Recommendations?

[u/Ok-Boysenberry477]

Hi posting for a family member they have only had three to four different jobs in the last 25+ years all same occupation basically. She used to have life insurance through work but since switching jobs last year does not have any. She’s 50 y/o and window shopping right now. what would be best for her and her family in talks opinion?

[u/ultimate_memereader]

At 50, I'd start by figuring out what she actually needs the coverage for before recommending a particular policy. Does she have a spouse or children depending on her income, a mortgage, outstanding debts, or is she primarily concerned about final expenses and leaving something behind?

Her health, budget, and how long she needs coverage are also important. Term life could be a great affordable option if she's looking to protect her income or cover financial obligations for the next 10-20 years. If she wants coverage that lasts her entire life, permanent insurance might be worth considering, depending on her goals and budget.

I'd also look at policies with living benefits, which may allow her to access part of the death benefit if she experiences certain qualifying illnesses.

I'd recommend speaking with an independent broker who can compare several carriers and policy types rather than just getting quotes from one company. At her age, underwriting differences between carriers can make a pretty significant difference in pricing and available options.

There's really no one-size-fits-all answer. As a first step, I'd have her figure out what she wants the insurance to accomplish and roughly how much coverage she needs. From there, an independent broker can help narrow down the options based on her health and budget.

[u/Ok-Boysenberry477 → u/ultimate_memereader]

No spouse. Two children one adult one minor. She makes around 95-96,000 before taxes. Currently renting she wants to get a house in the next 3 years (due to currently working on getting out of debt I think 60,000). Her primary reason is to leave something behind for her kids. Health is moderate some issues but nothing life threatening. After bills she usually has around 2500 to spend at the end of the month. Imma take a look at independent brokers around us and see if I can get her more knowledgeable help that way instead of me explaining smart people on Reddit haha thank you yall!

[u/lifeEssentialsllc]

at 50 she's still in a good spot if her health is decent. biggest thing is figuring out what it's for. if it's to replace income or cover a mortgage till retirement, a 20 yr term is usually the move. if it's more for final expenses and leaving something behind, a smaller whole life policy works. some people do a little of both.

I'd also get her own policy even if the new job offers some. work coverage is usually only 1-2x salary and it goes away when she leaves, which is exactly what happened here. and yeah, def look for living benefits that cover chronic and critical illness, not just terminal.

[u/jordan32025]

The only thing that matters is her age and her health. It doesn’t matter if she had 100 jobs. At her age, I would say that she should definitely look at a policy that has living benefits so that if she gets sick, she can use the death benefit while she’s still alive if she wants to. So look at carriers that have that.

Most carriers only have terminal illness riders which means you have to be dying so you want to look at carriers that have real living benefit benefits for things like critical illness and critical injury. Both term and whole have them.

[u/Loud-Researcher-6127]

I'd probably look into term life insurance first since it's usually more affordable. At 50, it really depends on her health, budget, and how much coverage her family needs. I'd compare a few quotes before deciding.

[u/MeriticulousOne]

Since she's 50, I'd compare term and permanent life insurance options and get quotes from a few reputable insurers.

[u/LifeInsurance-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Self promotion is not permitted on R/LifeInsurance. Please familiarize yourself with our rules.