Scarlett Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 (edited) Dh and I both have life insurance through State Farm. I just got a super preferred rate 20 year term 100k policy for not too much. I think 30 per month. Dh has a 5 year rate of 45 per month for 50k. I would like to reapply and maybe get a better rate. He will be 50 this year and State Farm will charge him $100 per month for 100k coverage. That seems high to me. Am I likely to get a better rate than that on him? If so where? I don't even know where to start. Edited December 28, 2016 by Scarlett 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 You can certainly shop around, so much depends on his personal health profile. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 (edited) You can certainly shop around, so much depends on his personal health profile.I know.....:/. I just dread the thought of shopping around. I don't want to be called by a jillion companies for the next 2 years long after we make our decision. His health is ok, but he doesn't have the super preferred rate....I think his weight and high blood pressure are his issues that make him have a less higher rate. Edited December 28, 2016 by Scarlett 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 (edited) If he is in perfect health, possibly you can save a few dollars a month. Look at the different types of insurance policies (you wrote that he currently has a 5 year rate) and compare apples to apples. Ask an Independent Life Insurance Agent for suggestions. ETA: After I posted the above, I read post #3, which added Negative Health information. I would be *VERY* careful about moving around, with his health issues. Edited December 28, 2016 by Lanny 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 We use Liberty Mutual. I've got $100k coverage for $27/month and DH has $250k coverage for about $75/month. He is about the same age as your DH (will be 49 in 2017) with high blood pressure and is slightly overweight, but not much. Both are 20 year terms that we got last year. We have Liberty for everything now - home insurance, car and life and we really like them. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 We use Liberty Mutual. I've got $100k coverage for $27/month and DH has $250k coverage for about $75/month. He is about the same age as your DH (will be 49 in 2017) with high blood pressure and is slightly overweight, but not much. Both are 20 year terms that we got last year. We have Liberty for everything now - home insurance, car and life and we really like them. Oh wow that is a good rate. I am going to check it out. Thank you. Of course we won't let go of what we have until we have something else in place. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 I would go to an independent agent, who can check various plans with various companies for you, and then give you the best options to apply for. They do the legwork for you! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 We use Liberty Mutual. I've got $100k coverage for $27/month and DH has $250k coverage for about $75/month. He is about the same age as your DH (will be 49 in 2017) with high blood pressure and is slightly overweight, but not much. Both are 20 year terms that we got last year. Is that just life insurance or does it include a permanent disability rider? My husband has his own life insurance started from college days and one has a long term disability rider. He also have a life insurance policy subsidized by his employers but I think that one doesn't have a disability rider. We ask AAA which does our car and home insurance and the quotes were high for us. We just turn 44 with no pre-existing condition under than my asthma. State Farm was worse which made us switch to AAA many years ago. I don't have insurance and I am looking more at long term disability insurance even though life insurance to pay for private school for my kids and funeral and medical bills for me if I die would be a good to have. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Is that just life insurance or does it include a permanent disability rider? My husband has his own life insurance started from college days and one has a long term disability rider. He also have a life insurance policy subsidized by his employers but I think that one doesn't have a disability rider. We ask AAA which does our car and home insurance and the quotes were high for us. We just turn 44 with no pre-existing condition under than my asthma. State Farm was worse which made us switch to AAA many years ago. I don't have insurance and I am looking more at long term disability insurance even though life insurance to pay for private school for my kids and funeral and medical bills for me if I die would be a good to have. I think it's just life insurance, but I will log in and check the policy. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambam Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Our experience - life insurance rates increase dramatically once you hit 50. Not sure why 50 is the magic number, but yes, we had roughly a 40% increase. Our insurance, through a profession organization, is still cheaper than regular rates, but still, ouch. As we only have one child left at home, we probably should visit reducing our coverage. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 I would go to an independent agent, who can check various plans with various companies for you, and then give you the best options to apply for. They do the legwork for you! This. There won't be a zillion people contacting you. They'll also be able to tell you which companies are legit. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 Our experience - life insurance rates increase dramatically once you hit 50. Not sure why 50 is the magic number, but yes, we had roughly a 40% increase. Our insurance, through a profession organization, is still cheaper than regular rates, but still, ouch. As we only have one child left at home, we probably should visit reducing our coverage. Yeah, I really only 'need' $50K on dh, but SF won't sell me that amount except for a 5 year term. And I really want something that would be locked in until social security age at least. That is why that 20 year term for $100 per month is kind of appealing. Won't have to worry about it again. I don't want to have to stress about reapplying every 5 years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Maybe oddly, I highly recommend using the online service "selectquote" We have a business, three corporations, several real estate holdings and we thus have zillions (literally dozens) of insurance policies -- life, disability, every sort of property/business/umbrella . . . And so we have relationships with multiple agents who help us with these various products each year or as needed . . . Last year, when we wanted to update our estate plans and thus update life and disability coverages, we had our main life/disability/business insurance agent look for a new 500,000k 20 year term policy for my husband to round out things. Our agent came in with a policy that was, I think, around 2000/yr or so. That was rather higher than I'd hoped, so I decided to search for alternatives . . . We used select quote (google it) and came up with a policy HALF that cost. (FTR, we pay 905/yr for a 20 year term 500k policy for dh that we bought Jan 2016. Dh was 49 and 10 months years of age at the time of issue. He was/is in perfect health, but had a diagnosed mitral valve prolapse -- no symptoms -- that was DX/ed 20 years earlier . . . which caused rate issues with SOME companies, but none with others, so we ended up choosing a company that gave him the best/preferred/optimal rates . . . ) The SelectQuote process requires you to input all the major data online (ages, etc), then they call you on the phone and take a detailed health history over the phone. IIRC, it took about 15 minutes, total. Actually very easy. Then in a few days (week or so?), they give you quotes (emailed) for 5-10 policies, all highly rated. You go with the cheapest one, lol. My understanding is that the reason SelectQuote works so nicely is that they have a big database with the various ratings/schedules for all the companies in it . . . So, say your dh has high blood pressure, but otherwise is in perfect health, good weight, etc . . .that info goes in there, and is factored in because Company A puts him in a category that doubles his rates, but Company B puts that in a category that only raises his rates 10% due to his otherwise good health . . . Once you choose a plan/policy, you formally apply for it, and then that company calls you and sets up a visiting nurse who comes and takes BP/weight/urine/blood samples from the insured party at their home or work . . . and then a week or so later, you get formally approved, and you THEN pay. You don't pay (or owe) a cent until it's all over, and then only if you accept the policy/rate you are offered. I was nervous as it seemed like a sketchy thing . . . all online and then having to answer health questions on the phone . . . but actually, it worked great, and so far as I could tell, was not sketchy at all. In dh's case, this allowed us to get the 20 year 500k policy for a rate we were comfortable with. We're old enough and have enough insurance now that I never expect to have to shop for life or disability coverage again, thank goodness! When we had to update his disability coverage, we had to use the standard agent system, without the magic ability to shop a zillion options at once .. . I was bumming that there wasn't a select quote thing available for disability. :) Or cars. Or house. Or . . . SelectQuote really was awesome. The entire process took about 4-6 weeks, but it was over the holidays last year, so that slowed things up a bit with the visiting nurse thing. (And the higher $$ amount policies generally take longer to process, as their medical history research/review is very involved.) Anyway, for simple term life insurance, I highly recommend the selectquote system (or I am sure there are other competing services out there, but I only have experience with select quote.) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 (edited) Our experience - life insurance rates increase dramatically once you hit 50. Not sure why 50 is the magic number, but yes, we had roughly a 40% increase. Our insurance, through a profession organization, is still cheaper than regular rates, but still, ouch. As we only have one child left at home, we probably should visit reducing our coverage. It's because the terms are usually 20 years and the lifespan of the average American isn't much past that (50+20), especially for men. So they price it with a considerably higher risk of unexpected death from natural causes for people 50+ than people who are in their 40s. They are considering not just one's risk of dying at 50, but someone's risk of dying at 68+. Coverage via professional organizations and employers is lower cost since most of those policies will not remain in effect after retirement. Edited December 28, 2016 by LucyStoner 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 (edited) It doesn't hurt to shop around, you don't have to cancel the policy he has unless you decide to replace it. Our life insurance situation makes our experience with pricing irrelevant to your situation (my husband was in his 20s and fit as a fiddle when we got our term insurance plus he can buy a fair bit for both of us via his employer) but we got much lower quotes with shopping around than we did via one insurance company. Edited December 28, 2016 by LucyStoner 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Are you a member of a Credit Union and if so, do the offer CUNA Mutual's products? That's another option out there alongside an independent agent that can quote you multiple companies. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 I would try to get a fixed rate (yearly premium) for as many years as is possible. If it is a short term Term policy, I would try to get something that is "Guaranteed Renewable". If someones health deteriorates and they cannot qualify for a new policy, they are without insurance. The SelectQuote web site sounds ideal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 It doesn't hurt to shop around, you don't have to cancel the policy he has unless you decide to replace it. Our life insurance situation makes our experience with pricing irrelevant to your situation (my husband was in his 20s and fit as a fiddle when we got our term insurance plus he can buy a fair bit for both of us via his employer) but we got much lower quotes with shopping around than we did via one insurance company. Also, you don't have to cancel policies even if you add another one. We have a 20 year term million dollar policy bought when dh was 38, so it "runs out" (well, the premiums go to 5 figures, so you'd drop it unless you were terminally ill) when he's 58. We decided we wanted a "little more" (500k) to cover us for longer than his age 58 -- as we'll still have kids in college/grad school at that point, and we knew not to delay purchasing another policy since if he had a health issue meanwhile, it could become impossible to buy another policy . . . so we bought the 500k policy last year, which will run until he's 70. SO, we had 1,000,000 from his age 38 to his age 49. Now we've got 1,500,000 from his age 49 to his age 58. Then we'll drop down to 500k from ages 58 to 69. These numbers correlate well with our needs over the years . . . A dozen years ago, we had a lower cost-of-living lifestyle but zero net assets, so 1,000,000 could have covered us in the lifestyle we were used to, for life, and the kids were young enough that I could have adjusted their educational expectations to whatever budget I was living with (i.e., if I'd picked up a good career vs was living on the insurance payout) and I was young enough that I probably would have wanted to get some sort of career going to keep my mind/life full if dh were gone. Now, we've got some substantial assets, but also a very complicated financial life that would be expensive to extricate from our reliance on my dh's earnings, and I'm enough years out from my education, and old enough, and spoiled enough that I have no desire/intention to get a "real" career unless I had no other choice . . . and we've got 3 college-and-near-college age kids who are counting on our promised level of educational support . . . so having the huge coverage right now for a few years, while we're building up our retirement savings/assets and covering big educational expenses . . . would make it feasible to fulfill those commitments and also for me to be OK for life, even if the worst happened. 8 years from now, when the biggest policy "expires", most of our educational commitments to our kids will be fulfilled, with maybe one more kid in grad school . . . and we'll have much larger assets, and I'll be much closer to typical retirement age, so the 500k coverage would be just fine at that point, and it may well be unnecessary if everything goes smoothly from here on out . . . The 500k is pretty much insurance against if dh was still working $$$ job, and we'd committed to helping a kid or two through an expensive professional school . . . or a kid got into trouble and we needed to help more than we expect . . . That 500k would make all that financially OK, and it was worth the little extra expense for a few years for that insurance. I *hope and expect* that dh (and I) outlive all our life insurance policies. We use them just for an unexpected disaster . . . not for retirement/support planning. So, anyway, overlapping policies can be a good strategy, IME. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 Yeah, I really only 'need' $50K on dh, but SF won't sell me that amount except for a 5 year term. And I really want something that would be locked in until social security age at least. That is why that 20 year term for $100 per month is kind of appealing. Won't have to worry about it again. I don't want to have to stress about reapplying every 5 years. Last time I looked at life insurance, $100k cost barely more than $50k. That said, that was probably about a decade ago, when I was in my early 20s and my wife had just turned 30. Currently we just do the max my wife's employer offers (which is less than I'd like... we should maybe consider getting more coverage some other way). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynnae Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 Definitely look for an independent insurance agent. They can shop around for the best plan and price for you. (That's what I do for my day job.) When you go with the big name insurance companies, you're stuck with the one or two plans they offer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 I just got a quick quote on Liberty and it said a 20 year term for 50K would be $35 per month. They are suppose to contact me. I put his health in as 'good'....hopefully they agree. LOL. State Farm wants to charge me 100 per month for 100K 20 year term. I don't know why they won't do 50K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Liberty gave me a 20-year term for 100K without a physical (in case you want to go that route for your DH). My DH has high blood pressure, controlled w/ meds and they gave him the good, but not preferred rate for his insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 Liberty gave me a 20-year term for 100K without a physical (in case you want to go that route for your DH). My DH has high blood pressure, controlled w/ meds and they gave him the good, but not preferred rate for his insurance. Oh Good to know! I would very much like to go that route. State Farm drove me INSANE when I was renewing for myself. They wanted to know if I had any doctor appts scheduled. Yes regular mammogram appt. coming up in 2 months. Ok, well we will wait to see the results of that. THEN I got a call back. I had to wait on results of that. By then it was time for my pap smear. Ok, well we will wait to see the results of that. I was about to pull my hair out, but I did get the super preferred rate so that worked out well in the end. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Ugh. Not wanting to think about insurance here. We have a term plan that runs out in 2 years. I just turned 50 and DH is 56. We have our only DD about to be an adult... but we also have a house mortgage larger than what we used to have. Previously we were thinking in terms of paying off our smaller mortgage and then me being able to stay home with DD if necessary. Now I don't need to stay home, but have a larger mortgage to pay off, so I don't think we should really decrease our coverage. Afraid to see what premiums are going to do. Re; long term disability, we couldn't find a plan that went with term coverage last time we checked (about 10 years ago though). We got a small (40K) whole life policy that came with a long term disability rider. It really doesn't pay much though, $800 a month I think? Anything else was way more expensive, but I remember thinking $800 wasn't a whole lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 Well here is my thought. I want the life insurance on me to get my son to adulthood. Let's say until he is 25. After that I will change beneficiary to dh. For dhs life insurance I need to be able to finish our fixer and move to a smaller place in town. A little cash left over would be nice but I am capable of supporting myself if my house is paid for. And we have no children together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 We went through selectquote or a similiar online service years ago. We each have a 500k thirty year guaranteed level policy for about $250-325 per year. I highly advice everyone to get a thirty year policy in their 20s when it is so cheap. I want to get us some bigger thirty year policies soon. Even more important than life insurance is long-term disbility insurance. We just got that on DH last year through Policy Genius. It costs about $1800 per year for guaranteed coverage until age 65. I think it has a 6 month waiting period and then he could collect $6000 per month. We got it because people are 3x more likely to need disability insurance than life insurance. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 We went through selectquote or a similiar online service years ago. We each have a 500k thirty year guaranteed level policy for about $250-325 per year. I highly advice everyone to get a thirty year policy in their 20s when it is so cheap. I want to get us some bigger thirty year policies soon. Even more important than life insurance is long-term disbility insurance. We just got that on DH last year through Policy Genius. It costs about $1800 per year for guaranteed coverage until age 65. I think it has a 6 month waiting period and then he could collect $6000 per month. We got it because people are 3x more likely to need disability insurance than life insurance. PSA:: Disability insurance needs to be carefully studied and selected . . . It is a LOT more complicated than life insurance. If you're dead, everyone agrees you are dead. But, if you are disabled, there are about a million ways to define whether or not someone is disabled. Typical disability insurance, including gov't disability coverage, has a very narrow definition of disabled. You're only disabled if you can not work in ANY JOB. So, if you are a veterinarian who earns 100k a year, and you get a brain injury or other injury that makes it so you can no longer be a veterinarian, but you COULD be a just fine greeter at Walmart earning $9/hr . . . NO PAY OUT. If you have a better income, you need "own/same occupation" rider on your policy. That, generally, dramatically increases your costs for the policy. But, it's essential . . . IMHO. I would never have known such a thing if my mom hadn't been a family attorney and coached us on these things early on in our professional lives . . . But, it's super critical . . . Otherwise you're paying for a fairly meaningless policy . . . There are lots of other factors . . . Obviously, you have to decide how much $$ per month pay out you'd require/want (costs increase pretty directly proportionately with coverage) . . . IIRC, they generally will write coverage for up to around 70% of your monthly earnings . . . One interesting thing is that since disability insurance generally only pays you until you hit 65, it doesn't generally become more pricey as you age (unless you've got some ailments that make it apparent that you're more likely to get disabled) . . . Some (many) policies will have maximum pay outs in $$ amounts or in # of months or years . . . Anyway, I do agree that disability insurance is critical. We spend a LOT on disability insurance because of it . . . Not only would we lose Dh's earnings if he would be disabled, but we'd also have HIM to take care of!! So, our $$ needs would be much higher having a disabled adult to care for in addition to taking care of the "survivors" . . . Disability coverage will cost you a pretty penny, but IMHO, it's critical . . . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 I listened to a few episodes of the Radical Personal Finance podcast about disability insurance before buying. DH got "same occupation" insurance, which is important for all the reasons you mention. His policy also has riders for partial disability and for retraining (if he wishes) for a new career if he becomes disabled. We got the policy through Policy Genius and the process went pretty smoothly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 https://radicalpersonalfinance.com/?s=Disability Podcast episodes on buying disability insurance. Note: Rates are based on occupation at the time of purchase. If you have a desk job, buy some before life happens and you end up in a more dangerous occupation that has higher rates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 You guys are all so smart. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 I don't know if you're eligible for USAA but we just picked up an additional policy on me for $250k. It includes tiny riders on each child and it's $32 per month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 I don't know if you're eligible for USAA but we just picked up an additional policy on me for $250k. It includes tiny riders on each child and it's $32 per month. That is a good deal. Thanks everyone. I got a 50k 20 year term for $35 per month. I am pretty happy. No medical check at all. Just a brief Q&A. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 That is a good deal. Thanks everyone. I got a 50k 20 year term for $35 per month. I am pretty happy. No medical check at all. Just a brief Q&A. Consider shopping around now that you have your essential needs met. Dh's 500k 20 year term was under 80/mo, IIRC . . . (bought at age nearly 50). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IfIOnly Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 (edited) Are you a member of a Credit Union and if so, do the offer CUNA Mutual's products? That's another option out there alongside an independent agent that can quote you multiple companies. My dad had life insurance through his credit union. He died in a motorcycle accident, and the proccess for collection was smooth and timely. I had forgotten about the policy actually and the local office contacted me first. People were caring and sympathetic too. I wish I could rememher the specific company. My experience was very positive under the circumstances. Edited January 28, 2017 by ifIonlyhadabrain 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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