How much life insurance do you have?

[Quasi]

Just curious.....

[Franchise]

Just the 1x salary that the company provides. I'm single, so no more is necessary at this point.

[Troy McClure]

How about "None, I don't need any"

[Pi Man]

if i had more insurance than the 1x from work, my kids would strangle and/or stab and/or poison me in the night.... iocane powder, you know, is very lethal.....

[Polly Nomial]

I have 1x. My husband has 3x. hmmmmmmm.........

[Maine-iac]

My husband has 6X. Good thing I really like him. :D

[Ozric Tentacles]

Got 2x from the company. All I pay is the VEB tax on the amount > $50K.

(Great... now you guys know I make more than $25K. :roll: )

[Kitten]

I have 5x. Thought it was good advance planning for when I have little ones, since I'm healthy and not pregnant now. Would hate to have to re-qualify and a later time and find out there might be a problem. The bh only has 3x right now, I think. Good thing he likes me! :lol:

[JO]

I'm single as well so I'm in the same boat as Franchise : 1x from company. I figured my family would have enough to get me in the ground and to pay for the cheap sandwiches for whoever would want to show up to the burial..

[Ben Kenobi]

iocane powder, you know, is very lethal.....

I hear you can build up a resistance to it, though.

[_BullDog_]

iocane powder, you know, is very lethal.....

I hear you can build up a resistance to it, though.

But that takes awhile.

[Katie.]

Oops, I lied, I forgot about the company coverage.

[Abstract Actuary]

I have 50K from the company, but what you have to keep in mind is this is a term life policy, only good for while you are working with the company.

Read - no one will ever actually see this unless you are in an accident or something - cause in all likelihood you would die after leaving the current company you work for.

[bubba_joe]

kinda ocd about this..........1M+

[Wannabe Actuary]

1x from the company, 3x by choice, 20K my parents started for me when I was young = 4x + 20K total

unless it's an accidental death....I have another 5x for AD&D

how do I vote?

4x +20K
or
9x + 20K?

[Woodrow]

Read - no one will ever actually see this unless you are in an accident or something - cause in all likelihood you would die after leaving the current company you work for.

I'm in my early 30's and am signing up for a 20 year term. I certainly hope no one will ever collect on this.

What terms do people recomend? I was going to get 30 year term, but my cholesterol is high and 20 year was much cheaper. Now I am thinking in 20 years I will have a good amount saved, and my retirement savings could be passed to the family instead of life insurance. Logical, or am I missing something?

[atomic]

I have a whole life policy whose benefit is a function of age at death. If I live to my 80s, it should be worth 1M. What poll option do I choose?

[1695814]

...and do we include the survivor-annuity that the spouse & children will receive from social security?

[Jack]

I have 1.2M and I'm thinking of getting more.

You need to consider what your wife and kids would do with out you. Social Security survivor benefits ain't gonna cut it.

[Katie.]

I have 50K from the company, but what you have to keep in mind is this is a term life policy, only good for while you are working with the company.

Read - no one will ever actually see this unless you are in an accident or something - cause in all likelihood you would die after leaving the current company you work for.

Not sure if this was addressed to me, but...that's true, but I don't have kids, my sig o has a career, and he wouldn't stay in the house if I died. I don't actually need insurance at all but 1x is free as part of my benefits.

[Loner]

I have 1.2M and I'm thinking of getting more.

You need to consider what your wife and kids would do with out you. Social Security survivor benefits ain't gonna cut it.


No, but once the house is paid off, the amount needed to actually live on should be considerably less. Plus if they have too much money lying around your kids will get screwed on financial aid. Unless you have special needs kids or your spouse will not be able to work, that sounds like enough.
Keep in mind your food clothing and vehicle will no longer be in the budget.

[Emily]

I have 50K from the company, but what you have to keep in mind is this is a term life policy, only good for while you are working with the company.

Read - no one will ever actually see this unless you are in an accident or something - cause in all likelihood you would die after leaving the current company you work for.
So what? If you aren't working for that company you'll be working for a different company, and if you aren't working for any company, then you have no income to replace. Some people don't need much life insurance.

[Klaymen]

$500K + 2X

[tommie frazier]

i have 100k whole life + 350k in 20 year term (15 left) + 100k at work (free) + 4x salary (at work)

worth more dead than alive to some, I guess. i have 2 kids and a wifey. it would pay for housing, college, and some other stuff, but the mrs would not become wealthy enough to never have to support herself through work. she'd be working again, we assume.

[Saint Kepler]

I have 2x salary that the company provides and I pay for 2x salary more. Plus I have another $100k+ in unvested stock awards and options that immediately vest if I die.

I have $250k on the wife.

[anon3]

I have 6x - and very glad to have every dollar of it.

unfortunately - I was diagnosised with some awful stuff last year.
Insurance would cost me a whole bunch more today if I tried to go through underwriting.

[Expunge]

I have a whole life policy whose benefit is a function of age at death. If I live to my 80s, it should be worth 1M. What poll option do I choose?
I don;t know exactly how the benefit function works, but this sounds an aweful lot like a savings account, not insurance.

[Emily]

Actuaries don't know what whole life is anymore?

[atomic]

I have a whole life policy whose benefit is a function of age at death. If I live to my 80s, it should be worth 1M. What poll option do I choose?
I don;t know exactly how the benefit function works, but this sounds an aweful lot like a savings account, not insurance.

What I have is most definitely life insurance, since the benefit is paid upon death. A savings account does not have this property. It is entirely possible to design a product where the amount of benefit is an increasing function of age at death--we even have a notation for it, it's

$$(IA)_x$$.

[Quasi]

Actuaries don't know what whole life is anymore?

That was what I was thinking too.

[Woodrow]

What I have is most definitely life insurance, since the benefit is paid upon death. A savings account does not have this property.

Sounds like a bad savings account.

[Expunge]

Sorry some casualty guys forget all that funky notation as soon as the pass course three. Instead we think of it as it works. Does your IAx policy vary significantly from a savings account? (you know besides the inflexability of having to wait until you die to get at the money?)

[JMO]

Actuaries don't know what whole life is anymore?
Does ANYBODY?

[Ranger]

If you had a "whole" in your pocket, would you put more money into it???

I know what whole life is and how it works.
That's exactly why I buy term insurance.

[Woodrow]

I know what whole life is and how it works.
That's exactly why I buy term insurance.

I've noticed personal finance guides all seem to be against anything but term insurance. I have often thought about asking the life actuaries on this board that work on other products what their side of the story is.

But I haven't.

[BallaActuary]

Any life insurance benefits over $50,000 is considered taxable income by the government, so you should keep that in consideration as well.
I think that is one of the worst things I've ever heard.

[Asynchronous]

Any life insurance benefits over $50,000 is considered taxable income by the government, so you should keep that in consideration as well.
I think that is one of the worst things I've ever heard.

Not sure if you were stating this, or quoting it. The value of any employer-provided life insurance above $50,000 is taxable to the employee.

[Salzmann]

I have what my employer provides (4X, I think) and that's it. My husband is old enough to collect SS and that and the retirement funds we've set aside would support him decently. My son is almost through college. I don't really need it at this point.

[ShakeNBakes]

I have 2x salary through work and a $50K WL policy my parents took out when I was young.

Once I have a family, I will probably buy some term to reach whatever level I feel necessary at that point (no idea what [or when] that will be)

[Abnormal]

Any life insurance benefits over $50,000 is considered taxable income by the government, so you should keep that in consideration as well.
I think that is one of the worst things I've ever heard.

Not sure if you were stating this, or quoting it. The value of any employer-provided life insurance above $50,000 is taxable to the employee.

Which is why, when I worked for an American company, I paid premiums for the amount of the benefit above $50 K - of course since my employer also owned the life insurer the premium was negligible (a few dollars a month) but I did pay premium.

[General Apathy]

:bump:

[Redge]

$1 M 20-yr term (thinking of switching to term-to-100)
2x salary from work
Balance of my mortgage