Who can explain life insurance?

[mzteris]

Whole life vs. term vs. whatever the heck else they're called now.

kids aged: 26, 13, 8...

[EstimatedProphet]

1. Who can explain life, for that matter?

[Critters2]

19. That's easier than life insurance. nt

[Richardo]

2. Term is an ongoing bet that you do NOT want to win.

You (35 years old): If I die this month, you pay me $500,000.
Insurance company: I'll take that bet, if you give me $75.

Repeat for 240-360 months. At the end of the term, if you survive, nothing. You sign up for another term.

You (55 years old): If I die this month, you pay me $500,000
Insurance company: I'll take that bet, if you give me $375.

[Chan790]

3. All you need to know...

buy term, avoid whole life. I got this advice from my mom, had it seconded by my accountant and confirmed by Suze Orman. Good enough for me.

Whole life builds value...but at a rate much slower than if you invested that same money in...almost anything, even conservative safe low-risk, low-return investments like bonds. They pitch it as an investment vehicle but it's not a very good one.

Term is simple...you buy coverage for a period of time (just like with car insurance) and if the insured dies before the end of the paid term you collect on the policy.

[NewJeffCT]

16. definitely go for term insurance

Clark Howard - the consumer guru - will also confirm what Suze Orman, your accountant and your mom said.

It's especially good if you have kids and protection in case you do die early. My wife & I both have 20 year term policies, so if either of us dies, the survivor can pay off our house and also have money to send our daughter to college.

If the 20 year terms expire, our home will likely have been paid off and we'd have been contributing regularly to her 529 savings plan for college...

[madinmaryland]

4. Whole life is a fucking scam.

Save your money and buy term insurance (if you feel you need it), and put the saving in a regular bank account.

[triguy46]

10. That's a fact.

Do not let the salesman try to convince you that whole life is an 'investment.' If you want to invest, do so using traditional means. Term may not build value, but you are insuring your life with those dollars, NOT saving for your kids college etc or other crap they may tell you.

With term,you are simply buying a policy that will pay off the house, pay for the kids education and the spouses needs for a period of time. You will roughly get 100 times the coverage with term than with whole life.

Just say NO to whole life.

[SPKrazy]

5. term is

not something you build dividends in, it is paid, and if you live, nobody but the insurance co. gets the money

whole life you build dividends in and eventually you get the cash value of the policy available to cash out, but it is more expensive and you pay more into it than you get out of course, but some would call it a better deal.

Depends, if you invest in other ways then that money in a term policy would be well spent.

other than that, i'm clueless.

:hi:


I'm still waiting for an explanation of the damned candles around the tub for Fifi, that dog won't hunt mzteris!

:rofl:

[mzteris]

6. I 'splained 'bout fifi -

huh - for somebody who keeps forgetting to pay the dang bills, you sure seem to know lots about this here insurance bidness.

HEY! Why have you been talking to those 'surance men anyways? hmmmmmmmm??





Seriously - there's like two for and two against.

And I still don't know. . .

If *somebody* would invest wisely, it'd be different, but they don't. So I was trying to do what I could to "save" something - without it being as noticeable, ya know? (probably not - that was cryptic wasn't it?)

[SPKrazy]

7. ...

gotcha

i wouldn't say i'm for it...

i've got term

but, for some it is worth it, and it can be sold to companies that do that and give you the money and keep some themselves which can come in handy in the event of a long illness terminal especially.

:hi:

you didn't explain the danged candles i don't think :grr:

[Richardo]

8. My one-act play may have confused you - I have term insurance

...and echo the others here with the 'avoid whole life' thing.

[Blue Diadem]

9. With whole life you can always use your dividends to buy additonal

paid up insurance. My DH did that with his policy. I have both a small whole life and a term. The term policy is about to run out and with my being over 50 I doubt I'll get another one. The premiums will be too high.

When you get a whole life policy, you should receive an annual statement telling you the cash value of your policy, the dividends or paid up insurance amounts etc.

[triguy46]

11. Stay away from whole life.

Run and hide from it. Take that money and stick in the market, a roth IRA, something other than a frickin whole life policy!!!!

[triguy46]

12. Whole life is NOT a good investment.

Term is the life insurance that gives the best coverage for the dollar.

If you want an investment, invest, do NOT buy life insurance that is supposed to 'build value,' or pay 'dividends.'

[mzteris]

13. kicking - still confused.

Sorry -

I mean - WHY is one "better than the other" -

Yeah - if you're a "good investor" - then sure take the $$ and put it somewhere if you have the time to let it grow - but

what if neither of those are necessarily "true".

I guess getting someone to explain ANNUITIES is out of the question, huh?

[Common Sense Party]

14. I can explain everything you need to know about annuities.

What do you want to know?

[mzteris]

18. everything I need to know?

I was kinda joking -

I know a lots changed since I even thought about these issues - and I did a 6 month stint working for a stock brokerage (lo many years ago) and there was a definite hatred towards annuities from some of the brokers. ......

I don't have the kind of $$ I think one needs to even have annuities. :(

[Swede]

15. Buy term and invest the difference. Google that.

As Suze Orman says.

SUZE SAYS
I HATE WHOLE LIFE INSURANCE
I HATE UNIVERSAL LIFE INSURANCE
I HATE VARIABLE LIFE INSURANCE
THE ONLY TYPE I LIKE – FOR THE PURPOSES FOR INSURING YOUR LIFE – IS TERM INSURANCE!
If you are smart with the money you have today and you get rid of your mortgages, car loans and credit card debt and put money into retirement plans you don’t need insurance 30 years from now to protect your family when you die.

http://www.suzeorman.com/igsbase/igstemplate.cfm?SRC=MD012&SRCN=aoedetails&GnavID=84&SnavID=88&TnavID=&AreasofExpertiseID=161&skip=1

[NewJeffCT]

17. Clark Howard will second what Suze says

Howard is the consumer guru and he'll have a heart attack if anybody wants to invest in anything other than term insurance.

[JVS]

20. It lets you bet against yourself. There is good money to be made doing that.