Re: Life Insurance

alliswell · ‎07-12-2012

@Lipstickdiva wrote:
I have enough to pay for a funeral and that is all. I don't have kids and my DH works. We have no mortgage. I don't need to pay for a huge insurance policy just for DH to inherit a large sum. That doesn't make sense.

I do have a word of advice. If you do have any kind of life insurance, make sure the beneficiary knows. Insurance companies are getting increasing more difficult to deal with when a policy owner dies. They will not release beneficiary information to attorneys or estate representatives. They claim they will contact the beneficiaries to let them know. However, if the beneficiary information is old, they aren't putting a ton of effort into finding current information therefore, they are holding on to the money and eventually it is turned over to the state as a unclaimed fund.

Thank you for this advice

vermint · ‎04-05-2010

I work for my DH. If I die, he goes on working and hires someone to do what I do. If HE dies, I'm out of a job and at 61 who's going to hire me? So, yes, I have a substantial term policy on him. He has a lesser one on me just to pay any funeral, medical, etc. expenses.

He would also stay in our home, but I would not be able to...too much outdoor maintenance for me on 4 acres, plus it's isolated. So I wanted enough to enable me to move closer into town, and not have to take any old job just to survive (I also have some vision issues that make driving difficult, and they will likely worsen with time).

ECBG · ‎01-08-2011

We both have a high term policy that will take care of the other for life since when the spouse dies, you lose their SS.

As the other spouse ages, who knows what the health problems they will encounter are? How long will they live? What kind of care will they need? Medicine?

millieshops · ‎03-09-2010

@LipstickDiva Good advice -- and it applies to all kinds of possible inheritances. As long as we're functioning, we need to keep the names and addresses up to date. As with accumulating money, spending it or passing it on also means taking care of it. No one else will ever care like you do.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

I do but it expires when I turn 84 so I figure I will die the next day.

muttmom · ‎11-28-2012

Now that is just the of us, we have minimal term insurance on me and a bit more on my husband.

OnlyShopsOnline · ‎03-09-2010

We don't have as much as we used to. Just a policy through my husband's employer. Our mortgage is paid off, our daughter is grown and has her own family. My husband is still working, but has already qualified for his pension.

God forbid, if he were to pass away first, I would still having our retirement savings and receive a percentage of his pension, so I could live comfortably. If I pass away first, he'll still receive his full pension and be extremely comfortable.

"I've been here since October 2006. Wow!"

blackhole99 · ‎08-22-2013

I wish I saved the money I shelled out on term life insurance when my husband and I were younger and working. We are all so afraid we will be unlucky and die young so we make the insurance companies rich. I liken the insurance companies to the mob, think about it, they operate a business on fear.

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

I'll share my experience and reasoning.

My father died when I was 18. He had been sick all my life, and they could not get insurance on him (or if they could have, it would have been so so expensive). So he left my mom with no insurance and two kids still at home (I was headed to college). I was determined right then and there, to never let that happen. I bought my first whole life policy at 18 and another at around 20. I still have them, and they aren't for even six figures, but still a nice sum of money for final expenses and some left over.

When I met my husband we bought a couple of whole life policies on him (slightly more than mine) right away while he was young too. The younger the better, as it is quite inexpensive when you are young.

I have always, and still do believe that some whole life insurance is necessary if you are going to have a family, leave a spouse or anyone else that might depend on you. We did have a child, but even before him, we had widowed mothers that could have desperately used our benefits (and were secondary beneficiaries) if we were both gone.

As we got jobs that offered term through work, we picked up very large amounts of those (it is practically free), once we had a mortgage, and a kid with educational goals to consider. IT is my understanding that those term policies are tied to the job, and if the job ends so does the insurance, so we also picked up some term on my husband outside the work place.

Now that my son is grown, as some of our private term expires, we probably won't renew it (it will be considerably higher) but we haven't decided for sure. We still have a mortgage and I haven't worked in a number of years, so we don't want to cut too much yet.

When my son was a baby, I took out whole life on him and added to it considerably when he was a young teen. I now have quite a bit of whole life on him, and I think that is one of the best gifts we could give him, should he pass very young with a young family like my father did. And because it was purchased when he was a child, it is very inexpensive.

People who have no on depending on them for income, healthcare, or support, may not need any or very little insurance. People who are at a place in life where they are depended upon to make a living, provide health insurance, or even physical care for a spouse or depended adult should consider how those things will be covered if they aren't here.

The amounts and types of life insurance people need varies with age, responsibilities, and other assets. There is certainly no one right answer for everyone. I also don't believe in buying all my insurance from the same company. I don't like putting all my eggs in one basket.

Financialgrl · ‎03-13-2010

I'm single, retired and still pay into my term insurance I obtained through work. I pay $20/month and when I hit 65 it's free. Presently worth what my yearly salary was when I retired but once I hit 65 the payout amount decreases by a certain percentage each month and then bottoms out at $14,500. That's the least amount it can pay out and more than enough for cremation. I've always believed in having enough life insurance to "bury me" and no more.