life insurance

[silentfaith]

looking for a 25k life insurance policy to help with my checking out. We have a nice income and she won't be without but this would help with bills.
Wondering if any of youall looked into these life insurance companies and who you chose. Not interested in the companies with endless advertisments but rather a A- or higher rating.

[RickBoglehead]

$25,000 is a very, very small amount of insurance. Most people buy much more.

https://www.selectquote.com/life-insurance-quote/

[GuyFromGeorgia]

Especially in a one income family, or heavily one-sided income family, shoot for at least 10X (if not 20X) annual income.

[BL]

Look at the above link, or term4sale.com, or an independent agent who works with many companies, to find a solution. Agree that 25k is small, but you may find the price for a much bigger term policy to be low. Don't let them sell you whole or universal life. Plan to have things covered by the time you retire instead.

[mega317]

I'd shop around for an agent. Keep looking until you find someone who explains to you that a 25k policy makes no sense, and will discuss your situation and help come up with a plan. I don't know what "nice income" means but even 250k sounds awfully low.

[fizxman]

I don't want to hijack this thread but I'd like to buy some life insurance as well. I currently have 1x my salary free through and DW doesn't have any. I'm a member of IEEE and I can get life insurance from New York Life through IEEE for both of us. According to the table below, they are much cheaper than anything I've seen elsewhere. A quote from terms4sale.com for $1,000,000 for 10 years, the cheapest I could find, was $567/year. Through IEEE it's $308/year. My employer pays for my membership but even if they didn't, membership to IEEE is $102/year so even after that's factored in, it's still about $150 less.

I haven't gone through the process of buying insurance through IEEE but I plan on it soon. So things may not be as they seem but it's worth a shot. And if it's as good as it seems to be, it might be worth it for others to join IEEE just to get the life insurance.

Also, through IEEE, you buy insurance in $10,000 increments, so if the OP really only wants $25,000 of coverage, well you can get $20,000 or $30,000 if you want.

[Stinky]

Look at the above link, or term4sale.com, or an independent agent who works with many companies, to find a solution. Agree that 25k is small, but you may find the price for a much bigger term policy to be low. Don't let them sell you whole or universal life. Plan to have things covered by the time you retire instead.

+1

OP, you didn’t share any age or financial information with us. But I’m guessing that you’re still employed, with a “decent” household income, and have dependents to support. If so, a rule of thumb would be to have life insurance of 10x your income - not just $25k.

If you’ll post more, we can give more comments.

[Stinky]

I don't want to hijack this thread but I'd like to buy some life insurance as well. I currently have 1x my salary free through and DW doesn't have any. I'm a member of IEEE and I can get life insurance from New York Life through IEEE for both of us. According to the table below, they are much cheaper than anything I've seen elsewhere. A quote from terms4sale.com for $1,000,000 for 10 years, the cheapest I could find, was $567/year. Through IEEE it's $308/year. My employer pays for my membership but even if they didn't, membership to IEEE is $102/year so even after that's factored in, it's still about $150 less.

I haven't gone through the process of buying insurance through IEEE but I plan on it soon. So things may not be as they seem but it's worth a shot. And if it's as good as it seems to be, it might be worth it for others to join IEEE just to get the life insurance.

Also, through IEEE, you buy insurance in $10,000 increments, so if the OP really only wants $25,000 of coverage, well you can get $20,000 or $30,000 if you want.

I agree - organizations like this are one of the few places to buy life insurance in small amounts at a very reasonable price. If I understand it, IEEE is for electrical engineers only - right? My son is able to get a similar deal through AICPA.

[fizxman]

I don't want to hijack this thread but I'd like to buy some life insurance as well. I currently have 1x my salary free through and DW doesn't have any. I'm a member of IEEE and I can get life insurance from New York Life through IEEE for both of us. According to the table below, they are much cheaper than anything I've seen elsewhere. A quote from terms4sale.com for $1,000,000 for 10 years, the cheapest I could find, was $567/year. Through IEEE it's $308/year. My employer pays for my membership but even if they didn't, membership to IEEE is $102/year so even after that's factored in, it's still about $150 less.

I haven't gone through the process of buying insurance through IEEE but I plan on it soon. So things may not be as they seem but it's worth a shot. And if it's as good as it seems to be, it might be worth it for others to join IEEE just to get the life insurance.

Also, through IEEE, you buy insurance in $10,000 increments, so if the OP really only wants $25,000 of coverage, well you can get $20,000 or $30,000 if you want.

I agree - organizations like this are one of the few places to buy life insurance in small amounts at a very reasonable price. If I understand it, IEEE is for electrical engineers only - right? My son is able to get a similar deal through AICPA.

According to the website, qualifications are:

"Professional membership is open to individuals who by experience give evidence of competence in an IEEE designated field. The designated fields are: Engineering, Computer Sciences and Information Technology, Physical Sciences, Biological and Medical Sciences, Mathematics, Technical Communications, Education, Management, and Law and Policy."

This seems pretty broad to me and I don't know how strict they are about it either. I mean, if you say you like Physics, I find it hard to believe they'll turn you down.

[silentfaith]

OP here,,,,,,didn't mention that I am 69 and wife 68, she still has a 250k policy but I have none.
We owe nothing and own a 1 million home also hold a mortgage at 6% . have a rental apartment
We own a trawler and cruise the florida keys most winters, our income is 6k monthly but have no
savings or 401 . So, just want a cheap policy to cover me but at my age it is expensive.

[BL]

Yes, at your age it would be expensive and probably not worthwhile. Can you set aside 1,000/month for a couple years to come up with some money for this?

Sometimes fraternal organizations (religious, ethnic, work-related, etc.) have policies available, but probably not really cheap. Other companies probably check your current health as well. Those that don't are not cheap. Some credit unions insure debt to them.

Are you working, or where is your income coming from? Perhaps you also have professional organizations with insurance available.

[surfstar]

Perhaps something cheaper and more direct...
https://www.neptunesociety.com/3-options

[123]

At age 69 many insurance companies will require medical underwriting since many people have "issues" when they get over 50. There are some companies that sell insurance without any exams but they stay in business by limiting the amount of insurance they sell to any individual and charging those customers the highest rates they can.

The most cost-effective way of addressing the issue is to have a family "emergency fund" that can cover the amount of expected final expenses.

[Nate79]

Since you have a mortgage you might look at getting a life insurance policy thru the mortgage company that pays off the mortgage. These are usually pretty expensive but at your age it may or may not be cheaper than buying regular term insurance, especially depending on your health.

[Ybsybs]

If the money is intended for funeral expenses, those can also be prepaid. It can be a lot easier to avoid the upsells if it's you choosing your own instead of choosing for a beloved spouse you just lost.

[BL]

What kind of 250k life insurance does she have? If it has cash value, that might be a source of that extra cash.