What is a good insurance policy for funeral andextra money for your family?

Question

I know nothing about life insurance progams. What is a good insurance policy for funeral and extra money for your family?

I'm 47, smoker but could quit, on disability?

Answer 1

Term life is the least expensive so you can afford a larger policy.

Consider how much you need at 47, are your children little, wife disabled, who would need how much if you were to die in the next few years? If you are single without children a policy that will pay for your funeral is enough and you don't need that if you have assets.

Start building assets like ROTH IRA or 401K plan you can put beneficiaries on and they can use that to pay for your funeral and have the rest for retirement.

Answer 2

Go to Yahoo Finance, click on "Personal Finance" and read about life insurance.

Answer 3

Term life is great for what it is designed to do (income replacement if you die during your working years) but is not designed to be for funeral expenses. Most people do NOT die young so their term of coverage is over long before they die.

For the funeral portion of your coverage, you should do a funeral preplanning policy which is a limited payment (usually 3 to 10 years) increasing benefit life policy. If you buy it through a funeral home, you will have price guarantees from the funeral home over and above the policy limits.

You can also buy it from some independnt agents but don't let them confuse you with final expense insurance which is usually a lifetime pay policy with level benefit (no inflation protection.)

Don't ever buy the guaranteed issue policies you see advertised on television or the AARP UNLESS you have serious illnesses and have been turned-down by the companies that offer underwritten policies.

For the non-funeral part of your coverage, you need to meet with a local independent insurance agent to discuss in more detail. It depends on your goals for the money (temporary or permenant) how much and what can you afford.

If you're already on disability, your choices are very limited. And most people on disability don't have lots of extra money because their working years are shortened. If this is your case, don't try to leave money to someone that you don't have. You will just lose MORE money. Insurance is not an investment OR a lottery ticket. It is protection. Don't gamble with it.

My best advice is to finda GOOD local agent. There are a lot of bad ones but the worst thing to do is to just buy coverage throught the mail or over the internet just because it's convenient. You will likely pay TOO MUCH and also likely buy the wrong kind of coverage.

The internet is a great research tool. It is a terrible way to purchase insurance. And there is no web site that can sell it for a single penny less than you agent can. It all costs the same by law. None of us can discount it to anyone.