I’ve never really bought term life insurance and always relied on employer provided life insurance. I am trying to set it right this year. Any tips from folks on providers or how to approach this?
Do longer term rather than shorter - you can always stop paying early. My husband didn’t want his life insurance to go past when my last kid would go to college because he figured it would force me to go back to work when he died, and I wouldn’t have a reason not to. But now, we have a house I can’t afford on any job I could get because he’s a principal engineer, and I’ve been out of work for 10 years, so unlikely to ever reach that level, so it essentially forces me to move if he dies in 10 years.
Without knowing your age, health, or family situation this is what I can say:
- Target to insure yourself for about 7-10 years of your current annual income. Employers generally insure you for two to three years of annual income.
- Some people insure themselves for the value of their principal home. Which I think is very small for Bay Area.
- If you are young, you may consider buying whole life insurance. You may be able to put money into it in addition to premiums to grow tax free (like 529 plan). But, I do not like whole life insurance because premiums are high and you can only invest in funds offered by carrier. And it may not be even advisable depending upon your age due to insurability issues and high premiums
- Depending upon your age, you may go for 30 years, 20 years, or 10 years. Check premiums they demand. NYL only used to offer 20 years. But, others offer 30 years as well. With 30 years, you can lock low rates for longer period and stop paying if you think you no longer need it.
- Three years ago, a friend of mine passed away. Gofundme was setup for him and his family was paid the collected amount. The spouse did not work. So, she had to train herself for a job.
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Another school of thought is if you are young and can’t afford whole life insurance, buy term insurance of the same coverage. I recalled same coverage, premium for term insurance is lower. When you have more money to spare, instead of buying life insurance, invest in index funds/ ETFs.
whole life insurance become more expensive as you age and acquire diseases. At younger age, the insurer may ignore some of the diseases and give you good rates. Of course, the whole life is for rich people who use it (not as a insurance but) as a vehicle to grow money tax free and pass the inheritance to their heirs. And there is an aftermarket for whole life insurance. You can sell your plan if you no longer want to pay for it, just like you can sell your home or your car.
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It’s usually cheapest to buy more through your employer plan. Can you increase coverage there? I’ve usually had the option to increase it at my own expense.
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I did increase coverage there. I guess I should explore what it costs through the employer vs outside.
Not so young anymore 
I’ll compare term to life to see what might work.
This is a question for everyone. how do you keep records of your assets for your heirs to find out when you are no longer around. In the old days of paper statement, your survivors would have paper statement to look at and make claim against. But, with all accounts online, and no paper statement. How you leave the memory/record of what you had? Your survivors and heirs may loose if they do not have complete knowledge of what you had.
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You make a living trust and put all your assets into it.
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I no longer have any term and whole life insurance Only index funds and AAPLs.
My wife and I use google docs to keep a running list of our accounts and what not and share it with each other. We also have each other’s phone / tablet passwords so we can always recover into each other’s emails if necessary.
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Don’t forget that the employer plan might not include what you’re making in stock.
This is why I still keep paper statements.
My parents try to give me index cards with all this stuff on it, and I’m like “Please just email me the details.”
My husband put together a list that we share on Dropbox, but I don’t keep it updated. I have my list separately on a piece of software called notion. I suppose I could share it with him, but he doesn’t like adopting software that I use.
Pretty sure the employer plan doesn’t include RSUs.
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Not very American. She might steal all your money!!!
Have same practice. Guess is typically Singaporean?
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How do you keep record of gold coins buried in your backyard? Which location, how deep? Or hidden account in Swiss bank?
My parents showed me the hiding places when I was young.
Only the cats are buried in the backyard. But in the house… oh the secret hiding places!!!
There’s the old fashioned way. Be sure to include a tree that you cut down years ago to throw people off the track.
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@manch Maybe you should start charging for ads 
Looks like people like to use your site to advertise their services.
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