term or whole life insurance

[GMN]

Which one is better? And any good companies out there to get either from?

Thanks

 

[Limomike]

Here is some good information on both. I used to have life insurance thru my company I worked for.. but I since realized that I really need coverage up until I reach a certain age. (80 is what I chose)
So, I got a good policy thru Zander, to help my wife live comfortably if I happen to die before her..
http://www.daveramsey.com/article/term- ... insurance/

 

[J&D Cattle]

Depends? I would look at a company's AM Best rating for certain and then do a little research on the web to see if there are any consistant grumblings. Term is way cheaper and great to protect you for a certain period or obligation like a mortgage. Whole life can be used as more of a savings type vehicle but in my opinion there are far better savings vehicles out there. I personally have a bunch of term that will pay off my debt, pay for the kids education, and leave my wife with a bit left over. I also have a smaller whole life policy that will pay for my burial and final expenses. I'll keep the whole life policy funded until the end but will let the term run out once I'd debt free and kids are grown.

 

[TexasBred]

Term....."cash value" is just a gimmick to sell insurance...when you die it disappears.

 

[M5farm]

Term....."cash value" is just a gimmick to sell insurance...when you die it disappears.

TB- I thought term was for a specified time and whole life built cash value. I've had both early in life but when I realized the value of each term is the best deal.

 

[bbirder]

Term....."cash value" is just a gimmick to sell insurance...when you die it disappears.

+100

 

[Rafter S]

I agree that Term is best. Whole life is supposed to be like a combination of life insurance and a savings account. It doesn't do a very good job of either.

 

[Limomike]

I agree that Term is best. Whole life is supposed to be like a combination of life insurance and a savings account. It doesn't do a very good job of either.

That is totally corrrect.

 

[GMN]

who do you have your term life policies thru?

 

[Hook]

I've had a policy with MetLife for the last 20 years. It's a 20 year term and I've had the limits increase and rewrote as time dictates. When i quit smoking I had it rewrote and right now I'm good for another 18 years at a guaranteed rate. I'll rewrite it again when I'm 50 and lock in another 20 year rate

 

[TexasBred]

Term....."cash value" is just a gimmick to sell insurance...when you die it disappears.

TB- I thought term was for a specified time and whole life built cash value. I've had both early in life but when I realized the value of each term is the best deal.

What I meant M5...I made it confusing by the way I started the post...many agent push the whole life by showing you the cash value charts....that's fine if you plan to cash it in before dieing but when you die all cash value simply disappears.

 

[tom4018]

who do you have your term life policies thru?

Zander Insurance has a quote tool that goes thru several companies, real easy to play with amounts you want to see what it costs.

 

[GMN]

I've had a policy with MetLife for the last 20 years. It's a 20 year term and I've had the limits increase and rewrote as time dictates. When i quit smoking I had it rewrote and right now I'm good for another 18 years at a guaranteed rate. I'll rewrite it again when I'm 50 and lock in another 20 year rate

But at 50. It will cost much more-you are young now stuff is cheap

 

[Hook]

Yes. But I re up every 10 years anyway to lock in the rates. Right now I'm good to 58 with the 20 year lock. But if I wait to then, it'll be more than it would be at 50. I'm hoping I won't need it past 70

 

[J&D Cattle]

I would look for an agent that can shop several companies GMN. Then check their financial rating. I personally wouldn't get to hung up on buying from a certain name or not but am very picky about their financial strength and customer service.

 

[lavacarancher]

GM, do you really need life insurance? Don't mean to ask what might sound like a stupid question but life insurance is really meant for your survivors - to take care of final expenses. If you have provided for them and your finals then your wasting your money buying life insurance. JMHO.

I may be wrong but whole life is you buy a fixed amount policy and pay the premium for the rest of your life (whole life) and when you die your estate gets the face value amount of the policy. In my case I bought a $10000 whole life policy when I was 18 YO. My premium is about $300/year. When I die my wife will receive $10000 minus what ever amount that might have been borrowed against it. Term is usually a lot cheaper but as already stated your age and health make a big difference.

 

[John SD]

GM, do you really need life insurance? Don't mean to ask what might sound like a stupid question but life insurance is really meant for your survivors - to take care of final expenses. If you have provided for them and your finals then your wasting your money buying life insurance. JMHO.

I may be wrong but whole life is you buy a fixed amount policy and pay the premium for the rest of your life (whole life) and when you die your estate gets the face value amount of the policy. In my case I bought a $10000 whole life policy when I was 18 YO. My premium is about $300/year. When I die my wife will receive $10000 minus what ever amount that might have been borrowed against it. Term is usually a lot cheaper but as already stated your age and health make a big difference.

Depends on what you mean by "final expenses". If you are talking about funeral expenses, I don't see the point of insurance for that. Why not just pre-plan/pre-pay and write the check now?

I did that a couple years ago. Pre-paying my funeral was my Christmas gift to myself The price is NOT guaranteed due to the low interest rates today, but there wouldn't be a whole lot of cost over and above what I paid. I picked out a vault, casket, and service package that cost a shade over $8K. The funeral home puts the money in the local bank.

Dave Ramsey recommends 10-12X your annual income in term insurance for young families. Dave's advice doesn't always translate well to farmers and ranchers, but IMO you should have enough life insurance or other cash assets so that if you kicked the bucket tomorrow, your spouse wouldn't be forced to sell out.

 

[Brute 23]

GM, do you really need life insurance? Don't mean to ask what might sound like a stupid question but life insurance is really meant for your survivors - to take care of final expenses. If you have provided for them and your finals then your wasting your money buying life insurance. JMHO.

I may be wrong but whole life is you buy a fixed amount policy and pay the premium for the rest of your life (whole life) and when you die your estate gets the face value amount of the policy. In my case I bought a $10000 whole life policy when I was 18 YO. My premium is about $300/year. When I die my wife will receive $10000 minus what ever amount that might have been borrowed against it. Term is usually a lot cheaper but as already stated your age and health make a big difference.

Depends on what you mean by "final expenses". If you are talking about funeral expenses, I don't see the point of insurance for that. Why not just pre-plan/pre-pay and write the check now?

I did that a couple years ago. Pre-paying my funeral was my Christmas gift to myself The price is NOT guaranteed due to the low interest rates today, but there wouldn't be a whole lot of cost over and above what I paid. I picked out a vault, casket, and service package that cost a shade over $8K. The funeral home puts the money in the local bank.

Dave Ramsey recommends 10-12X your annual income in term insurance for young families. Dave's advice doesn't always translate well to farmers and ranchers, but IMO you should have enough life insurance or other cash assets so that if you kicked the bucket tomorrow, your spouse wouldn't be forced to sell out.

It absolutely applies to farmers and ranchers.... it may not work for people with a bunch of debt.

Just like your not suppose to pre - pay funeral expenses. The funeral home will invest that money and make on average 10-12% a year on it instead of you. You should put the money in an account allocated to funeral expenses. If that $8K sits with the funeral home for 5 yrs the funeral actually cost around $13K. In 10 yrs the funeral actually costs you $21K.

Funeral homes are very profitable businesses. They have huge mark ups only rivaled by furniture and jewelry. Plus, they make a ton of money on prepaid funerals and other gimmicks.

The deal with term vs whole life is if you take the difference between the cost of the two, invest that money on your own, it should out earn what the whole life policy will.

Insurance is insurance... investments are investments... don't try to mix the two.

 

[lavacarancher]

GM, do you really need life insurance? Don't mean to ask what might sound like a stupid question but life insurance is really meant for your survivors - to take care of final expenses. If you have provided for them and your finals then your wasting your money buying life insurance. JMHO.

I may be wrong but whole life is you buy a fixed amount policy and pay the premium for the rest of your life (whole life) and when you die your estate gets the face value amount of the policy. In my case I bought a $10000 whole life policy when I was 18 YO. My premium is about $300/year. When I die my wife will receive $10000 minus what ever amount that might have been borrowed against it. Term is usually a lot cheaper but as already stated your age and health make a big difference.

Depends on what you mean by "final expenses". If you are talking about funeral expenses, I don't see the point of insurance for that. Why not just pre-plan/pre-pay and write the check now?

I did that a couple years ago. Pre-paying my funeral was my Christmas gift to myself The price is NOT guaranteed due to the low interest rates today, but there wouldn't be a whole lot of cost over and above what I paid. I picked out a vault, casket, and service package that cost a shade over $8K. The funeral home puts the money in the local bank.

Dave Ramsey recommends 10-12X your annual income in term insurance for young families. Dave's advice doesn't always translate well to farmers and ranchers, but IMO you should have enough life insurance or other cash assets so that if you kicked the bucket tomorrow, your spouse wouldn't be forced to sell out.

Sorry, John. Should have been a little clearer. When I said "take care of your survivors" that's what I meant. Like you said "they won't have to sell out in order to live". Yes, final expenses are funeral and other expenses related to dying.If these two things are taken care of then what's the point in having insurance? Don't know Dave Ramsey but I suspect he's in the insurance business or is getting kickbacks from some insurance company. Why on God's green earth would you need 10 to 12 times your annual salary in insurance if your wife works, your home is taken care of, your children are grown, etc. I also tend to agree with the gent above on prepaying for your funeral. This absolutely does NOT lock you in at any particular price so all you are doing is giving someone $20,000 to "hold" for you when YOU could earn a little money with it.

 

[Rafter S]

GM, do you really need life insurance? Don't mean to ask what might sound like a stupid question but life insurance is really meant for your survivors - to take care of final expenses. If you have provided for them and your finals then your wasting your money buying life insurance.

Taking care of final expenses is only a very small part of the need for life insurance. It's main purpose is to replace your income. That's why Dave Ramsey recommends having a policy of 10 - 12 times your yearly income. So your survivors can invest it in mutual funds (or something else) and get the income from this investment to replace your income.

If you don't have anyone depending on your income, then you don't need life insurance (assuming you have enough assets to cover your funeral expenses). Someone mentioned you don't need it if your children are grown and gone and your wife has a good job. I disagree. Even if my wife has a good job, I wouldn't want her to cut back on her lifestyle if I died and she didn't have anything to replace my income.