life insurance - Page 2

Abrowneyegirl · ‎03-15-2010

@kaydee50 wrote:
Don't know if percerptions have changed but unless the employer's insurance is signficant, I don't think it's a good idea not to have a term life insurance policy enough to pay off the house, provide a college education for the kids and have some left over. And if both spouses are working they each should have adequate insurance.

What bothers me most is the seeming dependence on the government to provide any shortfall. IMO, people under 40 will be lucky to see any social security and they had best be prepared to provide for themselves.

I agree 100%

I do not think younger people realize how dramatically their family's lives would change in an instant with the loss of a parent. It is not just financially it is an emotional situation as well.

As for the employer life insurance - both my DH and I both have a policy through our employers as a free benefit but those policies are very limiting as to when and what they cover. I WOULD never stake our financial livelihood on a free policy.

decaf · ‎05-13-2021

A while back I had a friend with two kids who had no means to support them if her husband died. She never even thought about that until she heard of aterrible story where a woman with children was left to struggle after her husband died, she was left with a pile of bills and was forced to sell her nice home, she couldn't afford it. They moved in with her parents.

Right there and then my friend insisted her husband buy life insurance. About six short months later her husband was on a business trip to Calif and died from a massive heart there. Her life would have taken a really terrible turn if they didn't have insurance.

I don't understand @Abrowneyegirl what your neighbors think by' the govt provides the rest'. Social security? Not anywhere near enough in today's economy.

lynne6was7 · ‎03-15-2010

A foolish mindset. They don't want to have to try to live on what Social Security might pay them. Next time you're all together, I hope you tell them that they should have level term insurance for a duration until their youngest is out of college (20 or 30 year term). They should have enough for funeral costs, mortgage repayment, college fund, plus enough to invest at an assumed 4% return to replace the insured's income. It will probably be $1-$2,000,000 term. At their age, it will be about $1 per $1,000 of death benefit, or $100 to $200 per month. And, even if a spouse's role is stay-at-home, they should be insured too; for the above reasons plus childcare costs rather than income replacement. They also need long term disability insurance as the likelihood of disability is three times the likelihood of death during working years. Group LTD coverage through an employer is very cost effective but often not taken - again, very foolish. You never want to have to use life or disability insurance. But, if your family needs it, you want it to be there.

suzyQ3 · ‎03-09-2010

@Mom2Dogs wrote:
People that depend on the govenment (WHEN THEY CAN WORK) are a detriment to our society.

Yes, they should have term insurance, it is not expensive....a lot of people live beyond their means and if one spouse dies the other is left with massive debt and the loss of an income.

@Mom2Dogs, we have social security and Medicare. And there is also survivor payments available. All comes from the government, and it is a blessing for everyone.

Would you do away with these programs? Or what is it that you don't believe in?

~Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

suzyQ3 · ‎03-09-2010

@kaydee50 wrote:
Don't know if percerptions have changed but unless the employer's insurance is signficant, I don't think it's a good idea not to have a term life insurance policy enough to pay off the house, provide a college education for the kids and have some left over. And if both spouses are working they each should have adequate insurance.

What bothers me most is the seeming dependence on the government to provide any shortfall. IMO, people under 40 will be lucky to see any social security and they had best be prepared to provide for themselves.

@kaydee50, the demise of SS has been discussed probably since its inception. It's had its enemys since day one, along with Medicare. So far they both ae still up and running.

~Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

CatsyCline · ‎07-24-2013

when i was in my 20s i worked with a woman who was close to retirement. She had taken her own SBLI policy for a $5000 death benefit. She said - i'm only covering what it will cost to bury me. i don't want him out partying on a big payout should i die before he does.

hckynut · ‎03-10-2010

Since the only kids I have are furry and have 4 legs? My policy is enough to take care of left over business when I die. We have no children by choice, thus I can only speculate on what i would do, for adult children.

Nothing when it comes to putting $$$$ in their accounts. Whatever they have or have not accomplished in their lives should suffice.

They would have memories, disconnected from $$$$, and those would be how big a part of their lives I was in showing them the paths to Independence.That was how I was raised and that was/is my life after my mother died in 1969.

She left no $$$ because she had none. She had some valuable hand made wooden tables and serving cart her mother left to her when she died.

Those went to my 3 older sisters because they wanted them. My mothers wedding rings were passed on to my oldest sister, who died at 91 in 2018, past them on to my only remaining sister, who will soon be 88.

Just my thoughts along with a segment of my life's story, little to do with Life(I refer to as death)Insurance.

hckynut

hckynut(john)

Kalli · ‎03-11-2010

My dad was an insurance agent from the late 1960s until the late 1980s. I remember him telling his young married clients that they should get life insurance once they became parents. If both were working and they didn't have children, he often advised them to wait depending on their situation of course.

I'm not sure what his advice on this topic would be today.

Mom2Dogs · ‎03-09-2010

@suzyQ3 I was referring to people that expect the goverment to pay their way... when they run into trouble. Famiies should learn to live on a budget....what is what DH and I have done all our married life.

Yes we have Medicare and SS..I payed into those programs, and yes I am aware we generally get more from those programs than we paid into.

Social security was available to my brother and sister when their father was killed in action, for which my mother was very grateful for....her husband paid the ultimate sacrifice

My point was if the younger generation the OP was referring to expected the goverment to help them because they did not want to purchase life insurance, incase of a death, is wrong.

Abrowneyegirl · ‎03-15-2010

@lynne6was7

While your advice is true and sound I would NEVER advise my neighbors or anyone else on how to spend their money unless asked. Even if asked I remember people do their own research and make their own decisions based on their own needs.

It's not as if these people have not heard of life insurance and term life, most admitted their parents had/have such policies. They just think it is an outdated concept.