Life Insurance

[MapleLeafBaby 1]

I have two policies in Canada...but i've never been happy with how much I pay in premium....I really think they agent that set them up for me, took advantage of me....ive had a policy for over 10 years paying $60/month for $150,000 in coverage. I have been paying this since my mid 20's with no medical conditions...hello?! that seems high?

I also have a term life for $200,000. Both premiums combined are $110....i'm trying to close out my Canadian bank account and realized these two were being withdrawn out of my account....i'm not working and can't afford for this to keep coming out of my account...

Me and hubby want to get policies...I want something straight forward and cheap! I see all these commercials for insurance at $20/month premium?

Any suggestions on companies? I'm also willing to look at On Line companies.... I really only need a couple hundred thousand for my son to receive in my untimely death...I don't need all these mumbo jumbo cash benefits at retirement....we are in no need for retirement money...we are good in that dept...

Any feedback is appreciated

[Hoot 0]

Hi:

Use selectquote or any other on line insurance broker/reseller. I am 48 my 400,000 10 year term policy is $ 42 per month thru Metlife - your policy is very expensive. A good broker will quiz you about your health and probe for problem areas. Then they will match you with a company that offers the lowest rate for your health profile. For instance lets say your cholesterol is high but that is your only issue. The broker will have you quoted with companies tolerant of higher cholesterol. Each insurance company has their own assesment of how risky certain health issues are. Some companies might be sensitive to cholesterol others wont consider it as significant.

The most important thing is to get a policy from a reputable A+ rated insurance company.

Here is how life insurance works. There are 2 kinds of term life policies: Medical Exam and non-medical exam. Avoid non-medical exam insurance policies - the premiums are much higher because it is assumed that all high risk people are obtaining this coverage. Medical Exam life insurance is a policy issued after a short medical exam. They ask some history questions, maybe contact your personal doctor, take blood/urine and measure blood pressure, weight, heart rate (mini physical). Because the insurance company can quantify your health - they offer a lower premium and that is what the broker will steer you towards.

One other issue - term life insurance is sold for a set period of time - usually 10, 15, 20 year guaranteed flat premiums. You need to guage your need for insurance over your lifetime to determine the length of time to purchase coverage for. For instance if you have small children - you might need 15 or 20 year term - maybe only 10 years if you have teenagers. If you have a large estate - you might need insurance to fund the estate taxes.

Lastly - term life insurance premiums tend to significantly jump on your 5 year birthdays ie ( 30, 35, 40, 45, 50,etc see larger premium increases).

Anyways - I hope this helps you.

Dolly n Hoot

[DeniseBill 4]

hehe you find $60 a month high??? Here in Holland, the common person has to be up to 140 euro for their insurance... Not very rich people pay 120 euro. That's about $175-200 a month...

Sorry for going off-topic, i don't have any suggestions

[MNCouple 3]

It really depends on what you want from your life insurance plan. There are two types of life insurance polices, whole and term. With whole life insurance policies there is a monetary accrual that builds into the pay out amount of your life insurance. It has a cash value. Term life insurance is set for specific periods of time and has no cash value. Whole life typically is more expensive but it lasts until death or the age of 100, whichever comes first. Term life insurance lasts for the length of time you choose to buy the policy. Whole life is more expensive. Term life is less expensive. Both can have medical or non-medical exams. Depending upon the value of the policy can influence that though...

The intention of life insurance is NOT to be a savings plan or college plan or retirement plan. It is intended to care for and cover the costs of your loved ones in the instance of your untimely death. So, to determine what you need in insurance you should ask yourself the following questions:

1. If my spouse died today, would I want to be able to pay off the mortgage so that I don't have to worry about it?

2. If my spouse died today, how much of their salary would I need to pay the bills and not be short every month for x number of months?

3. If my spouse died today, would I want enough money to be able to put into education funds, or pay for the education of my children?

4. If my spouse died today, how much would I need to cover our current debts?

Add up the above information and that is what you need for today. (if you want that much). You may not need the same amount in 10 years or 20 years.

Your mortgage is higher now, in theory, in 20 years, you won't have as much to pay. In 10 years or 15 or 5 your children will be out of college. As we age and our financial obligations change things may get cheaper (typically) mortgage amounts decrease, hopefully debts decrease and the costs of our children decrease.

You can pick and choose things to add to your insurance policies... like automatic inflation riders, where every year or cycle there will be an increase in the face value of the policy, as well as the premium, that way your $ increases along with inflation.

My X husband and I went with Term life. We have 10 year riders, 15 and 20 year rides. What that means is, for the first 10 years we are both insured for over 300,000 USD. That means we have the most coverage now, during this period of high mortgage, children's education, etc. Our premium is 90 bucks a month. We had to have medical's which were urinalysis and blood test because our face values are high. In 10 years, we'll drop the 10 year rider, our policies will drop to about 200 or 250k and the premium will drop to 70 or so.

If you stop paying on your insurance you will lose your policies and have to reapply for insurance. So it is always best to get the right amount of insurance to cover the right things as early as possible as that will save you the most money.

Now, as far as payment options go. You can pay monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually or lump sum. The more money you give them at a time, the more you can get from your money. Sometimes just paying them twice a year can bump up your face value or can lower what the monthly premium would have been. Monthly premiums are ALWAYS the most expensive.

I have attended and passed the Life and Health/Accident insurance programs in the state of Minnesota. I don't sell insurance, but I scored over a 90 on my test

I'm happy to answer any other questions you might have. Oh, as an aside, different states have different plans available so not all plans will be the same depending upon the state regulations for your area.

Cheers!

The MN Couple

[KCinlove 0]

Hello I am a Insurance Agent in the state of VA. I feel if you have had a whole life policy for 10 years or better you are better off keeping it. It has defintely built cash value but if you cancel it you will definitely not get close to the money you put into the policy. As far as the term policy I would say get rid of it. If you and your husband want to get a new policy together you should... but you will lose if you get rid of your whole life policy. Just my 2 cents!!

[Mintchip 0]

I was wondering if it is possible to take out a life insurance policy on my husband, who is still living in the UK. We are in the midst of getting his visa to move here to the US. Any information or leads are appreciated.