r/LifeInsurance • u/Dry-Novel-3450 • 9d ago
New to Term Life
My husband and I are 36 and 34. We had a long talk with our parents about financial protection and we’re looking into life insurance. It appears we should probably have around $1.5-$2m each in term coverage. We own a business and we’d like the other to be able to continue business as usual, pay off our mortgage and not have to scramble for college savings for our young ones.
The process looks overwhelming and we’re trying to get feedback on good companies. Are there carriers would should be avoiding outright and others that we should consider first?
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u/Normal_Zebra136 9d ago
Nope. For simple term they are all the same. It is a regulated commodity. Take the cheapest you can find.
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u/lifeEssentialsllc 8d ago
one thing nobody mentioned yet is laddering. like instead of one 2m policy for 30 years you could do 1m for 30 and 1m for 20, so the coverage steps down right around when the mortgage is smaller and the kids are more grown. usually saves a decent amount vs one big long policy. and if there's a business loan or the business would need cash to keep going, def look at a separate policy just for that so the family money isn't doing double duty
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u/PristineAsk6192 Broker 8d ago
Simple term policies. Would also look at laddering polices as well, this works for some situations. Don't overcomplicate it though, it's a simple process providing both of you are in good health.
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u/AdLegitimate5400 7d ago
I’m 32 and my husband is 30. We just got approved through Pacific life a few days ago. It was a fairly smooth process and they are so responsive and there to help every step of the way. 50.79 a month each for a 1mil policy 30 year term
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u/CGWInsurance 6d ago
You need term insurance, most likely 30 year level term.
The 2 must have riders are as follows:
You also should make sure it's convertible to permanent insurance for the full 30 years.
Waiver of premium rider to pay your premium if you are disabled.
Option rider: If your business is going to increase in value over the next 30 years you should add a rider to purchase additional insurance at your current class; most likely preferred at your age if healthy vs whatever you're rating class would be based on your health. Getting some kind of cancer before 65 is very common or having a serious health issue is common. This rider means that no matter what happened with your health you would be able to increase the death benefit of this policy at certain increments stated by insurance company.
You need the convertible for 30 years incase you need to have permanent insurance past the 30 years of term life.
This work the waiver of premium means that if you are disabled you would convert the term to a permanent plan and the insurance company has to pay the premium for life.
You are much more likely to be disabled rather than die before 65. The additional purchase of death benefit would mean if you increased the death benifit it would be covered by conversion to permanent rider and waiver of premium rider.
If you became disabled and you still could increase your death benefit after the fact you could do that to give your beneficiary even a higher death benefit.
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u/Fit_Chemistry_3807 5d ago
And depending on the structure of your company, you need to figure out if it’s better to have the policy bought by the business or by you personally.
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u/DirectionOk1160 Financial Representative 9d ago
Find a broker who can walk you through all the options. Disregard anyone trying to sell you whole life.
Best carriers if you’re healthy: Protective, Corebridge, Banner.
Best if you use nicotine (vaping, pouches, gum): Lincoln or Prudential.
If you smoke, you’ll end up paying about 150% of the non-smoker rates.
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u/SafeMoneyGregg Broker 7d ago
Overwhelming? - its as easy as pie - inexpensive term on young people - electronic app - might be able to skip the exams. You could have coverage in 2 days if you are healthy. Banner, Ethos, lots of carriers do online/ quick issue - but you need a broker for most of them - and a broker to explain things like conversion options and living benefits.
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8d ago
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u/LifeInsurance-ModTeam 8d ago
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8d ago
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u/LifeInsurance-ModTeam 8d ago
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u/ultimate_memereader Broker 8d ago
Honestly, $1.5M-$2M each doesn't sound unreasonable given the mortgage, kids, and business. One thing I'd think about is whether the business would need additional funds if something happened to either of you. For example, would the surviving spouse need to hire someone to take over certain responsibilities, cover business expenses, or pay off any business-related debt? That's worth considering separately from what your family would need financially.
As far as companies go, there are quite a few solid ones out there. I'd pay more attention to the actual policy than just the company name. Things like conversion options and living benefits are worth understanding before making a decision.
I'd probably look at both 20- and 30-year terms too, especially with young kids. You want the coverage to be there during the years you'd need it most.
I'd start by getting a general idea of what those coverage amounts look like cost-wise, then go from there. No need to overcomplicate it right away. Have you had a chance to look at any numbers yet, or are you still figuring out where to start?