OT-Need a good reliable life insurance company for term insurance.

[Krischaser]

Hi being the bad parents that I feel we are I need to find a good company to get term life insurance from. My DH and I are 36 and are healthy and do not smoke. We are in low risk jobs too. My lack of knowledge of a reliable life insurance company has prevented us from getting it. Any advice or recommendations would be great.
Thanks

 

[denise5374]

Do you have any Insurance Agent for your Pesoanl Insurance? If so, I would suggest talking to him or her.

My Life Ins and DHs is through Lincoln National Life.

 

[Colinsmom]

It's not really possible to list all of your options here on a message board. Talk to your agent (if you don't have one, get recommendations from friends or co-workers) and they will get you quotes from a few companies. Look for something rated "single A", "double A" or "triple AAA" (A, AA or AAA) - the agent will be able to tell you who that is. That's a financial stability rating, with AAA being the best (and A still being quite good).

Most agents sell through many different companies, so you don't need to know which company you want to buy from before you contact an agent.

 

[zalansky]

We used www. accuquote .com for both mine and my DH's 20 year term policies. Its very easy and they give you many companies to choose from. IMO - you're better off going directly to the insurance companies then using a middle man because then you're not paying additional premiums for their commissions.

 

[Chicago526]

I have mine through State Farm. $250k 20 year term for $25 a month (DH's is much higher because he has health issues). We have all our policies through State Farm so we also get a multiple policy discount that gets taken off our total monthly bill (auto, life, home)

 

[kfeuer]

I just wanted to add, don't keep putting this off! Health issues can crop up unexpectedly that make getting life insurance difficult if not impossible.

Last year when DH was 36 he was diagnosed with diabetes (it runs in his family, it's not weight-related). I am so thankful we already had term life insurance in place for him. I tried to increase our disability insurance this year through his employer (figured we'd have a better shot with a group plan) but they turned us down because of his diabetes

I would also try to locate a good life insurance agent in your area. The premiums they charge should be right in line with what you can get direct, but you'll have someone to help you navigate the paperwork. Term insurance is usually pretty cheap, anyway. DH and I are both covered for under $60 a month, and his insurance was more expensive then normal (he had other issues).

 

[Colinsmom]

We used ww .a ccuq uote. com for both mine and my DH's 20 year term policies. Its very easy and they give you many companies to choose from. IMO - you're better off going directly to the insurance companies then using a middle man because then you're not paying additional premiums for their commissions.

You'll pay the same price through a website vs. through an agent. The website you listed (which is different than "going directly to the insurance companies") also gets commissions. There are some insurance companies that do direct sales for certain products, but not for the type of policy that the OP is in need of (think Ed McMahon late-night TV advertisements for low face amount, high issue age policies).

 

[IluvKingLouis]

Do shop, and or talk to an "independent" agent that can represent many different companies. Go with a good rating.

Be weary of the policies that advertise No Physical Needed. Those policies are usually just accident insurance policies, though they really do a good job hiding that fact.

Be aggressive about investing. Ideally, once you retire and your kids are through college your need for life insurance should be nominal and your investments should carry you comfortably through.

 

[tonilea]

We went through Zander Insurance. We also checked with our regular insurance agent. Zander offered us a bunch of different quotes from several insurance companies.

 

[Golf4food]

Amica Mutual insurance company is very good and does term life. Include them in any search you may do. www.amica.com

 

[ldb1030]

Can someone explain what "term" life insurance is?

Thanks!

 

[IluvKingLouis]

"Term" life is insurance that lasts for a specified term. When that term is up (10, 20 yrs, etc) it has no value and your coverage is over.

Some people opt to buy Whole Life or Universal Life which has assets attached to it (money market or sometimes mutual funds). Usually the rate of return on these has been poor, though there are tax advantages when you do decide to pull out money down the road.

The cheapest insurance is term. If you have a good 401K and are a disciplined saver then term is usually a good fit for most folks.

 

[myAAbatteries&aTD]

We also have our life insurance (and car insurance) through Amica - a friend recommended them to us several years ago and we're both still using them....

 

[ldb1030]

"Term" life is insurance that lasts for a specified term. When that term is up (10, 20 yrs, etc) it has no value and your coverage is over.

Some people opt to buy Whole Life or Universal Life which has assets attached to it (money market or sometimes mutual funds). Usually the rate of return on these has been poor, though there are tax advantages when you do decide to pull out money down the road.

The cheapest insurance is term. If you have a good 401K and are a disciplined saver then term is usually a good fit for most folks.

I don't mean to sound stupid about this but I just don't know enough about it. So with term you pay for say 20 years.....then after that 20yrs. it's over, no more coverage and you lose everything you paid in for those 20yrs?

 

[Colinsmom]

I don't mean to sound stupid about this but I just don't know enough about it. So with term you pay for say 20 years.....then after that 20yrs. it's over, no more coverage and you lose everything you paid in for those 20yrs?

Yes, that's true. No different than your car insurance, right? And if you die during those 20 years, you get far more money back than you put in. Very simply, everyone throws their money in the pool, and only those who die get money out. If everyone wanted money back out of the pool at the end, the pool would have to be MUCH bigger up front.

If you want to treat life insurance as an investment, then look at whole life or universal life (where you will pay a HUGE premium compared to term, you can keep the policy as long as you want, but will have some equity that builds up over time - a very, very small amount compared to what you paid in, keep in mind).

Don't take my word for it, though. Go to an insurance agent and compare the costs of both types of coverage - and make sure that they show you "cash value illustrations" for the whole life or universal life so you can see how little you get back (keep in mind that they tend to be a little aggressive with the returns that they assume you will get over time - in reality, it tends to be less).

Then, run your own numbers. Pretend that you invest the difference between the term insurance premium and the whole life premium, assuming a modest return of 4-5%, and see how much MORE money you'll have in 20 yrs vs. the cash value illustrations.

 

[Suzanna1973]

Mutual of Omaha is a very good company. I have whole life insurance through them on my whole family. I also recently purchased the long term care for myself and my husband for when we are old. I don't want to be older and trying to get insurance and it be too expensive.

 

[ldb1030]

Do most people renew it then at the end of the term? I mean if you are still alive in 20 yrs. would you just renew so that your loved ones would have something if you pass away?

 

[harleyquinn]

Do most people renew it then at the end of the term? I mean if you are still alive in 20 yrs. would you just renew so that your loved ones would have something if you pass away?

Yes, you can renew (or get a new policy) once yours runs out.

The point isn't to give living relatives a big chunk of change if they don't need it. The point is having the insurance when you would need to provide for someone in the event of your death. So 20-30 years from now, the kids would be out of the house and your house will be paid off (this is how it's supposed to be, not necessarily reality) and you won't need a huge expensive (whole life)policy at this point.

 

[GoofItUp]

To the OP: Thanks for asking this question. You are not bad parents. The fact that you're moving forward with this now shows that you are very good parents. DH and I have been talking about how we need to do this for a while now (DS is 16mo) and still haven't gotten around to it. You've inspired me to get with it today! (BTW, I'm visiting zanderinsurance.com which is who Dave Ramsey endorses.)

 

[ldb1030]

I just emailed my agent who has our home insurance. Here is what he says he needs from me to quote life insurance:

Let me know your height and weight, any health problems, nicotine/non-nicotine, annual incomes, amount of current life coverage, and amount of debt you have. There are a lot of different things to look at but that will be a good start.

Why on earth does he need to know our amount of debt?? I can see why he needs to know the other stuff!