life and disability insurance for SAHMs?

[crl]

Hi,

I'm considering leaving my job when we adopt our baby this summer. Health insurance will be covered by dh's employer. But I'll lose my life insurance, which currently comes through my employer. And I've never had disability insurance. Any suggestions for sources of insurance under these circumstances? I'm not high risk or anything--healthy, non-smoker, in my mid-thirties.

Thanks!
Catherine

[alkagift]

We thought about this and we decided on Northwestern Mutual's insurance offerings. We looked at their ratings and how long they have been rated and they are absolutely tops in financial security. My DH's firm is VERY expensive for spousal coverage so this is much better. We've found the representative to be extremely professional and not heavy handed at all, and I'm very sensitive to that--if he was pushy he would be fired, period.

Allison
Mommy to Matthew Clayton, 5/19/03

[mharling]

Check with your benefits people to see if your current life insurance coverage is portable. I was able to transfer my life insurance to an individual policy at the existing coverage amount. For me, it's a little more expensive than being under the group policy, but it's not bad.

Disability is typically to replace lost income if you become disabled. We decided to forego disability coverage for me since I am a SAHM. I would definitely put the priority on disability coverage for your dh if he doesn't have it already. If you'd like to pursue disability coverage for yourself, I would, again, check with your benefits people at your current job.

Good luck!!

Mary & Lane 4/6/03
[link:www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b370a2992536|Birthday Pics!!]

[DebbieJ]

I just got a policy through SelectQuote. They work with a number of insurance companies (all highly rated) and find the cheapest policy for you.

I was really happy with the service. Just two phone calls and now I'm waiting for a nurse to come to my house to do the physical and that's it!

~ deb
mommy to brendan 12/7/03

[lukkykatt]

I was told by our ins. agent that I was not eligible for disability insurance because, as a SAHM, I am not making any income. That was over 4 years ago, so maybe there are some new products now. If anyone has such a policy, I would love to hear about it!

[mharling]

Andrea -
That's entirely possible. We didn't look into it at all, so I don't know. I bet if there is something available that it would be pretty expensive.

And actually, now that I sit here thinking about it, it may not be such a bad idea since there would likely be childcare costs if I was disabled. Is that your thinking?

Mary & Lane 4/6/03
[link:www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b370a2992536|Birthday Pics!!]

[Momof3Labs]

There are lots of options for life insurance. You probably won't be able to get disability insurance because to do so, you have to have an income that you can document (i.e. paystubs) to the underwriters. You can, however, get dread disease policies like a cancer policy that pay benefits to cover some living expenses if you are diagnosed with cancer, and you don't have to have documented income to have such a policy issued. I have mixed feelings about the cancer policies and don't really recommend them unless you are at higher risk. They are somewhat like playing the lottery, with a small, small chance of needing them but a fairly good sized payoff possible should you need them.

My opinion would be to make sure that you and your DH have ADEQUATE life insurance (many, many people do not have enough), good medical insurance, and that your DH has good disability coverage (which is unlikely - usually this needs supplementing through a private policy) through his employer. Also, you should have 6 months of your DH's income in readily accessible savings (i.e. not in a retirement vehicle) should something happen to him, though it would also be a safety net should something happen to you.

[crl]

Thanks! DH is well covered for life insurance and since his employer is the Marine Corps, he's also well covered for disability. My life insurance definitely needs to be for a higher amount than I currently have. And I was thinking disability for me to cover child care costs in the event that I become disabled. Sounds like that may not be available?

Thanks for all your help!

[lukkykatt]

Yes, I was thinking about childcare costs and any additional costs that our family would incur (that were not covered by insurance) if I became disabled.

[jamsmu]

Hi Catherine,

My dad does this for a living. I don't understand it too well, but he's always been really helpful with questions from DH and me, as well as a lot of my friends. e-mail me if you would like more info. (Hope this doesn't offend anyone, but I know that if someone gave me a way to get info, I'd jump on it.)

[Momof3Labs]

No, I seriously doubt that you can get disability coverage because you have no income to replace. The disability market has tightened up significantly in the past 10 years or so after some very high claim rates, and the companies are pretty strict in their underwriting. They will only replace a certain percentage of your income, and since your income is zero, there is nothing to replace in their eyes. I'm not saying that you won't have additional expenses should something happen, I'm just saying that it's highly unlikely that you will find an insurance company willing to insure it under a general disability policy.

And yes, I work in the industry though haven't worked with disability insurance in several years now. Though I got a peek back into what is going on recently when we tried to get a policy for DH.

[crl]

Thank you all!

[Melanie]

We have Farmer's Insurance and originally it was for the amount of our mortgage, which is pretty much all we can afford since it's not term (I forget what you call the other kind). We really need to up it now that we moved, though.

[amp]

I don't know if this is wise, but in our case, since I have no income, we only have enough life insurance on me to bury me and to help DH adjust to having to either miss work temporarily or pay for child care that I had previously provided. We don't need to replace my income, but rather get him through the death, funeral and adjustment period of finding and affording child care. All of our bills are paid for out of his income, so there's no need for insurance to replace that. Life insurance on DH, on the other hand, is enough to help me live without having to work for quite awhile (hopefully), since I am a SAHM and would not have a job to support us.

[cuca_]

Catherine,

Both DH and I have life insurance policies with USAA. Actually we have all our insurance policies with USAA. Since your husband is in the Marine Corps, you could look into getting life insurance through them. Since DH is the one who deals with all our policies, I can't give you many details, but so far we have been happy with their services.

HTH

Carmen