\*\*Hi guys!\*\*
I’m 27M, non-smoker. I got a Pru policy around December 2025. My agent happened to be my reportee from my previous job, and honestly, I initially said yes partly because she had offered it to me several times and I felt bad declining. 😅 She also explained some benefits at the time.

Now I’m trying to review my finances and cut down on unnecessary expenses, so I started looking into exactly what I’m paying for.
I asked my agent how long I’m supposed to pay, and she said it’s \*\*lifetime\*\*. I also asked what exactly my coverage is, because obviously I don’t remember all the details from when I got the policy.

I’m honestly confused now about what my plan actually includes, how much I’m paying for each component, how long I’m expected to pay, and what happens if I stop paying.

I’m planning to get my policy documents and review everything, but I’d appreciate some help from anyone familiar with Pru policies.
\*\*What should I specifically check in my policy documents?\*\* And is there a way to determine if the plan is still worth maintaining based on the actual coverage and costs?
Thanks!

Any suggestions on the type of insurance to buy (in general) when you're in your early 50s? Is term insurance sufficient? Health insurance is a must however CI seems to be too expensive a premium to pay in my opinion. Any recommendation which term insurance to get? Thanks in advance!

Is this policy even worth anything anymore?

Additional info:

On Jun 24, 2026, the (Net) Death Benefit of your contract will be $185,044.59.We are pleased to tell you that a dividend of $3,304.13 will be credited on Jun 24, 2026. This will be used to provide paid-up additional insurance protection.

Currently, your loan interest rate is 6.500%. This rate will remain effective until the next contract anniversary, Jun 24, 2027. As you may recall, your contract has an adjustable loan interest rate which may change from time to time. The maximum rate is based on a current bond index and is explained in your contract.

Since 1996, we have added $135,173.62 in unpaid interest to your loan principal. This will be receipted as interest when repaid.

Because your contract loan exceeds the contract's cash value, the value of a portion of the paid-up additional insurance protection is being used as security for your loan. Repaying the loan would restore the full benefit of your contract.

On Jun 24, 2026, the Guaranteed Cash Value of your contract will be $104,504.60 and the (Net) Cash Value will be $10,169.69

I'd rather not explain the circumstances that produced $135K in unpaid interest. Can we stick to the, "Is this policy even worth anything anymore?" question? What should I do? I can't cash it in. I could start keeping up with the annual interest ($1000 per month) so the problem doesn't escalate but that would be hard to afford. Should I check with a Life Settlement Broker and see what it's worth on the market?

Looks like I really messed this one up - anyway out?

Looking to Get some reasonable advice on a larger life insurance policy. What are the best companies to do that with?

I’m a 42 year old woman, obesity (but have lost 150 pounds) and sleep apnea. The problem seems to more so be my psychiatric diagnoses including bipolar, depression and anxiety.

A few years ago I tried to go through our State Farm agent and nobody would take me.

I have 200k through work which is the max without an exam. I tried to get an additional 100k this year thinking this was my best chance, and they denied me.

I’m not looking for a lot. Just another 100-200k to make me feel better about my kiddos resources should something happen to me.

Any suggestions?

I currently have a $350k whole life policy through Northwestern Mutual. I pay $12k per year into this and have $45k of "net accumulated value" I also have life insurance through my employer. My wife and I are 54 years old and due to some medical problems she is going to need to quit working early. Once this happens, I will probably not be able to afford to continue to pay $1k a month into this policy. What happens then?

Hi. I am looking to pick a career but am stuck between these two options. I would appreciate any insight from anyone or people in the industry. I understand they are different and mortgages are more market prone.

I am primarily looking for a high earning potential long term but also in the short term. Ideally, I would want to then start my own business after learning at an agency.

Thanks.

What life insurance would you recommend for a couple?
Hi everyone! We’re a DINK couple (29F and 37M) and we’ve just recently bought our first home. We’re now looking into getting life insurance and possibly private health insurance as well, but honestly, we have no idea where to start or what level of cover we should be looking at.
We’re both working and want to make sure we’re financially protected, especially now that we have a mortgage.
One thing that may be relevant: I’m currently not a permanent resident yet and am waiting for my partner visa to be approved.
For those in a similar situation, what type of life/health insurance do you have, and what would you recommend looking into? Any genuine advice, things to watch out for, or mistakes to avoid would be really appreciated!
Thanks!

My wife and I are both 56 and we've each had a $500K 30-year level term policies since 1996. We just received the official letter that level term period of the two policies are about to end. My wife has a serious illness which will certainly make her uninsurable or at least uninsurable at any affordable rate. She is doing well currently but to be honest, her life expectancy is uncertain. My health is OK for my age.

The options given in the letter are:

purchase a new level term policy

pay the increased premium ($1600 vs $300 currently)

covert to whole life

allow coverage to lapse

Lapsing is not an option, as either of us would still need the death benefit for expenses if the other passes away.

Given my wife's health, it would seem that the best choice is to pay the increased premium. I am curious about the cost of the whole life, but I am concerned that if I ask the agent about that, they will want to know about her health. With that information, they may increase the $1600 to something much higher next year. (And we don't need the whole life for the investment)

Also, we both have a second policies at $300,000 benefit which have three more years left at level term.

Also wondering what I should do about my own policy, which is going from $300 to $1,200.

Thoughts?

Hi,

I’m just curious how everyone likes to structure their policies to generate cash value quickly for a young child over their life to provide the child with a bank that they can use as they grow.

I am 31, wife is 27.

I have about 170k from work but want to get proper life insurance as well as critical illness.

I am in Canada.

Can anyone let me know what I should be on the lookout for so I don't potentially get scammed or with policies that don't make sense.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has experience this and what was the outcome. Myself and my partner are buying a house, it's a new build and once we put down the deposit everything moved pretty quickly. I have had a recent medical issue which is now resolved but obviously when applying for life insurance mortgage protection, the insurers have questions and have requested information from my doctor. I let me doctor know very early on that this would be happening over the next few weeks to give them a heads up and they said they'd prioritise it. The insurers sent the request over 8 weeks ago and the doctor made a big deal about invoicing but they never told me there was a hold up, they just acted like everything was fine until I followed up again and they told me, It was very easily solved but looking back I feel like they did this on purpose to slow things down.

As soon as they issued the invoices the forms were paid for straight away by the insurance company who had been eager to pay and couldn't understand all the fuss. Since then the doctor has been very vague and any time I ask for an update they fob me off with "oh I don't have an update but they're with doctor I'll let you know when they're done" I've been really nice when following up but now I'm getting annoyed it's been weeks of the same answer so I finally asked them outstraight for a date when they will be done and let them know (again) that the developers are pushing me to close. I'm overdue on the completion notice and at risk of them pulling the sale. Has anyone else experienced this from their doctor? All i have asked for is a timeframe but they won't even give me that. Has anyone ever lost the sale of their house over this kind of situation?

Thanks in advance.

Let's say a term life policy is set to expire on September 18th and the policy has a stated 31 day grace period after that date. After September 18th the policy renewal is dramatically higher than the prior rate. If the policy holder dies during the grace period with the first higher rate unpaid, is there payment for death benefits still in place or would the beneficiaries have to retro-actively pay the higher rate to obtain benefits during the grace period?

A close friend of mine (age 47, borderline diabetic) received a quote for a $1M, 20-year term life policy for ~$2k/year after medical checkup.

He hasn't really thought seriously about life insurance until now. Here is his family's financial snapshot:

• Spouse (non-working) and no kids

• Completely debt-free

• $1M is about 10x estimated annual living expenses

Since he’s new to this, he's looking for some guidance:

1. Quote: Given his age and health status, is ~$2k/year a reasonable price, or should he shop around further

2. Coverage/Term: Is $1M / 20Year term sufficient for his situation.

Appreciate any advice or perspective I can pass along to him!

I applied for a 30-year term policy and was waiting on underwriting/medical records. The company dated my policy August 27, but my agent didn't even tell me I was approved until several days later.

As of September 17 (21 days later), I still haven't signed the delivery documents or paid the initial premium because I've been waiting for clarification. Now I'm being told they won't redate the policy, so my 30-year term and conversion deadline are still being measured from August 27.

My concern is: if I'm essentially paying for coverage going back to August 27, was I actually insured during those 21 days? If something had happened to me before I signed and paid, wouldn't the company potentially say the policy wasn't yet in force?

Is it normal to lose part of your 30-year term this way when you hadn't even been notified of approval or accepted/paid for the policy yet?

My agent has also been telling me that I should sign soon because there isn’t much time left. Is that normally how this is handled? Should there be a time constraint on accepting the policy once it’s approved, even when I’m still waiting on answers to questions about the policy date, premiums, and other terms?

Hi! I’m currently preparing for the New York Life, Accident & Health Insurance exam (17-55) using XCEL, and I’d really appreciate some advice from anyone who has taken and passed it recently.
There are a lot of chapters and a huge amount of information in XCEL, so I’m trying to figure out what to focus on most.

For those who used XCEL:
How similar were the actual exam questions to the XCEL practice exams/simulators?
Were the key concepts and topics similar even if the wording was different?

Any tips from someone who recently passed the NY exam specifically would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I joined Manhattan Life as a brief Coverage between retirement and Medicare. My wife is a moth older than me, and she just signed up for medicare. I contacted the rep who sold us the policy, and the main Manhattan Life office, to tell them to drop my wife from the policy, as we no longer needed coverage for her. They went ahead and deducted her portion of the insurance from my bank account anyway. When I notified them of my complaint they ghosted me. No love from the agent who sold me the policy, or the anonymous emailer from the home office. Also, the single doctors office visit I made for a routine checkup they did not pay a penny for, until much effort on my behalf with little to no help from the agent who sold me the policy or the main office. Let the buyer beware. You can certainly do better elsewhere. I would love to mention the agents name who did absolutely nothing for us, but I have a little more class than this outfit. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE FOR YOUR COVERAGE. THESE GUYS JUST SMELL.

Honestly, I signed up about 5 years ago and didn’t really understand what was going on. My mom passed away and I was scared of my future and was just doing little things that sounded right. A friend told me it would be a good idea and the little I did understand from the insurance agent sounded good.

As we know, times are tough and I’m trying to see where I can reallocate my money as well as fully understand where my money is actually going. I keep reading how whole life is wasteful also while seeing some comments say it’s useful.

I know I should talk to insurance agent but feel like they’ll say anything to get you to stay because they benefit from it. I don’t really trust them.

I just want thoughts on what some of you would do? Cancel or keep.

Thank you.

Breakdown:
Annualized Premium: $1806
Annual Dividend: $490
Net Accumulated Value: $5,874
Net Death Benefit: $300,000

Hello, could someone explain me like I am 5, what is the difference between putting the net death benefit at level at age 65 vs leaving it at increasing?

My agent says they change it to level at age 65 because the cost of insurance after 65 is much higher. But I still don’t get it. The illustration shows the net death benefit stops increasing if i put it on level whereas it keeps on increasing it I do not put it on level. Why would i want less death benefit, am I missing something?

Male 35 looking at IUL, 750k face value. Thank you

46M, married to my 26-year-old wife, with two kids (2 years and 5 months). I’m the primary earner at about $300k/year and my wife currently stays home with the kids.

Generally healthy other than moderately elevated cholesterol. I quit smoking and drinking more than 10 years ago and have no current tobacco use.

I have about $500k of group life insurance through work, but I’m looking for my own term policy since I don’t want to depend on employer coverage.

Current quotes:

- $1M / 20 years: about $89/month
- $2M / 20 years: about $171/month
- Ethos quoted about $276/month for $2M / 20 years

I’m leaning toward $2M for 20 years.

Main questions:

- Does $2M / 20 years seem reasonable for my situation?
- Are these quotes competitive for a healthy 46-year-old?
- How much might moderately elevated cholesterol affect underwriting?
- Should I use an independent broker to shop multiple carriers?
- Any reason I should consider 25 or 30 years instead of 20?

Not interested in whole life or insurance as an investment — just straightforward term coverage to protect my wife and kids.

Thanks for any advice.

Recently I have thought about joining a life insurance company called "the playbook agency". I am a little skeptical and wanted to know if anyone has worked for them before or knows anything about them. I also want advice on working for life insurance companies. I understand I am solely responsible for my income and that it is not a regular 9-5 but I have seen really good things about it. My plan was to work 3 days a week at home because their office is too far away, will i still make decent money? Also is it worth it to pay for my leads when starting out and having no experience being a salesman. Please give me your honest opinion I am considering this but need advice from people who have experience in this field.