Lost job - need life insurance. Any suggestions?

[japajsm]

Due to a change in employment, I will no longer have life insurance. Can you please suggest a company with good rates for a 50+ non-smoking female in good health?

Thanks.

 

[powellrj]

Have you tried AARP?

 

[disneypharm]

I (45-year-old female non-smoker in good health) just got mine from AAA a couple of months ago. 500K for $30 per month. Great service and rates; very painless. Everything was done for me on the phone or online. I tried several other companies, 2 online and one through our insurance broker. I wasn't happy with any of them.

 

[jsmith]

talk to a financial advisor-unless you have children at home-or a very large mortgage-you should need no more life insurance than what it would cost to cover funeral expenses-about 15K-in term insurance not whole life-it should be relatively inexpensive and the balance of what you would pay in premuims can go somewhere with a better return.. AAA and AARP are both good programs.

 

[tkitty]

My husband has his through Bank of America, and we have it auto deducted. About $12 mo for 100,000.

 

[disney11fan]

try your local savings bank. it's called sbli...term life insurance is all you need.

good luck

 

[Swimalie]

I have mine through USAA. I have a 30 year fixed term of $250,000 for $20 a month. Go for term, not whole.

 

[DebMcDonald]

When my husband got laid off, we took the life insurance policy with us, I'm not sure if that's an option for you.

 

[crisi]

talk to a financial advisor-unless you have children at home-or a very large mortgage-you should need no more life insurance than what it would cost to cover funeral expenses-about 15K-in term insurance not whole life-it should be relatively inexpensive and the balance of what you would pay in premuims can go somewhere with a better return.. AAA and AARP are both good programs.

Yep. It might be time to reevaluate if you NEED life insurance. You might not even need to talk to a financial adviser, it might simply be enough to say "my kids are grown and I really don't care if I leave anything behind other than not burden my family with my funeral expenses."

 

[momtoce&j]

ok...so someone please explain the difference, as simply as possible, between TERM and WHOLE life insurance?? My dh passed away this year so I really need to get it together and get some life insurance for myself.

 

[brergnat]

ok...so someone please explain the difference, as simply as possible, between TERM and WHOLE life insurance?? My dh passed away this year so I really need to get it together and get some life insurance for myself.

Don't get whole life. It's NEVER advised by financial experts. Essentially, they market it as an "investment". It's just about the worst investment you can make. Whole life policies are expensive for a low benefit amount. The "selling point" is that they last your entire life. The downside is that you usually end up contributing MORE in premiums than your policy is even worth (this is what the ins. co. is banking on...that they won't have to pay it out until you have paid into it to fund it fully). They are only a "good deal" for YOU (your beneficiaries), if you die within a couple years of signing up...

Term policies are for a predetermined amount of time (10, 15, 20, 30 years). You choose the term. Most people will choose a term that will coincide when their dependents will be INDEPENDENT and/or your mortgage and debts will likely be paid off.

DH and I have 20 year TERM policies. They will "expire" around when our kids are in their mid 20's. By that point, we should not NEED to leave them any money, but we will also still be rather young ourselves (in our 40's), so we can reevaluate at that time if we need to do another term policy.

The benefit to TERM policies is that you can get a much higher benefit at a lower monthly cost. You won't get back any of the money you pay into it. It's like traditional insurance in that regard. You are paying for the peace of mind.

Most experts recommend leaving dependents an amount equivalent to 10x your annual salary. This is usually enough to provide for your family financially for at least 10-20 years, if invested wisely and the interest is paid out to provide income. As a mother of three, it would behoove you to get as much coverage as you can (the underwriters will limit how much you can have "on your head"). Your cost will be approx $20-75 per month, depending on your risk factors and how much coverage you get. For example, my Marine husband (high risk job) has a term policy of $1.1M for a cost of $47/month. I have $500k of coverage (since I'm a SAHM) for $19/month. We have it through our bank (USAA).

Usually, if you have other insurance (car, home owners, etc.) through a company, you can get a better deal on a term insurance policy through them as well.

 

[PatsMom]

momtoce&j - there are many types of life insurance and I would disagree with some points the PP made about cash value policies. I would recommend consulting and hourly paid financial advisor to talk about what type of life insurance is best for you. For most people, term insurance that will cover you until retirement, or until no one is dependent on you for support, is adequate but in some cases a cash value type policy might be useful. A professional you are paying will help you with the analysis and should have a network of insurance brokers to refer you to for the actual purchase.

One source of fee only financial planners is NAPFA. They give very good, unbiased advice.

To the OP, if you consult a professional, they will also help you determine the type and amount of life insurance that is most suitable to you. And then have the resources to shop around. Even if you are getting 10 or 20 year term, you will see a lot of variation among insurance companies. And also you want to consider what will happen if you don't get the best rates - we tend to look at the standard rates along with the preferred when we are recommending a company. Then you don't have to start underwriting all over again if you don't meet the preferred criteria.

There is no type of life insurance that is always right or always wrong. It is all a matter of what is suitable for the insured.

Carrying over your work policy (conversion privileges) is usually not a cost effective method of securing coveraqe. The process of adverse selection and the lack of underwriting tends to drive up the rates. If you are healthy and can get through underwriting you are almost always better off getting coverage on your own.

 

[PrincessBelle09]

Look at Zander Insurance Group and get free term life insurance quotes from the insurance companies that they work with. We just got DH a 20 year term for $200 a year for a $350,000 policy. I would imagine that your premium will be a wee bit higher, but they give a long list of companies for you to compare.

 

[Susiesnowflake]

Do you hold your auto and homeowners with the same company? If so, you may be able to get a good rate from them. My husb took out a new term life policy about a year ago when there were some changes with his employment and his benefit changed. It was the best rate we found.

 

[momtoce&j]

Thanks for the responses. Looks like I still have some homework to do. I do have a financial planner I am working with, but he really specializes with College Planning.

 

[japajsm]

Thanks to all of you for responding. There were are lot of good suggestions, which I am definitely looking into.

 

[Frantasmic]

Generally, you should have enough insurance to cover the cost of the insureds annual income for 10 years. If your spouse makes $60,000, they should be insured for $600,000. The length of the term would depend on how old the insured is.

Someone who is young can probably get away with just having insurance through their work. However, someone with kids, dependents, or over 30ish, should combine private term insurance with insurance their work covers so that if the work changes, the insurance doesn't.

You could also take into account how much your 401K might have in it (since your beneficiary would get this too upon your death).

 

[DeniseMancini]

That’s the problem with life insurance from work. You end up without any coverage if you have to leave your job for some reason. That’s why experts recommend buying an additional life insurance policy privately.

Coming back to your question, many life insurance carriers will offer you very competitive rates. However, I suggest you shop around and compare quotes from at least 3-4 companies before deciding on any one of them.

The easiest way to shop for life insurance quotes is to use an online agency like AccuQuote. Because they work with only top-rated insurance companies and provide financial information and ratings of the companies quoted, you can rest assured that you will not make any wrong moves.

With several options to choose from, you can select the one that offers you the best deal and suits all your needs!

Denise at AccuQuote
Disclaimer: I work for AccuQuote and this is my personal opinion.

 

[ceecee]

At your age, do you really need it? Young kids, huge mortgage? If you do, go with a term plan until you no longer need it.