Life Insurance - Seattle,WA

Hi!

So, I know a bit about this. I am a licensed insurance agent. I would say you NEED life insurance. YOU CANT AFFORD TO NOT HAVE INSURANCE. There are "term" policies, you purchase those and the premium is a set pricef or a certain term. Say, 10, 20, or 30 years. At the end of the term, you have the chance to "renew" coverage at a much higher premium. You can also purchase a whole life policy. These are good for your entire life, and have cash value. SO, say in a set amount of time you can borrow against your policy. These policies are more expensive, but never expire. The premium remains the same unless you borrow against it. I have, and would say that the best thing to do is get a term policy and also a whole life policy. That way, you have a much bigger amount of insurance for the nest 20 years. Then, a smaller amount for the whole life policy. Most term policies are convertable to a whole life policy too. So, hope this helps. I called a broker to buy my life insurance. They work for many companies and can shop around for you. I am not sure what state you live in, but I am in AK, and called AK USA Insurance Brokers. Also, make sure you ask about the financial stability of the company you buy with. Make sure its A+ rated. You dont want to get insurance and have the company go under!

GOOD LUCK!! Oh, and do it before your next bday. The older you are the more expensive.

3 moms found this helpful

Please don't overpay for life insurance or purchase too little. I Have the Certified Financial Planner designation, and worked in the financial services industry for years. Discussions of life insurance bring up many emotions, and there are some people in the business who will manipulate you into "investing" in overpriced life insurance. Do you "invest" in auto insurance, or do you just buy it? Would you pay significantly more for an auto policy because of special features, or would you just buy the best coverage available for the lowest price? Life insurance can be purchased the same way. It is intended to provide for your dependents if you should die prematurely. You decide how long you need/want to have that protection for your child.

A 30 year old woman in excellent health can purchase a
$250,000 20 year level term policy for about $125 a year. That means you would pay the $125 premium every year for up to 20 years, and should you die during that time, your beneficiary would receive $250,000. Just like car insurance, if you don't pay, you lose your coverage. If you think you might need insurance after 20 years, make sure you buy a renewable 20 year term policy. Then you could renew the insurance, for a higher annual premium, after the 20 years are up.

You can shop for life insurance and buy it online. If you Google "term life insurance rates" you'll find many different choices. I suggest you go to a site that compares rates and policies from many different companies. The sites also show how each company is rated. The rating refers to the soundness of the insurance company. Stick with companies with high rating for your own security. I hope this helps.
M.

PS Some people mentioned buying insurance on your child. I don't agree. The rule of insurance is: Insure your assets, not your liabilities. If you want to invest in something of value for your child, start a college savings fund, if you haven't already done so.

3 moms found this helpful

I agree that it is very important to have a policy for yourself. Also, it is just as important to take out a policy on your child. I was actually very hesitant to take one out for my daughter, but the agent put it in perspective for me. He told me that the most horrible thing for a parent to go through is to lose a child, but what is also horrible is to have to take out a loan and pay huge monthly payments every month for ten years to pay for that loss.

1 mom found this helpful

K.--the one thing I see missing here is something I finally understood from seeing a certified Financial Planner (not a CPA, not a million other things ... Financial Planners have a separate certification ... totally confusing, that). Anyhow, he explained why insurance was 'necessary' (yes) and then why you can buy the kind that ends: because you are insuring your child's upbringing ... once they are 26 or so, if the insurance ends, they can probably handle it. (No inheritance, but they can handle it.) The other 'end date' that is supposed to make sense is when you retire, because by then you are 'supposed' to have enough stored away to have a steady income even if your health deteriorates blah blah blah that is SO not something I would consider 'reliable,' but anyhow it is another way to think about it (plus it gives a good concrete 'oh, I really do need to get that retirement savings thing going on' way of thinking about it ;) ).

1 mom found this helpful

How smart of you to think of your little one. That is what life insurance if for the people you love when you pass away. I sold life insurance for years and know two people for you to contact in Seattle. Not sure where you live. I know someone in Bellingham and I have a cousin in Spokane WA. If you have some extra money each month I would recommend you buying life insuarnce.

S. Wright

I'm a single mother as well. I invested in life insurance for my son and myself. I started with my son and signed him up for Gerber Life Insurance. I then found out that I could obtain life insurance through them for myself. It's affordable and they can combine both insurances to end up on one bill so there isn't any confusion. Right now, we pay about $20/mo. Check it out! :D

You may want to purchase are 20 year term policy, they are pretty cheap and you are still young. Depending on the amount you could be spending as little as $25 per month for the peace of mind. The sooner you get it the cheaper the rates, they go up by your age. Good luck. :)

I agree that the life insurance is a great thing to have and if you are looking for a good deal on it you should speak to a Country Insurance agent. They can do all of your insurance at a lower cost (which means you can get more if you wish) than any of the other big ones (and we have been through many!). The reason they can is because they do not offer insurance in high risk regions of the US like the Gulf Coast, New York, DC, etc. If you are in the Salem area Josh Bain in Stayton is a great guy that has shown himself to be very honest, trustworthy and he is very good about explaining and answering questions without making you feel ignorant. Like I said the bonus is you can do college plans and retirement savings and car and life and home insurance all thru him and get additional discounts the more you have thru them. Good luck and God bless!! and Yes, the older you are when you start the more it will be so jump in there quick if you can!

I have a policy with New York Life and I am 30 as well.

Get the insurance. I just recently got life insurance for myself to cover the kids in case anything happened to me. My hubby & I realized that if something should happen to me, there would be the huge cost of child care to deal with as I am a SAHM. I am 39 and I had the choice of how long I wanted the policy to be. I chose 20 years. I could have done 30 or even 40 years. The price is a little different the longer the policy lasts. Peace of mind was worth the 20 years. We figured the girls would be mostly out on their own by the time they were 20 something years old and would be able to mostly take care of themselves.

Life Ins is a great investment, especially if you have kids,you can get it for them too & it will carry on into their adult life. If you can get it now and for everybody, I recommend it!

If you have any serious illness, be prepared for turn downs. We have had life ins since we got married. Since then we have experienced cancer & 2 other diseases. We tried to increase our life ins, but they wouldn't due to our medical issues. We are lucky to have the life ins that we have.

How your insurance works varies greatly by plan and company. You will pay a bit more for insurance that doesn't end at a certain age. There are some that you can lock in though.
We use Foresters Insurance.

Absolutely, get life insurance, and now is the time!

I personally dumped my life insurance at work, for my daughter anyway.It just wasn't really worth the money and we can't afford the extra expense when I only work part time.

On a good note tho, my mom looked deeply into Gerber Life Insurance and u can choose what amount of coverage u want etc and naturally as it matures the better coverage u get.It's not too expensive either..cheaper then what I was paying thru my work.Thier only thing is the child must be over 2 months old I believe to get coverage which as moms we all know flys by in no time.She is also adding her other grandkids as they become old enough :)
My understanding as it matures but price does not change AND once they reach 21 I belive it is..it does NOT end like so many of these life insurances do on kids.You/they can keep it going or even use some of it for college :)

GOOD question K.- and NO you don't have to purchase term insurance ( that's the kind that only covers for a certain period of time) - you can purchase the other kind - I think it's called ''whole life'' - that covers you whenever you graduate - at 76 or 89 or 105 --- it covers. AND that kind is cheaper - particularly if you quick like a bunny buy NOW - the younger you are - the less it will cost- and the value is something you could borrow against when you are elderly--- it's a great value.

Blessings,
J.

Hi K.. Find a good independent insurance agent who can explain all of your options to you. Whole life insurance is more expensive than term life insurance. It may not be worth the extra cost for what you get. The reason for life insurance is to provide for your daughter's care in case of your death. You won't need it after she is an adult and can take care of herself.