker.

My husband and I recently found out that I am pregnant....with twins! We are so excited, just starting to think about some of the more practical things we need to get organized. This question probably sounds really ignorant, but how do we go about getting life insurance? Is there a particular type that is better to get for young parents? Term or whole life? Both my husband and I work so we will both need to get life insurance. We do not have policies through our jobs. I went to my resource for all questions in life....Google....but have no idea how to differentiate between the different companies and offers. Obviously we know we will need to come up with a coverage amount that makes sense to us, but at the end of the day, is there any difference between insurance companies? Thanks for any wisdom!