Life Insurance? - Brooklyn,NY

We got term life on both of us through Select Quote, plus DH's insurance through work. Our financial advisor said that term should be sufficient, as the older kids are out of the house, we only have one DD home and the house is likely to be paid off in 8 years. The test for us was not major. Bloodwork, height and weight and permission to see your records. They can tell if you are currently a smoker but I am not sure they can tell if you were past tense a smoker. As for amount, think about things like paying off the house, kids' education, debts you currently have and taking time off work to regain your footing. My aunt also used life insurance to do maintenance on the house that my uncle didn't get to (so she wouldn't have to worry about it later) and to pay for the first months of daycare for her son (who was 3).

They don't tend to make you jump through hoops, like hair samples and the like, until you hit 35. Even then term isn't as restrictive than whole because they can change the rules of the game yearly. Think of term as dating and whole as marriage. :)

I have life insurance through work, a policy I have through my old car insurance company and another through the new company. The last go around I had to jump through hoops but I was 43 at the time. The other was a term I converted into whole no questions asked. I think because they insured my home and auto they felt that had a fair picture of the person I was. Maybe they liked me, who knows.

I am so pro Life insurance I am overinsured. No, I no longer work for an inusrance company but still truly believe in being prepared especially since we have kids. Go to someone who is extremely reputable and make comparisons...while term is often a good start whole/variable life is a huge benefit as well. Do you know what your rates will be in 20 years? Yikes, a lot more than you're paying now. Having a policy through work is great..However, what if you are laid off, quit etc....Don't rely on that soley to help you. Go check it out. :)

We went with cheap life insurance (but A rated). Hubby has Geico and I have what was AGI. We stayed away from the big ones because they charge way too much.

We got a Term life. We both were smokers. After 6 years, there is no penalty, and then it goes from there. Hubby's rate is higher because he stopped smoking after me. Do not lie. If they catch you in a lie, they will not pay out if you die.

Also, if you don't have disability insurance, get that first. Chances of needing disability insurance are greater.

Jade:

Call a reputable company - MetLife, Prudential, etc. and talk to them about life insurance. Tell them what you are looking for - whole life or term. And if you don't know the difference - google the difference (whole life builds as you go and term is a fixed amount).

Let them ask the questions. when they ask IF you smoke? No. you don't.

They will ask if you drink, smoke, have a high-risk job (skycraper window washer, pilot, etc.) If you have had a full time job with decent benefits, you have had a life insurance policy...through your employer...

They will most likely have you do a medical exam for a full physical and tell you the doctor to go to... they may allow you to use your own doctor. I have NEVER had hair and skin samples taken. I have had a physical and blood work done....so they can gauge your overall health.

I have life insurance through Northwestern Mutual - an acquaintance went to work for them - anyhoo, I have term life. I did have a "para medical" exam which consisted of a blood draw. They checked for nicotine, HIV, Hepatitis, etc. I only needed the one - now, if I want to up my insurance policy then I would have another.

There was a fairly extensive medical questionnaire, but also my "interview" with my Insurance agent discussed my long term needs, finances, uses for the insurance money in the event of my death, and more. All this to help me determine what type of policy I needed and how much the policy value should be.

I you have not smoked or used tobacco products in at least 96 hours - nicotine will not show up in your system.

You can shop around for insurance - if you have home or auto insurance check with those companies first - many offer life insurance and you can sometimes get discounts on your other insurance for having "bundles" with one company.

Check the AM best rating of the insurance company - you really want one rated in the A to A+ category. http://www.ambest.com/

Remember, that you are the customer, and it should be all about what is best for your and your family. Ask questions, get referrals, and compare.

It doesn't make any difference if you are successful in hiding something from the insurance companies or not. When you die, if it is before you should have, they will take samples and check your medical records. If you lied to them they will only refund your premiums. You don't get the coverage you thought you had.

Tell the truth and pay what they ask. Shop around. My SIL is an insurance agent, but I don't think he is licensed in NY. Call several agents in your area and find out what you can do.

Good luck to you and yours.

I have my insurance through State Farm. Depending on the type of policy you get dictates what tests are done. I don't smoke and they took me at my word. I've never had to give hair and nail samples. I had to give blood, a mouth swap for HIV/AIDS and a urine tests. They never got medical records, you have to authorize that. They do have different rating systems. You are rated on your health. They will use anything to give you a lower rating. With my last policy, my triglycerides were slightly elevated, and I mean just 10 points over normal and I didn't get the highest rating, everything else was great. I think this goes for all insurance companies. I have three different insurance policy and I can't tell you the difference. I got them because my husband who used to sell life insurance said to get these policies. I think you should definitely talk to an agent. I would start with your auto agent. We got a discount on our auto insurance because we got life insurance with them as well. I do know in talking to my sister that her and her husband got a 20 year term when she had kids, and regrets it. She said she should of gotten a 30 year to make sure her kids were out of college. Also, when deciding how much as yourselves if you can live without each others salary. You need at least enough to cover the other's salary, I suggest even tripling it. I have 3 kids and a lot of insurance. There is a substancial amount of money my kids will get in the event of my death. I also am in the process of starting up trusts so that they do not get all the money at once. They will get a monthly stipend as long as they are employed, and will have their college paid out of the money and will get a one time lump sum to purchase a home. When they are 35, they will get what ever is remaining.

I too find the whole thing confusing. I would suggest a broker because they broker many different companies and policies. And will be able to find the right one for you. They will help you figure out what it is you want out of a policy. Are you looking for a small policy, like $10-$20k, that will simply cover out-of-pocket expenses in the event of death? Or are you looking for a large policy, $500k+, that will provide long-term for your loved ones? Our policy pays a small amount on the children for funeral expenses, etc. But if my husband dies, it leaves me enough to pay off our home and provide an income for a few years.
Just make sure of what you actually have. When my dad died, we thought he had a $10k policy. Well, it turned out to be a "accidental death" policy. Since his death wasn't by accident, it didn't pay anything. And in reading the find print, at age 70, the $10k was reduced to $1k. He was 72. ugh!

I'd be happy to! The way the process works is you establish how much insurance you & your husband need to replace your incomes should anything happen to either one/both of you. Term is a good choice as its reasonable. Assuming you're in good health, you can get a policy for under $30 a month each. Don't mention smoking in the past, don't tell them anything unless you have a medical condition you take medication for. Just say you're in great health. But if you really have quit smoking, you won't have any issues. Nicotine takes a few weeks to leave the body entirely.
You will have to get a medical: blood pressure, blood sample. I didn't have a hair sample? In fact, I haven't heard of that but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen! You can get quotes from several people like State Farm, Allstate or MetLife. Feel free to PM me if you want my husband contact info as he's a broker in Brooklyn and has access to all the networks of insurance companies.
Good for you for taking care of this! Shocking how many parent's don't have life insurance!!!

DH and I got term insurance through an agent here in town. I liked using an agent because he helped us figure out which company offered the best package. No medical exam needed, just a questionnaire, blood draw, and height and weight.They asked for my doctor's contact info, and it's very possible they asked for my medical records; I don't know. I've never heard of hair and nail samples... but whatever you do, do not lie. If you lie about your smoking history and then you die, your insurance will not pay out. You need to divulge everything because they can obtain medical records from your doctor and if you say something different than is what on the record, you'll be caught in a lie and they'll deny coverage.

You'll never know what types of quotes you will get until you try. It doesn't cost anything to apply, so go for it. If the quotes are too high, ask the broker for advice on how to bring them down - maybe a shorter term, a different company, lower payout, etc.

If you have an insurance agent you trust (Allstate, State Farm, Farmers, etc), call them! It is not as difficult as you think to get life insurance. We have ours through Allstate. Budget or no, term is the way to go. The idea behind life insurance is that if something should happen to one of you, the other would be able to live without your work (whether that is raising the kids or working outside the home, or both). So you need to figure out how much money the other person and kid(s) could live off of, raising the child to adulthood. The insurance company will give you some guidelines around this, as well (for instance, if you make $30K/year, they will not give you a million dollar insurance policy - they don't want you to be worth more dead than alive. :) Ask for a policy that is renewable and convertible (you can renew it at the end of the term, and/or convert it to whole life at that time, if you choose).

Anyway, some insurance agents will try to get you to buy a whole life policy. Personally, I wouldn't do it. They are taking the extra money and investing it on your behalf, and charging you outrageous rates to do so. If you have extra money to burn, put it in an IRA. You don't need your whole life policy to invest the money for you for a worse return than you could get yourself. Also, don't buy insurance on your child, cheap though it may be. Generally, you only want to buy insurance on assets, not liabilities, and as much as we love them, children are liabilities. :)

You will have to go through some medical questioning. In our case, they sent a nurse to our home to take blood pressure, height/weight, she took some blood samples, which were tested for cholesterol (and I'm sure checked for HIV and other illnesses like that), and we answered some basic health/lifestyle questions (do you smoke, do you exercise, do you ride a motorcycle, etc). They did not ask for any doctor's records. However, if you lie and they find out about it, they can cancel your policy, so be careful about that. We did not have any hair samples taken that I recall.

We have a term policy through Transamerica. We have a fixed premium for the next 20 years. They do have you fill out a questionaire, take your weight, blood pressure, and a blood sample. They do check for nicotine so you can not lie. I'm a non smoker and my husband, sadly, still smokes. I have no health issues and he has esophogitis (long term heart burn that can get worse) and high blood pressure. His cost for the same amount of coverage is 2x mine every month. If he was to quit smoking they said he would have to be smoke free for at least a year before requesting a physical at our cost (initial one is free) to prove that he is no longer a smoker by testing his blood. His cost will then get recalculated based on the age group he is in once he doesn't smoke. We can also convert to whole life at anytime we want. Definitely do your research and make sure you go with a larger reputable company.