$149/mo for life insurance??

[elektra]

So DH and I are idiots for waiting until now to get life insurance, I know. We have 2 kids and a mortgage and it has been a no brainer for me but DH on the other hand....
Let's just say we don't agree on how to spend our money.
Anyway, I finally got some quotes from AccuQuote I think it was, and they took or info, and the nurse came to our house and did the medical exam and all that.
My quote is $43 a month but DH's is $149?!!
And isn't mine high even?

I have a seizure disorder but I haven't had a grand mal seizure in 15 years, as it's now controlled with medication. I am in otherwise good health. I do have some family members that have had health problems though. How much does that really factor in?

I think the major dings for DH were his age (40), weight (I won't list it but it's too much) and the fact that he developed a DVT (blood clot) in his leg after a long international flight a few years ago. He also has a cyst in his neck that was found to be benign but is still there and the quote lady on the phone said that didn't factor in since it was not diagnosed as anything at this point.


ETA: I forgot important details. This is term (15 years), for a $1,000,000 policy. American General ended up as the lowest quote for me and ING was the lowest for DH. I thought I would need that much based on what's left on our mortgage and what our current salaries are. But even then I'm not 100% sure that $1,000,000 is the right amount for us. And if I shop around do I need to just contact the places directly or find a different broker? Also it was Selectquote, I just checked the paperwork.


Does this all sound right?

[sariana]

Whoa! My DH is covered for $94/quarter, and that includes coverage for an act of war (he is in the military).

I would shop around some more if you can. We originally were looking at another company, and they wanted to charge more because DH has a really low heart rate and thus an abnormal EKG. Even though medical professionals have stated the abnormality is because he runs and is in excellent health, the first company jacked his rate way up.

So we found another company. Our options were limited because of the war clause thing. But since I assume that is not an issue for you, I would keep looking.

ETA: I should specify we have term life insurance with a 10-year term for $750,000. I don't know how "whole" (is that the right word?) would compare. Obviosly a different amount of coverage would change the rate, too.

[blisstwins]

It depends. We pay more than that, which makes me ill, but we have a pretty big policy because I have nothing if DH dies at this point (no home or equity).

[o_mom]

For how much coverage?

[Momof3Labs]

How much coverage? What type (term, whole life)? If term, how long a term? What insurance company?

[chinook]

It sounds about right given your DH's health history, I'd be surprised if you find insurance for much less on him. Having said that it never hurts to shop around.

Do either of you have an option to increase the amount of insurance you get through your jobs? It's risky in some ways (you'll lose the coverage if you lose the job) but you can often increase to a certain amount very cheaply and without a medical. It probably won't be an increase to the amount that you need, but it could cut the amount of personal term insurance you need to buy.

[BelleoftheBallFlagstaff]

Have you check with your car/home insurance company? Sometimes with multiple policy discounts you can get it cheaper...

[kijip]

Age and weight make a huge difference to the rate. The rate sounds about right for what you mention. Shopping around might get it a little lower.

[jamesmom]

It seems a little high to me. I think you can shop around to get a better rate.

[jenfromnj]

Just for a sort of similar comparison, my DH has had multiple DVT episodes (which have now been found to be due to an autoimmune disorder, which definitely complicated things from a life insurance perspective) and is probably about 20-35 lbs over the "ideal" weight for his height, and we secured a 30 year term policy for $1 million in May for just under $100 per month. It did take a close review of his medical files to get that rate--originally they quoted us close to $200 per month for a 20-year term, but after we shopped around had they reviewed his records in detail, it improved by a lot.

My rate was a lot lower, but we were told numerous times that any issue like that will almost always automatically put you in a higher risk group.

I am not positive who his policy is issued by (I know we have different carriers due to pricing), but I can find out--I want to say MetLife, but I'm not 100%.

[BillK]

Keep in mind - when you're using someone like "Select Quote" - all you are getting quoted is the best possible rate based on your answers to some very basic questions.

The rate is not guaranteed until you complete a much more lengthy application with a lot of medical questions - at which point the underwriting of whatever company you're using makes the decision on what rate you qualify for.

I could quote someone that is 4 feet tall and 425 pounds an ultra-preferred rate - complete an application based on that - accept their initial premium - send the app off to my company - then let the proverbial $hit hit the fan once underwriting reviews it and assigns a substandard, table rated premium that's 10x as much to it. Once the policy is issued at a higher rate - the vast majority of people will accept it because they don't want to complete the process with another company all over again only to get a similar rate in the end - that's what online companies (and even some agents) are banking on when they quote you a low-ball rate.

This is why - as I've said before - it's better to find an actual agent who you can sit down with - discuss your circumstances and get a realistic quote from based on what you tell him or her. I really really really really hate to quote ultra-preferred to people because so few actually get it - then it's a big ugly fight when the policy gets issued at a higher rate.

[AnnieW625]

My Dh and I who are healthy with no underlying health problems pay around $85 a month for our policies which are $500,000 per person with a 30 year term. Both DH and I were at our ideal weights when we got the policy. We will most likely look at converting one/both of them to whole life around the time DH turns 40. We chose the $500,000 policy because that is how much we owed on our home at the time we got the policy. We figured this would pay off the house if something happened to either one of us. Is American General your auto insurance carrier? If not I would look at going through your auto insurance carrier. We have a really good State Farm insurance agent in HB. PM me if you would like her information.

[elektra]

Thanks for all the info. Bill-I really appreciate all those specifics. I guess we are at the point then where we are waiting for the $hit to hit the fan because they have done the medical eval., and we are waiting for the final quote based on those results. So maybe his (mine?) will go up even more? Wonderful.
I wish I knew what I was doing. I also wish our Farmers agent was more helpful. I actually asked him about life insurance a long time ago but he lagged getting back to me. We have our car and homeowners through him, but he messes stuff up all the time with regards to our car stuff. (Ex. I called him to tell him I thought our truck insurance was too high, since it is now a recreational vehicle that pretty much sits in our driveway. So he says he'll take care of it and then we get something in the mail that says we owe more!)

[hollybloom24]

We pay $4,500 a year for $2 million for 20 years through SBLI. The policy was written when my husband was over 45, and he was also overweight at the time. No other health issues. The younger you are, the better. Age and weight make a big difference, as a PP wrote.

I have been told he can submit his new weight (lost 70 pounds) with a $100 fee and see if the policy will go down in price - it will never go up we were told.

[vludmilla]

DH has a $1 million dollar policy that we pay for though his paycheck. It is about $60 per month. It's a better than average rate because his employer has a special arrangement. DH started the policy at 37 yo, non smoker, ideal weight, good health.

[Katigre]

We used both SelectQuote and AccuQuote for our life insurance policies. I think that the rate for your husband sounds about right given the three key dings against him (weight, age, and health issues). I found both insurance brokers good to work with and very clear about what the rates each company offered us based on our specific qualifications - we weren't quoted or asked to pay any premium until we had a policy locked into place complete with our medical exams completed.

I would NOT go through Farmer's Insurance for life insurance, personally.

Some options for lowering your premium are getting a lower amount of money ($750,000 vs. $1,000,000) or a shorter term (20 vs. 30 year term).

The purpose of life insurance is to provide for a surviving spouse and children. If you have young children then you need more $ than if your kids are in their late teens. If your spouse has an established career you need less than if your spouse would have to go back to school and start over from scratch.