What Is Considered Good Value For A Life Insurance Policy?
Posted February 24, 2010 – 10:17 am in: structured settlements FAQA 73 year old smoker pays $60 per month and the policy is only worth $10K. That seems to be a waste of money, especially when this person could use the money on a weekly basis right now. I’m wondering if there is a rule of thumb to determine if the monthly payment is reasonable when compared to the amount of the policy.
Tags: Considered, Good, Insurance, Life, Policy, Value, What
6 Comments
Does that 73 year old want coverage any more? Because NO ONE ELSE will give him a policy, unless you want a guaranteed issue policy.
The general rule of thumb is, buy TERM insurance, to get a “good deal”. Whole life is a ripoff, if you live to 80 and buy it when you’re 30. But, once you’re old enough, you flat out can’t buy life insurance any more.
So. Who’s going to pay to bury the smoker? Or, do they have $10K in the bank? If they have the $10K, they don’t need the life insurance.
I don’t see how the first responder can come to such a quick conclusion. The first question is when is the person going to die? OH, you don’t know that….???
Welcome to the world of insurance. If you cancel it and he/she dies next month they could’ve paid $60 for a $10,000 return on their money. That is quite a reasonable rate for the amount of coverage especially consdering they’re a smoker.
No offence it doesn’t seem worth it. i’m sure you can find a better policy elsewhere. If you fill out the form bellow, they will give you a free quote. hopefully it much better then what you have
You are right. This is a waste of money. Only an honest agent will tell you that. Remember, agents are in business to make money.
The money would be better spent on pre-paying for funeral expenses.
After saying that, there are a few exceptions. A policy that has been in force for many, many, many years. If the policy has some cash in it, there may be some alternitives to keep paying the premiums. Like if there are dividends there may be enough to keep paying the premiums for you. If this does not apply then do what I advise above.
You need to speak to the insurance agent. Make an appointment and see them in person if possible to go over options. If none of the options on the policy can pay the premiums for you then think about dropping it and applying payments toward pre-paid funeral expenses.
Really more info is needed for a best answer. How long have you had the policy? Is there cash in it? Are there dividends? Can the dividends pay the premiums for you? You need to ask the agent.
You are right.
More answers from people who don’t know the whole situation. How long have they been paying on it? What kind of policy is it? When does the coverage expire?
Anyone that flat out say whole life is a ripoff shouldn’t be answering life insurance questions.
No rule of thumb that I know of. It would be hard to have one because life insurance rates vary so much by age, health, etc. $60 per month for $10K would be terrible for a healthy 30-year old, but for someone who is older and in poor health then it may be a great deal.
Here are a few steps to walk through:
1) If this person is in poor health and has a real good chance of passing away in the next couple of years then it probably makes good sense for him or somebody to continue to make the payments.
2) Is anybody counting on this $10K? If the spouse or family doesn’t need the $10K when this person dies and $60 per month is a really big deal to them while he/she is alive then let them keep their $60 and let the policy lapse or someone else pay the premiums for the investment.
3) If you want to keep the insurance and just want to make sure you aren’t getting ripped off then just go out and see what the going rate would be for a new policy for a 73 year old smoker. At my company a 73 year old male smoker in standard health would pay $156 (female $109). This is a simplified issue, no health exam whole life policy. I’m sure an medically underwritten product would be less. So to me this rate seems reasonable.