Life insurance

[Balog]

Just curious how APS fares in terms of being insured. I really think it's a good idea for everyone to carry at least enough to cover their death expenses. And it seems rather irresponsible for those with dependents to not carry enough to provide for them in the event of your death, especially given how cheap term life insurance is these days.

Just signed up for a policy myself (outside of the small one I have through work) and while it was overall an annoying and hateful process I'm glad I did.

[lupinus]

Yep. I didn't have it for some time, but it was one of the first things I did after getting married.

I drop dead and my wife has enough coming to pay off every debt between the two of us and cover expenses, plus a little to give her some wiggle room.

[GigaBuist]

I don't, but one of the conditions on the loan I'm getting is going to require it.

[mtnbkr]

I have two policies totalling just over 1mil.  One is through work because it was dirt cheap, the other through a 3rd party so I have something in case I change jobs and the new company doesn't offer insurance (or I'm a contractor, etc).

Either policy alone will pay off any expected debts and give my family enough money to live for a couple years.

Chris

[roo_ster]

I have two policies totalling just over 1mil.  One is through work because it was dirt cheap, the other through a 3rd party so I have something in case I change jobs and the new company doesn't offer insurance (or I'm a contractor, etc).

Either policy alone will pay off any expected debts and give my family enough money to live for a couple years.

Chris

This is almost the same arrangement I have, except 3 policies:
Term policy via employer
Term policy on my own
Whole policy from WAY back

If I get laid off and then die, al debts will still be paid with a hefty chunk left over.

[T.O.M.]

I got enough so that if I get run over by a herd of stampeding elephants, my wife can pay for both boys to go to college, pay off the house, and live pretty well for a couple of years.  Though, now that you have me thinking about it, I may want to increase it some...college costs have gone up since I got the plan, and they probably aren't going down anytime soon.

[MillCreek]

Now that the kids are grown and gone, I just have the life insurance through work: 2.5 times my annual salary.  I had term life insurance of my own back when the kids were young, though.

[Balog]

I got enough so that if I get run over by a herd of stampeding elephants, my wife can pay for both boys to go to college, pay off the house, and live pretty well for a couple of years.  Though, now that you have me thinking about it, I may want to increase it some...college costs have gone up since I got the plan, and they probably aren't going down anytime soon.

Do you have a separate college savings plan for them? Or are you just talking about something to make up the shortfall in case you die before those are fully funded?

[vaskidmark]

On the downhill side of life and unencumbered with family.  I cashed in my policies.  The Feds will provide $255 towards disposing of my carcass - let the county/state/nation figure out how to accomplish that within budget.

The local teaching hospital is still willing to negotiate with me on the donation of said carcass - they seem to have some interest in figuring out how I've managed to last through some of the issues I've experienced.  If it gets down to a contract I guess that will leave $255 for one of you whippersnappers to collect from Sociable Security.  By the time you get it it might represent 3 or 4 months' worth of pay-out.

At one time I was willing to name someone to get whatever was left of my pension and the death benefit it carried.  Things changed, and now the $$ are directed to go to a trust fund set up to provide legal representation to folks jammed by the anti-gun police gestapo.

stay safe.

[CNYCacher]

I HAD through my previous employer a death benefit equal to 4 years of my salary.  Since I opted for self-employment, I have yet to establish any kind of life coverage but it's on my to-do list.

[Jamisjockey]

Term.  Equal to several years of my expected salary and enough to clear the slate of any bills for the spousal unit.  Hers is considerably more than mine, since she's the primary money maker.

[Brad Johnson]

Term policy.  Enough to cover final expenses and pay off what few debts I might have at the time.

Brad

[Balog]

Oh, I have enough to pay off the house (our only debt) and the remainder (if invested with a %10 rate of return) would roughly replace my income.

[grislyatoms]

Good policy through work. Enough to put kiddo through school and maybe a down payment on a house, should something happen to me. I also had a cash value policy?, premiums are paid for the life of the policy (can't remember the term for it, Grandad set it up for me when I was ~10 years old). I only found out about it last year, and have since turned it over to my Grandma so that she can use it. I figured that it wasn't my money and she needed it much more than I did.
If I understand correctly, Grandad set it up to protect himself if I died as a child. And if I "made it", it would be of some value someday.

[Scout26]

I have a $350K policy through my old job and a letter from Mutual of Ummmmmaha that says as long as I'm disabled it's still good.

I have a $250K whole life policy that I picked up while on Active Duty.  I've also got a letter from them that says as long as I'm disabled, I don't have to pay the premiums (which were getting pretty small anyway), but it's still building up cash value.

My folks still have a $15K whole life policy on me that they bought when I was born, they haven't made a premium payment in years.



About a year ago, I was pulled over by a DuPage County Sheriffs Deputy.  He asked me if I knew why he had pulled me over.  I answered honestly that I had no idea. (I had been going the speed limit as it is a two lane road, 30MPH zone, and the police like to setup in the Park parking lot and run radar on this road.)

He said "You're not wearing your seatbelt."

I answered, "Yes officer,  you are correct.  I am not wearing my seatbelt.  I have Multiple Myeloma, it's a terminal cancer.  If I die from cancer my kids get $600,000.  However, if I die in an accident, my kids get $1.2 Million.  You do the math."

He looked at me, blinked a couple of times, walked back to his cruiser and pulled away.   I took it that I was free to go, and drove away.

Both of the big policies have double indemnity for accidental death.

[grampster]

Self insured now.  Before I retired and when kids were young I had a lot of life insurance..maybe around a million bucks.

Kids grew up, I retired.  I cashed it all in.  My pension provides 2/3 to my widow, plus my Social Security.  Plus a 401k built up over 25 years (and duly diminished by the thieves in Washington and NY, but still a tidy sum)

We have no debt and we can be cremated for around $2000.00 without any services which is what we want and we can write a check for that..whoever is left can, that is.

I just remembered I'm covered for $20,000 as a condition of my retirement from my company.  I don't have to pay anything for that.

[zxcvbob]

Mostly self insured, plus small term policies on Wife and myself.  I think they are each about $30000, mine might be $40000.  I also have disability insurance.  Not old enough to have long-term-care insurance (that's a biggie)

[wmenorr67]

I have a $350K policy through my old job and a letter from Mutual of Ummmmmaha that says as long as I'm disabled it's still good.

I have a $250K whole life policy that I picked up while on Active Duty.  I've also got a letter from them that says as long as I'm disabled, I don't have to pay the premiums (which were getting pretty small anyway), but it's still building up cash value.

My folks still have a $15K whole life policy on me that they bought when I was born, they haven't made a premium payment in years.



About a year ago, I was pulled over by a DuPage County Sheriffs Deputy.  He asked me if I knew why he had pulled me over.  I answered honestly that I had no idea. (I had been going the speed limit as it is a two lane road, 30MPH zone, and the police like to setup in the Park parking lot and run radar on this road.)

He said "You're not wearing your seatbelt."

I answered, "Yes officer,  you are correct.  I am not wearing my seatbelt.  I have Multiple Myeloma, it's a terminal cancer.  If I die from cancer my kids get $600,000.  However, if I die in an accident, my kids get $1.2 Million.  You do the math."

He looked at me, blinked a couple of times, walked back to his cruiser and pulled away.   I took it that I was free to go, and drove away.

Both of the big policies have double indemnity for accidental death.

You should check those policies.  A lot now won't pay out if you aren't wearing a seatbelt.

[Northwoods]

I have $800k in an individual term policy.  My employer gives me 1x my salary in life insurance whether I want it or not.  I figure that if I get run over by the beer truck SWMBO can pay off the house, fill up the kids' college funds and still have enough, if wisely invested, to live in reasonable comfort (without a new husband) until the youngest (due in Oct) graduates high school.

SWMBO has $500k in term life.  That'll be enough for me to pay off the house, and fill up the kids' college funds, plus have a little left over.  Without a mortgage I figure I could afford to pay for preschool/day care for the baby and before/after school care for the older 2.

Life insurance should not be used to make your heirs rich.  It should be used to replace, for a period of time (not forever), the economic contribution the deceased made to the family.  If there is nobody that is financially reliant on your contributions then you don't need any life insurance. 

[HeroHog]

Term life here. Always had life Ins. through work but we always kept this little Term policy "just in case." Now, it is ALL we have.