“The Big Book of Life Insurance” is a pretty boring read.
Booooring!
Yes, I know talking about Life Insurance policies is a real snoozer, but I’m gonna try and jazz it up just a bit because everybody needs this info and not enough people get it because their eyes glaze over just thinking about it.
Ok, here goes.
Why Do I Need a Life Insurance Policy?
You need a life insurance policy because stuff happens. You need life insurance because, let’s face it, when you depart from this earth you’ll be in the cold cold ground, out of a job and no longer making a living to support your family that has to go on without you.
Johnny and Molly (your kids) are still going to need braces and a college education. They will also need a place to stay, so if you don’t have a paid for house it could be foreclosure time in addition to dealing with an untimely death.
Life will go on without you, and when your piece of the family puzzle is missing, things get can get tougher financially for those you left behind. A good life insurance policy replaces your income and pays off your debts, making things easier for the family that has to get along without you.
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Who Needs a Life Insurance Policy?
You need a life insurance policy if your make an income for your family, especially if you have debt. Age really doesn’t matter in this game, even if you are in your 20’s, you need life insurance if you have a family and debt obligations.
Even if you’re a stay at home spouse without an official income, your presence will be missed. Especially if you have small kids. Expenses for childcare, transportation, and other duties that you once performed will certainly increase when you’re gone, so it’s very important make sure those will be covered.
However, if you have no family to take care of, no debt, and don’t want to leave insurance proceeds to anyone else, then you’re probably one of the few that can do without life insurance.
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
Most experts recommend a minimum payout of 10 times your annual income, even more is better.
“Why do I need so much?” you might ask. Well you don’t, but your family does. It takes at least that much to secure your family’s future and make sure that, at least in the financial sense, your absence is not devastating. Remember those braces? Those things are expensive (I’m a dentist, I know these things).
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How Much and What Kinkd of Life Insurance Do You Need? This post will tell you
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What Kind of Life Insurance Do I Need?
There are basically two kinds of life insurance, Term life and Whole Life (also known as universal life, permanent life, cash value, and a host of other names). Here’s a brief description of each:
- Term Life Insurance- Term life means you pay premiums for a policy for a set number of years (the term), usually 10- 30 years. When that term is up, the policy is terminated. Term life is extremely cheap compared to other types of life insurance, and if you die during that time your beneficiaries get the full amount of the policy you paid the premiums for.
- Whole Life Insurance- Whole life, or whatever other term is used, means you pay premiums over your whole life. This policy is made up of two components (life insurance and a savings/investment account) that are combined together.
For example: If you pay $100 per month in premiums, about $7 pays for the life insurance and the other $93 is used for investing. However, all of that $93 doesn’t go to savings or investments because there are very high fees associated with this kind of life insurance. Because of that you also get very low returns on your investment. Investing in Life Insurance is a terrible investment compared to what you can get with investing outside of a life insurance policy (Click here for more details).
Also, when you die, your family only gets the face value of the insurance policy. All of the money in the investment side of the policy goes to the insurance company. For all of these great features you also have the privilege of paying monthly premiums that cost about 10 times that of a term life policy. How’s that for an “Investment”?
I can’t believe that’s even legal!
My advice, DON’T DO IT!!!
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Have a question about life insurance or anything else related to personal finance? Click the black SpeakPipe button on the far right of the screen and ask me a question using voice messaging (it’s easy), or you can shoot me an email.
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How Do I Buy a Life Insurance Policy?
You can contact your friends, your uncle, or your cousin. Seriously, almost everybody knows somebody that sells insurance.
You can also buy it online. Two of the most popular online life insurance companies are Zander Insurance and SelectQuote where you can compare rates and find the best deal to fit your situation.
Either way you’ll be filling out several pages worth of personal information asking about your health and other issues that factor into how risky they think you are to insure. So if you’re a base jumper or an assistant to a knife thrower, you’ll end up paying more. You might even be required to go through a medical exam, paid for by the company, especially if you need a high amount of insurance. So lay off the Twinkies and start Jazzercising a few weeks before and maybe, just maybe, you’ll get a better rate. Hopefully you won’t die trying.
So to conclude, those are the basics of buying life insurance as I see it. I sincerely hope you didn’t doze off and bust your nose on the keyboard while reading this, ‘cuz no matter how much you dress it up, life insurance is still boring.
Important, but boring.
Resources:
What if My House is Underwater?
How to Make Your Own Life Plan (Part 6)- Your Legacy
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