Life Insurance help

[newcastlemama]

Do you all have life insurance on your dh? Which plan (amount of $ and company) did you choose and why? I am a SAHM and really want to get this in order, especially as our family grows.

Thanks,
Jen

[Shantimama]

I am a SAHM too and we have life insurance for both of us. For my dh so that if he dies there will be financial resources to support the chidlren and I until we get back on our feet and I start working outside of the home.

I also have life insurance - if I die, dh will need a fiancial cushion so that he can be at home for while and he would also need the extra money becasue I wouldn't be there to do all that I currently do.

[mightymoo]

Our plan is to have our goals happen whether one of us is here to make them happen or not. Between policies offered as part of DH's work benefits and our private insurance, we have 20x Dh's salary on him. This allows me to continue to stay at home with the kids indifinitely if he dies. It replaces his salary for the next 30 years.

We have the same amount on me, even though I'm not working. One reason is that because I don't work, if I died, DH would not get SS benefits for the kids (whereas if he died, I would get that), other than that, DH needs to pay for childcare and he wants to be able to take a lesser paying job closer to home which is less demanding to be able to devote more time to the kids.

When determining insurance needs, I think the key is to really look at what you want to happen if one of you dies. Look at different scenarios - the ideal scenario is that you don't have to change your life at all financially, or perhaps that plus extra money to allow you time off to grieve and recoup if you work. But also look at the minimum scenario - Maybe you are a SAHM now, and planned to SAH forever, but at a minimum you'd be okay with being able to SAH until the kids get to school, etc. Then you can look at the cost of the different levels of insurance and what you can afford to pay for.

[Peony]

We have a rather large policy on DH, a million dollars in fact. : He owns a company and that company is responsible for assets, employees, etc... I need to be able to cover things until I can sell the business and assets. He has lines of credit that would have to be payed until the clients payed. We also have some personal investments that would take time to close out. In my area that really isn't that much money, housing is $$$, and our house payment each money is quite a chuck of change. That policy would allow me to get our affairs in order, pay off the house or invest some money for the future and then continue to stay at home for some time. I'm not sure not company we are getting it through, we are just in the process of switching to a cheaper company. Dh has a cheaper policy on me, maybe 200,000 or so, enough that he could hire someone to help with the DD's since his career is very demanding with his time.

[lmonter]

West Coast Life, less than half a million dollars, he's on a "preferred" plan (whereas I'm on a more expensive "standard" plan because I have asthma thanks to my smoking father).

We chose the amount we'd need to deal with stuff, and we're used to living rather frugally, so nothing major (well, besides one of us dying) would change. Even if both of us die, my sister would have enough to frugally live on even in Seattle with the kids, so it works for us.

I was terrified of something happening to dh, because then the boys and I would be screwed - you can't really afford to live in our area with the jobs I have experience in; dh would be just fine because he hasn't ever stopped his paid career.

[CeciMami]

We both have 1/2 million $ policies for all the reasons posted by pp's. We use AIG and have ROP (Return of Premium) plans and, although they cost more monthly, at the end of the term (30 years) you get all that you paid in back. So around the time I turn 62 yrs old, my term life insurance will be up and (unless I'm dead) I'll get a check for approx $43,000. Pretty cool and AIG isn't the only company that carries this type of policy. This is a relatively new insurance vehicle I think, and there are skeptics out there...but based on the research I've done, it is the right choice for us. Good luck on getting all this together! It takes time but the peace of mind is SO worth it!

[annekevdbroek]

We both have life insurance. Two policies on DH - 500K and 200K (one from USAA, the other from the military) and 200K on me (through the military). When DH is done with the military we will probably increase his coverage to several million as his income will increase a lot.

In either case, for him we wanted enough to 1) pay off house 2) fund college funds and 3) allow me to continue to stay home for at least a year. For me it was basically to cover staying home a while (ha - not that the military offers that option) and to pay for childcare/nanny/housekeeping, etc.

[aircantu1]

We have life insurance on both of us through USAA.

Also, www.zanderins.com is a great place to buy life insurance!

[newcastlemama]

Thanks for the help. I will probably get term since we are tight on money already. I just wanted something to fall back on because I would be a wreck if anything happened and would not want to worry about selling everything and getting a job right away.

Jen