Insurance @ 42 Yrs. Old!?!?

Go for term- about 8 to 10 times your salary. Here's some info you might find helpful:
http://www.daveramsey.com/article/the-truth-about-life-in...

btw- my husband got a $900,000 policy from Zander insurance- the company Dave Ramsey endorses- for 40 something dollars/ mo.

Best wishes! =o)

We got term because our financial planner pointed out that the 30 year plan would get us late into our 60s. At that point, our house would be paid off, kids out of the house, and we'd be living on a reasonable retirement income (if all goes according to plan). Therefore, no need for life insurance past that point. If all doesn't go according to plan, we can look into extending the policy or purchasing an additional policy when the need arises. As I understand it, the rates go up with your age. Buying a policy now will cost a little more than the same policy would have cost in your 30s, but it will take you into older age. All depends on the age of your kids, the amount of debt you have to pay off, the amount you have saved for retirement, etc...

NEVER get whole life.....check around too, don't go with the 1st person you talk to....

We just bought ING 30 year term for both of us (32 & 38). It was actually much more reasonable than we thought!

Suggestion... call a reputable insurance broker and make an appointment. Our financial planner is also a life insurance broker through MetLife. She did all of the research, arranged for the physicals and blood work and brought us quotes. It was pretty easy and she got us a great rate!

I know most financial advisors will tell you to get term life insurance. I disagree, you are currently 42 and able to get insurance so no bad health issues. If you get a 20 yr term policy--it ends at 20 yrs and you will be 62 and probably have some health issues and may not qualify for a policy. Also at 42 you pay the premium of a 42 yr old at 62 you pay the premium of a 62 yr old. A term policy does not build cash value--a whole life policy does. After several years you can take a loan out of that cash value. A life insurance benefit is there to help loved ones pay for final expenses and to replace your income if needed.
If you own a home you might also look into Long Term Care insurance. Long Term Care insurance covers expenses if you need in home care, assisted living or nursing home care. Medicare does not cover these expenses. If your spouse is able to stay in the family home or you have children to inherit your home or other assets; these expenses can take everything you have worked for and leave nothing for your heirs.

Get 10x your annual salaries for each of you. (Ex. If you make 40K, get 400K on you.)
The thinking is that if (God forbid) something happens during your working (earning) years, properly invested, that amount could generate the lost income. Get Level term for 20 or 30 years--whichever will be the end of your work lives (earning years).

Try Zander Insurance on-line for quotes from trusted providers.

Of course, this is all assuming you have dependents between you or are going to have a baby (not sure the kiddo situation for you).

We got ours from Primerica about 2 yrs ago when my husband was 42 and I was 35. We got a good bit of coverage for an excellent cost (about a million for both of us for about 120 p/m). The physical was just blood tests, height/weight and blood pressure at our house. We are both technically overweight by not grossly. My husband has some well managed health problems. Anyway that was by far the lowest quote we got and they are rated very well! Good luck!

call your auto insurance agent 1st and get quotes. you sometimes get bundle discounts that way. then call a broker and compare the quotes. Find a company that you know will be still around when you need them. At this age, I would forgo term and buy whole life, that way you aren't in this predicament again in 20 yrs, paying the rates of a 62 yr old! Or do a combo. Some term to cover the mortgage and other bills, along with a small whole life policy for burial and final expenses.

Whatever you do...don't take insurance advice from a financial planner. They are not licensed or trained to give you advice on life insurance. Life insurance is not an investment product. Life ins agents cant give you financial planning advice and financaila planners should not be giving life insurance advice!

Kim L took the exact words out of my mouth. I have heard the same thing not only from financial planners but also accountants/CPA's. Whole life is very costly now, though you will get paid later, but whatever money you would put into the whole life now, you are better off investing it in a Roth IRA. Still get paid later, and it will be tax free when you withdraw.
Also another thing to look into once you get life insurance is making up a will. If you own your own home, it is highly advisable to put it into a Revocable Living Trust. http://www.legalhelper.net/living-trust-advantages.aspx

Why do you need life insurance. Is someone dependent upon your income who will be unable to get by if you die? If not, you probably do not need it. Most financial advisors do not recommend life insurance as a major investment (maybe a small part of a large portfolio if that) so you may be better off investing the money elsewhere. Of course if you have dependents that is a completely different story. DH and I figured out what we thought it would cost to raise our son to age 18 and estimated for college and picked that amount. We also have a policy that doesn't pay until the second one of us dies - substantially less expensive and all we felt was necessary.

Depends on what you need insurance for. Do you have small children? Are you dependent on each others' income?

Whole life is, for just about everyone, a terrible investment. If you would need to replace the income of the other person if he or you were to die tomorrow, or if you have children, then you should have a term life policy that will cover the lost income and have a policy in place for how ever long someone will be dependent on you. For parents of small children, policies of 20-25 years (or longer) make sense. At your age, a policy of this length would be expensive. If your kids are older and/or you would not need to replace the other person's income, then a shorter policy might make sense.

The goal of term life insurance is to never need to use it of course. That means that what you spend, you will never see and that's a good thing because you should be saving for college and retirement using tax-advantaged products designed specifically for those goals. So carefully define your needs and buy only a policy that covers the amount you need for the length of time that you need so that you don't spend more than you need to.

The other wrinkle is your marital status. Because you are not married, you'll need to take extra care when setting up beneficiaries, etc. Presumably you're on this board because at least you or your fiance has children, and as an unmarried couple if you are not the biological parents' of each others' child(ren) then you would not necessarily be the legal guardians in the case of one of you dying. If you both have children, it may make sense to consider setting up a trust that would be funded by a life insurance policy and then you can designate a trustee and set up specific parameters around who the money is to be used for and when. This keeps proceeds out of the hands of ex-spouses, bio-parents, etc. but ensures that your childrens' needs will be met.