Can anyone help me out with some life insurance questions?

Question

Seems that life is as difficult and as expensive as health insurance nowadays! :(

I'm in my mid thirties (male) and self-employed. Since I have no coverage, I'd really like to get some life insurance. Of course, I want to get the best value and like many others I do NOT have a lot of money to spend on this each month for the next 30 years. From my health standpoint, it appears I can probably (after losing 10 pounds) make it into the "stand pref" category or something like that. One lower than the "preferred" which seems really hard to get.

I've only contacted selectquote so far, and already I feel like I'm going to get ripped off. Thanks much for any suggestions and how I can get the cheapest premium with the most coverage. Also, is "premium return" plans worth it? Can I get one that will be less than say $60/month with 500,000 coverage?

Answer 1

My recommendation is for you to see a LOCAL agent, and have him/her do a Financial Need Analysis (FNA) to help you determine what your insurance needs are.

I'm not going to recommend term, whole life or universal life. This will be determined by yourself, after you have been informed of the differences by your agent, and the FNA.

The FNA will also determine if you need disability income protection, and retirement savings.

You may start with your auto insurance agent. But whatever you do, trust a LOCAL agent to help you.

Answer 2

Term insurance is probably going to give you the most death benefit bang for your buck because it doesn't have an investment portion like universal life or whole life.  

If you want to be sure you get in the best risk class for you situation you probably need to talk to an independent agent that knows the underwriting guidelines of the different companies.  They'll have all the height, weight breakdowns of each company.  You might be preferred for one company and standard for another.  They can help you find your sweet spot.  

I don't think selectquote.com is ripping you off.  $60/month for a standard risk doesn't sound to out of whack for someone in their mid 30s.  A online quote site just may not be able to give you the personal attention it sounds like you may need to reassure yourself that you are getting the best deal.  Definitely use the selectquote offer as a general guideline to make sure that your agent is not ripping you off either.

Answer 3

SelectQuote has 8-12 companies and you deal with a customer service rep.  Use the tool on my site to get information and you'll see those same companies at the same rate AND about 140 more.

http://insurancepickle.com/life-insuranc...

The only personal information it needs to use it is your date of birth so you can shop on your own without invasion of privacy.

As far as the return of premium.  Someone here is going to answer and tell you not to but that's because I believe her assumptions are out of whack.  She needs to be more reasonable about her rates of return.

This is the bottom line. If you are looking at a 30 year term and it's $50/month and the return of premium version is $80/month, you'd have to figure with your alternatives to invest that $30 difference elsewhere where would you be better off.

So, $80 X 360 months is $28,800.  That would come back to you (pretty much) guaranteed and free of taxes.  So, the question is what is the equivalent of that additional $30 every month and in this example it works out to 5.7% after tax rate of return.  so, 5.7% tax free and guaranteed is pretty hard to pass up.   If it were 2 or 3% then I'd scrap the idea.  It different for different ages, states, and amounts so you have to do the math....AND BE REASONABLE.

BUT, in addition to the premium back feature you should understand that at the end of the 30 years in lieu of taking the cash you could take a paid up policy which would give you 2-3 times (depending on your age) the cash in death benefit that you can keep forever with no further premiums due.  So, it also makes a nice planning tool should you need to keep coverage longer.  

I ran one for a 22 year old the other day and if you're that young and don't spring the extra couple dollars for a return of premium option you should have your head examined.  For this girl it was a $250,000 policy to cover a loan and the regular term was $15 per month....the 30 year policy with return of premium was $20/month.  That's one trip to Starbucks a month to get all your money back....and it worked out to something like a 7.8% tax free, guaranteed equivalent.

It doesn't make sense in all categories, but when it does it's a no-brainer.  Naturally if you want my help let me know.  If you're going to buy you might as well gain a financial resource at the same time.

(she actually beat me to the answer...but she's got this product wrong and doesn't fully get it)

Answer 4

To Be honest,It will take a little time to find the answer for the question of yours.have a look at the resource here for your reference .http://health-insurance.onlinebestoffer....

Answer 5

Since you are young and seem to be in good health the idea of term insurance is a good one. Term is like renting, cheap to get into but no equity. Since your funds are limited I would suggest you get term insurance with any company with a rating of at least AA. When you are ready to convert to a permanent polcy (one with equity) you will be able to with a quality company.

I would also suggest you get as long a term, 20 or 30 years that you can afford. It will cost a little more but will probably be adequate for your needs with no pressure on you to convert.

Your rating (annual premium cost) will be derermined by your age, smoker or non smoker status, and your current health as determined from a physical and any doctors you have visited in the last 5-10 years. Most internet companies will quote you the best rating possible, so don't be disappointed if the cost is more than you anticipated. Also remember you DON'T have to give anyone money until you have been approved by the comnpany and made an offer.

admin:

http://www.websiteinfo.net/businessplan

Answer 6

The cheapest premium, with the most coverage, is "pure term".  20 year, guaranteed renewable and convertable.  

You should be able to do WAY better than $720 a year, for $500K, unless your health is worse than you say.  

Regarding the return of premium.  RUN THE NUMBERS.  If you invest the difference between straight term, and the ROP term, and you don't die, in 20 years you'll have an extra six figures in your account.  And if you DO die, well, the ROP won't return any premium, but the straight term/invest the difference money will STILL be in your account.

ALWAYS RUN THE NUMBERS.

ROP life is only a good deal for insurance companies - easily sold to people who are bad at math.

Answer 7

Northwestern Mutual is the #1 life insurance company in the nation and fortune 500 most admired for 25 years and have the highest credit ratings. They will treat you well.

Term policy will be okay but suggest converting to whole life over time.