How Much Life Insurance Do You Have?

[Thrif-t]

I work PT and we have 150k term coverage on me and 300k on DH. We also have 3 children under 12.

[lrjohnson]

Originally Posted by Hez

I don't have any; no one is financially dependent on me.

Same here. I do have a small term through work and a small term through my credit union, no cost to me, that will more than cover any last expenses after I die.

[savvy06]

300k on me and 500k on my husband. We really don't think we need more than that.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by LivingAlmostLarge

What company did you use for life insurance? I know it requires a physical, I just thought I'd buy insurance once and never look again.

I'm currently with Northwest Mutual, but if I change to get a cheaper rate, it will be with another company based on the quotes my agent gave me last year. Another tip - use an independent agent who will look for the best policy, not just the one his/her company sells. Or, just go online and shop that way.

As for buying and forgetting, not such a good idea. You may be needlessly overpaying. Of course, that assumes that your health has remained stable since you got your last policy.

If you do decide to shop around, DO NOT cancel your existing policy until the new policy is issued and in your hand.

[debtfreeme]

through work i pay about 3/month for 300k.

I know i do not have to do it but i have a mother who does mot have a lot saved whom i would be helping when she gets to be unable to care for herself. if something happens to me then she gets it and would be find for years on that amount. any other amount and it gets to much to take out. maybe next year after the raise and all.

[MonkeyMama]

$500k/each

I am probably a little under-insured and dh a little over. But if something happened to both of us the money would be well needed too (even more) since our appointed guardians owe about $500k on a 2-bedroom fixxer-upper (high COL area). most of the money could go to decent housing for a suddenly larger family.

I think it was 10 times my income at the time and now is less. I will likely increase mine and lower dh's in the following years as we rely more heavily on my income and don't expect to rely on his at all. I would still keep at least $100k on him, but overall not much more is probably necessary once the kids are old enough not to need care if something happened to him.

[Elgin526]

I have a $50,000 30 year term policy I got when I was 18, it's cheap so I've kept it up. I have 2x my annual pay through work, and another $250,000 20 year term I got after getting married.

DH has a small ($5k I think) whole life his mother got for him when he was a baby. He also has either 2x or 3x (I can't remember) his annual pay though work, and also a $250,000 20 year term on him we got after married. We would have liked more on him, but with his pre-existing health conditions, it was all we could afford.

It's not 8x our earnings, but it should be enough to pay off all debts and leave enough to supplement the income of the survivor.

[Amanda W]

I have 160K, and DH had 60K. We'll get more sometime before we have children.

[Broken Arrow]

This is a good topic.

I believe everyone should have life insurance. Even if you're single and have no other dependants.

At the very least, funeral costs are very expense nowadays, and someone is going to have to foot the bill. Do you want your spouse or parents to have to be stuck with that bill? I don't.

But it doesn't have to be a big one, and it doesn't have to cost a lot.

I have just enough to cover the basic expenses and a little bit more in case of an untimely death, just to make sure no one has to pay for my passing.

I also have some more coverage in case of accidents and so forth.

Finally, I compare each individual coverage to its monthly cost, to make sure that I keep the premiums as low as possible.

[vsjhoc]

I'm single w/no dependents, so my EF should cover my last big emergency!!

[JBinKC]

I am also single without dependents and have no life insurance. I see it as a waste of money unless you have dependents. Even if I were destitude I could donate my organs and body parts to persons who may need them.

[webcontacts00]

We have term life insurance. It is three times our yearly salary.

[Exile]

Unless you have dependent kids or a spouse who is not able to work, I think life insurance is a waste of money. If you're a homeowner and want to protect your partner in the event of your death, mortgage insurance is likely to be a better investment.

[rooskers]

$500,000 term life insurance (20 years) on my DW since she provides 90% of the income. $50,000 for me so it will cover funeral costs and other misc. things if something were to happen to me.

We only had $10,000 apiece until our daughter was born. We are currently looking to up mine to around $250,000 so it would be enough for my wife to pay off the house and have enough left over for part of my daughters college tuition (around $50,000).

We are taking our time looking into insurance now and trying to make sure whoever we go with is financially stable. The last thing I want to happen is my insurance company going bankrupt. I am not sure what would happen if it is covered through some government agency or not.

[Caoineag]

We just have free policies through work, 10k on me, 25k on him. We don't have children though and both of us can afford our expenses on just our single incomes (I would have to cut things down, but it would still be affordable).

[MonkeyMama]

We've upped ours. I'm covered for $700k/dh for $500k.

His is too cheap to bother with. I was able to add $200k quite cheap through my professional association. I will drop the extra $200k if my spouse returns to work.

For my spouse, since he relies on me 100% financially, it is well needed.

For his coverage, I look at it for financial security early on (I would probably work less rather than hire more childcare) and for the long run, and probably could do okay without it. But his wages when he works primarily goes to retirement and long-term savings, so would also shore that up a bit.

The $500k policies we got super preferred rates in our late 20s. They are 30-year-term. I imagine we will self-insure when they expire; or even drop them before 30 years. But if we waited to age 30 we couldn't have gotten anything near as cheap.

[tripods68]

Originally Posted by cschin4

I have a $500K term life policy on myself and an $800K policy on my spouse. Do you have life insurance, how much?

I can't. If my wife finds out i'm worth, she might plot to kill me

[JinCO]

My wife and I are both insured at $500K for a 20 year term. I am planning to drop it to around $250K per in about 5 years once our debt is lower and savings are higher.

[creditcardfree]

We are probably a little underinsured. Since I last posted mine has been increased from $250K to $350K. DH still has $400K. I guess we are still at about 4x salary.

[FrugalFish]

Originally Posted by pearlieq

I don't carry any and DH's doesn't have much.

People keep insisting I need to get some, especially if we have kids. I don't know. I'm not really convinced. DH is the sole breadwinner. I don't bring in any money (that we count on for general budget) and while he might need to pay for daycare if I were to pass away, he could cover that out of his salary without much difficulty.

I guess it would be nice if he could afford to hire a full time nanny, housekeeper, etc. if I were to pass away, but they aren't necessary. Then again I suppose it would be tough to be a single parent and maybe it would be nice for him to have it as easy as possible.

I also suppose he could become disabled and become unable to work, in which case having a life insurance settlement could replace my being able to return to work to help support us (he has short & long term disability).

I'll have to talk to him some more and price policies...

What if both of you passed away at the same time? Wouldn't you want a policy available that could be converted into a trust to help someone else with the expense of raising your kids? What about money to help your kids through college?

OT, but a will/trust is also important to safeguard minor childrens' inherited assets against unscrupulous relatives in the event of your untimely death.