I'm 24 and married. Do I need Term AND Perm life insurance?

Question

My financial advisor advised me to sign up for a $400+/yr term plan (20 yrs I believe) and a $1100+/yr perm (whole life) policy for $300,000. (I don't recall which one this figure is for). I read that term is much better and is actually much cheaper than even the figure my advisor quoted me.

As little detail as I provided, and my goals in life are pretty average (e.g., nothing special!), do I need both policies or should I only get term?

On another note, what upset me with them is that our new planners didn't even give us time to think about what we wanted before shoving papers in our faces.

So, are they right or wrong for selling us both these policies for a 24 y/o married couple (I'm 24, she's 23).

...and, should I keep my financial advisor? :-D

Thanks!

Answer 1

I'm in the insurance business, so I think I know why the adviser suggested this approach. Let's say you selected the low-cost term insurance only to save money (which of course it would do), and that you selected a 10, 20 or 30 term.

At the end of that time period, you would still need life insurance, at the age of 34, 44 or 54 years old. In fact, one could argue that as we get older, life insurance becomes even more relevant. If you knew you would be healthy at a later age, then "term only" would possibly be a desirable approach.

But we all know that any serious condition could arise during the term life period, and leave you completely uninsurable for the rest of your life. The planner is stating, probably correctly, that if you put permanent insurance in place now, you solve that issue.

The combination of term and whole life is common practice in financial planning, and I certainly think it is worth your serious consideration

Someone else may have another take on this, but I look at it from an insurability standpoint.

Answer 2

NEVER buy whole life insurance.  it's a HUGE rip-off.  buy the term policy and make sure it's worth at leat 10-15x your annual income.  look at this website for info--it's free.  www.daveramsey.com.  i'd think about looking for a new financial advisor.  i don't want to shove dave ramsey in your face but he has links to services such as that and he stresses that you need financial advisors that will teach you the process instead of just selling you insurance.  regardless of if you look at the website---don't buy the whole life.  your guy is just looking for the commission.

Answer 3

FIRE YOUR FINANCIAL PLANNER.

Your young. You have a wife and maybe kiddies in the future. You need insurance now because if something God forbid were to happen to you, the kids and the wife would be devastated right?

You have the insurance to help them financially cover your end of the bills or what not.

You invest the difference you would pay for in the cash value policy he's shoving down your throat, into a mutual fund (which gives you an 8%-12% return) for the 20 years........your need for insurance also goes down because the mortgage would almost be paid off, the kids are now grown, you should have no debt....your situation changes 20 years from now.

WHY PAY FOR INSURANCE YOUR WHOLE LIFE? YOUR WHOLE LIFE?

Its called the THEORY OF DECREASING RESPONSIBLITIES.

Your insuring for the what if's now so you won't be OH SH*T later...ya dig?

Answer 4

It looks like most of us agree on the "Buy Term and Invest the Difference" approach.

Term is cheaper...By investing the $1100/year that you would be paying for whole life, when the 30 year term is up, many companies offer an automatic renewal clause and you can renew it for another 15-20 years (depending on your age then).  But after 30 years of investing that $1100/year, you can become self insured, meaning, you are wealthy enough to not have the need for insurance..

Answer 5

Rarely will "Buy Term and Invest the Difference" work out, in fact I doubt you could with real numbers make it work if the entire financial picture is viewed from beginning to end.  Participating Whole Life is hard to beat if correctly set up and a good company, may that be Mass Mutual, Mutual Trust, NWL or many other good companies out there.  

Problem is most people and yes, insurance agents have little to no knowledge on how PWL works.  Mass Mutual dividend history ranges from 7-12% over the last 25 years, while dividends are not guarantee they have not miss one in their history of around 150 years.  NWL the quiet company has dividends this year at 8.8%, now this is just the Non Guarantee growth factor.  You have to add in the other 2-4% guarantee growth to the dividend or non-guaranteed earning.  

Plus, the need of insurance does not stop at any certain age, in fact most need it for 'Life'.  The idea of 65 and retirement simply isn't a realistic picture.

Answer 6

Avoid the whole life. It earns a high commission for the seller and is a poor investment. Use some of the money to buy a bigger term policy. Your advisor can make all sorts of appealing reasons for the whole life, but I can always show you that it is not good. They won't tell you the negative aspects.

Let me give you a scenario without the term policy because you did not say how big it is. Let's say all you can afford to pay is 1,100 per year in premiums. Ask yourself what can your wife do with $300,000? For example, if you die in a car accident in which she is incapacitated, she would need $1-2 million to have a decent life. Or you die after you have 2-3 children. You can't educate them on $300,000. But you are paying $1,100 for that amount. Now if you put $1,100 into a term policy you can get all the insurance you need.

Alternatively, all you need is $300,000 and you buy it with a term policy, and you invest the difference at a measly 6% (over 20 years the stock market will return 10%).

If you die tomorrow you will have $300,000 plus the $500-600 you saved on the premium. With whole life you will get $300,000 less the extra premium you paid.

If you die 19 years from now, with term you will get $300,000 and you will have $15,000-$20,000 in investments. With whole life you will get $300,000. What happens to the investment you made into the whole life policy? The insurance comapny keeps it. How nice.

The numbers are not precise, but if I were to sit down with you and go over the facts, you would see the light.  Buy 20 year term or 15 or 20 year reducing term. Reducing term is cheaper and as you earn and save, you need less insurance.

Answer 7

You must get short term Unit link insurance Plan. These usually issued for 3 to 5 years. One have to pay for this term and get back after this period with good growth covering life insurance for this period. Withdraw partially or fully after this period is your option to continue your life coverage.

Answer 8

I agree with Serge M.  Avoid the whole life and get 30-year level term policies (both you and your spouse).  Its while you are young and have children that you really need the life insurance protection.  

Invest the premiums you "save" by not buying whole life in mutual funds or something else.  Whole life is not the investment opportunity that insurance companies claim it is.

Answer 9

fec2010 is spot on.  There is a place in your portfolio for both term and whole life.  I would advise against buying into that old "buy term and invest the difference" sales pitch.  This ain't my first rodeo and I have seen the vast majority of people who bought into that thinking actually don't invest the difference.  Life just seems to have too many unexpected needs pop up and the investments are the first to get put aside.

I would differ from your financial adviser on how to set this up.  You can purchase a whole life (I would advise a Universal Life) policy for an amount of life insurance that you will always want to have and then attach a term rider for a much larger amount to take care of matters if something were to happen to you while you are at a younger age.  I would also put both husband and wife on the same policy and possibly add a child rider.  By putting everything on the same policy, you avoid paying multiple annual policy fees as there would be one for each and every policy that you take out.  

Good luck.  I hope all of these differing answers doesn't just confuse you more.

Answer 10

As an advisor and insurance agent, I sit down with couples and explain the difference between term and whole life products(variable/universal). Please read the below articles for outsiders take on insurance.

I usually recommend having insurance until year of retirement, so 65. During your lifetime, you should be saving for retirement, kids' education and surprises. I use a packet of questions that takes a look at your financial situation- now. Other questions ask about how you see your future. It goes into a computer and shows the steps necessary to achieve your future, as fast or as slow as YOU want.

I also believe in the theory of decresing responsibility. It says, that at this point in your life you havelittle to no savings but you are working. So, should the worst happen ask your self "How will my family be able to live? Will their financial position be worse, stay the same or be better?" This is what insurance is for. Which is more important, your house or the money coming in each month that keeps you in the house? As you grow older, maybe you'll have kids. Is their education important to you? Do you want your funeral paid?

Since you said your wife would work after children, ask this of her- "If I was to pass, God forbid, how much would you need to pay all the bills each month?"  She should ask you the same question. Take the monthly, multiply by 12 then multiply that amount by 10. That is the base amount you need. The questions in the survey take care of all the rest.

The type of insurance that you get with ALL whole life products is Annually Renewable TERM insurance. So, it actually is term PLUS a savings vehicle. What is ART? Well, it is the cheapest form of term. Why? Because the premium goes up every year as you get older. So, as you pay the premium each year less of your premium goes into the savings side. About fifteen to twenty years down the road, what is paid to Cost of Insurance will EXCEED what goes into savings. The difference will come out of the savings.

The agents who sell these products might not even know how it works, but if they do for shame on them for selling it to people.

Get a level term for as long as you need, be sure it is guaranteed renewable without medical tests, please be sure that you get ONLY one policy to cover each member of the household- primary and all others attached as riders, this cuts on the policy costs, and be sure that if you decide to get a policy for the kids that one child policy will cover all present children AND ALL future children.

Answer 11

your planners were insurance salesmen and they are all crooks

you need term  you dont need whole life for anything

i dont know where you live but primerica financial services can help you       cant find a number call  primerica financial services in nashville tn roy matlock can help