Life Insurance questions

[Pisces Princess]

Whole or term? Anyone have any recommendations for life insurance companies? Can I do this online? How can I be sure I'm getting the best rates?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Chicago526]

Every expert i've ever heard on the topic has said to only get term life, stay away from whole and universal. I'm happy with my policy with State Farm but there are plenty of good insurance companies out there. You should be able to do your reserch online but some polices will require a health exam. Mine did, they sent a nurse out to our home to give DH and I a physical and took samples.

 

[DebMcDonald]

We have a fee for service financial advisor, meaning he does not sell us anything, nor does he make any money on the advise he gives us and he recently told us term. You pay a much lower premium for me about $34 a month for $300,000 for 20 years, but after that 20 years I will no longer have the policy. If we went with a whole life, I would be paying so much more, but in the end have something (as I understand). For me, I'm looking to cover myself until my kids are out of college and at that point, I have a small policy that will cover me to put me in the ground.

 

[Trish Bessette]

Call a State Farm agent No fees yet great policies.

 

[mickeyboat]

We got new policies last year - 20 year term. We figure we really only need these policies until the mortgage is paid off and the kids are out of college.

I went through an on-line quoting company and bought the policy through AIG. The premiums are very reasonable and are mostly based on our ages and relative health. A nurse visited our home to take blood and urine samples and to weigh us and take our blood pressure.

DH has a whole life policy he was talked into before we were married. There is some cash value built into this policy, but for the number of years we have been paying, it is really a pretty bad investment. We have been talking about canceling it but have not gotten around to it.

Denae

 

[tonilea]

Definitely TERM. Many agents are hot to sell you a whole life policy because it lines their pockets better.

We only need life insurance until our son is out of college. So we chose 20 year term.

If you are young, with small children and a mortgage, choose a term 10, 20 or 30 years that will suit how long you owe on your mortgage and get your children through college.

The younger you are, the cheaper term insurance is. We didn't get term life until our son was born. Before, either of us could have managed with out it, now, it is vital to provide for the boy.

We went through Zander Insurance and got multiple quotes for different terms, policy amounts and quite a few other things. It was very easy.

 

[luvgus]

I am a Life Insurance Broker. We quote for many companies and you can do this all on line if you wish. If you would like to PM me, feel free. I do think term is the best way to go right now.

 

[DonaldDuckFamily]

I am not an insurance agent, but I work in the Life Insurance area for my company. I will tell you this, term is a good way to when you have a mortgage, young kids, etc. Something to keep in mind, when your term is about to expire, if you needed you can convert that policy to a whole life policy. The cost of the whole life policy would be based on your attained age, but you would not have to go through the medical requirements again. So, if something medically happens to you that would prevent you from getting Life Insurance in the future, converting it protects you.

Also, if you do have young children, I would recommend getting the Children's Insurance Rider coverage on them. God forbid anything happens to your children, at least they are covered on your policy. I have it for my children and it covers each child for $10,000 until age 18.

Hope that helps you.

 

[Stasieki]

We are in the same boat right now trying to figure out what would suit us best (have a DD 2.5), but my DH doesn't want to do a physical. I had thought you needed to. We are 34 and healthy (he has had elevated blood pressure in the past, but no medications and nothing now). He fears we will pay a higher premium because he takes anti-depressant medication, but I didn't think they look at that?

 

[DonaldDuckFamily]

We are in the same boat right now trying to figure out what would suit us best (have a DD 2.5), but my DH doesn't want to do a physical. I had thought you needed to. We are 34 and healthy (he has had elevated blood pressure in the past, but no medications and nothing now). He fears we will pay a higher premium because he takes anti-depressant medication, but I didn't think they look at that?

Sorry, but the underwriters for Life Insurance look very closey as your medical history, especially if your on any medications. They look at family history, height/weight/blood pressure/cholesterol/etc. The healthier you are the better rate you can qualify for, in essence the cheaper your premium will be.

I asked my friend who is an underwriter and she said she looks at "Date of diagnosis, type and dosage of medication, and a few other factors".

Hope that helps.

 

[PatsMom]

We are in the same boat right now trying to figure out what would suit us best (have a DD 2.5), but my DH doesn't want to do a physical. I had thought you needed to. We are 34 and healthy (he has had elevated blood pressure in the past, but no medications and nothing now). He fears we will pay a higher premium because he takes anti-depressant medication, but I didn't think they look at that?

I don't sell insurance- I refer clients to a reputable broker for that. But it has been my experience that medications for depression will result in significantly higher rates. But every underwriting department has different standards. As someone suggested, a large insurance brokerage that shops multiple carriers might be your best bet if DH is on medication for depression.

Term is generally the way to go. Most people do not have a need for permanent life insurance. Once the children are grown, the mortgage paid off, and your retirement goal is reached, the need for insurance frequently goes away. Exceptions might be for estate planning or pension replacement - but if your term policy has conversion privileges you can convert.

For the PP who mentioned having State Farm policies that have no fees - State Farm policies pay commissions to the agent who sold them to you. Most insurance agents just don't disclose the amount of the commission to you. But the agent definitely has an interest in selling you higher premium policies. The higher the premium, the higher the commission. There are very few true no-commission life insurance policies available today. There is nothing wrong with commissions, everyone has to get paid somehow. I just believe that people should be aware they are paying them and that there is a potential conflict of interest.

 

[Stasieki]

Thanks for the responses - I know we need to go ahead and do something.

 

[StephMK]

I am not an insurance agent, but I work in the Life Insurance area for my company. I will tell you this, term is a good way to when you have a mortgage, young kids, etc. Something to keep in mind, when your term is about to expire, if you needed you can convert that policy to a whole life policy. The cost of the whole life policy would be based on your attained age, but you would not have to go through the medical requirements again. So, if something medically happens to you that would prevent you from getting Life Insurance in the future, converting it protects you.

Hope that helps you.

Thanks for starting this thread OP, I'm trying to make decisions on this now too. So for above, can you convert a 10 yr term to a longer term policy? I currently have a 10 yr term that coming up in 3 yrs - would I be able to start a new 10 or 20 yr term w/o reapplying? Trying to figure out if I should go through my new employer or keep my old cheap policy & pay more to convert in a few years.

 

[tonilea]

Thanks for starting this thread OP, I'm trying to make decisions on this now too. So for above, can you convert a 10 yr term to a longer term policy? I currently have a 10 yr term that coming up in 3 yrs - would I be able to start a new 10 or 20 yr term w/o reapplying? Trying to figure out if I should go through my new employer or keep my old cheap policy & pay more to convert in a few years.

IMO, I would purchase the policy for as long as you think you will need it. If you owe 20 years on your mortgage - get a twenty year policy.

Term policys are insurance policies purchased for a specific term.

If you decide at the close of a ten year term policy that you need another ten years, it will be higher, if nothing else, based on your age. If you decide you no longer require the insurance after ten years, you can simply stop paying on the policy.

 

[PatsMom]

Thanks for starting this thread OP, I'm trying to make decisions on this now too. So for above, can you convert a 10 yr term to a longer term policy? I currently have a 10 yr term that coming up in 3 yrs - would I be able to start a new 10 or 20 yr term w/o reapplying? Trying to figure out if I should go through my new employer or keep my old cheap policy & pay more to convert in a few years.

You can't convert to a new term policy. You have to re-apply and the rates will be based on your new age and any medical changes since you applied for the original policy. When the policy says it is "convertible" (not all of them are) it means you can convert to a cash value policy - usually a universal life or a whole life. Going through an employer can be expensive - you need to compare their rates to what you can get through an outside company. That is because group policies generally have no medical qualifying (at least for the lower tier of coverage). So people like me who are uninsurable tend to sign up for that group coverage. This is known as "adverse selection" and increases premiums. Also, the ability to keep your coverage is tied to your employer. If you change jobs, you have to find new coverage. There may be the ability to convert your group term to an individual policy but that is typically fairly expesive. Again, because of adverse selection.

 

[DonaldDuckFamily]

PatsMom, you must work in Life Insurance also because you are right on If you are thinking of taking out term take it out for as long as think you may need it...you can't convert from term to term. I can't express enough though the importance if you have kids or plan to have kids, to put them on as Riders to your term policy. God forbid anything should happen, you don't want to be paying funeral expenses out of pocket

 

[dznybound]

Whole or term? Anyone have any recommendations for life insurance companies? Can I do this online? How can I be sure I'm getting the best rates?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

I was looking into this last month and I still have not made a decision on life insurance yet. I just want to let you know (or warn you) about one company online I got a quote from. It was Insure.com. This company is a nightmare and are stalkers. They call me 3 times a day, 7 days a week. I told the agent that I already talked to someone from their company but the calls just kept coming. I couldn't get them to stop. Just be careful...

 

[PatsMom]

PatsMom, you must work in Life Insurance also because you are right on If you are thinking of taking out term take it out for as long as think you may need it...you can't convert from term to term. I can't express enough though the importance if you have kids or plan to have kids, to put them on as Riders to your term policy. God forbid anything should happen, you don't want to be paying funeral expenses out of pocket

I don't sell life insurance. I have a license just because it is required to give advice for a fee in my state if that advice includes life insurance advice. I refer clients who have a need for insurance to a very ethical independent life insurance agent I know.

 

[StephMK]

Thanks, I figured not but didn't know some could convert to anything. I got it years ago & wasn't really informed about the total length options. It's dirt cheap so I'll just hold it for now but will get quotes for a new longer term & see how that compares w/my employer. DH is a high risk due to BP so employer coverage has been great for us for him.

 

[Ms.Grumpy]

I am in search of life insurance now and I appreciate everyone's input. My question is:
If I buy whole life insurance now wouldn't my premium be lower than if I wait until the term life one expires? I am just wondering how much I should expect to pay for life insurance at 59 (30 years from when a 30yr. term would expire)
Also, could someone give me an average of what I would be paying for a family term insurance 2 adults(29,34) 2 kids, If this is even possible.

TIA for all input since I am so uninformed on this matter.
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