How much life insurance is sufficient?
Answers:
You're agent should be able to sit down with you and do a financial needs analysis to see how much you need to pay off your house, cars, education expenses, and then on top of all the income to help your family get through for the next few years. Term is very affordable and you can get the most for your money, but whole life's premium never changes and it earns cash value. Some agencies have programs where if you tell them how much you can afford per month they can input it in their computer and come up with the most insurance they can get you for the amount you want to pay.
about 15 times the annually salary
You want your insurance to cover any debt that you may have incurred over your lifetime so that your children aren't responsible for paying it. You'll want money for the Funerals, also extra money for your children.
I would suggest a variable life product...not a term. And just keep putting money into it. It can be used as a retirement vehicle as well. Talk to your agent...they should help you with that.
Oh, it's tough. You want to look at how much it's going to cost to put the kids through school and keep the house, until the youngest is out of the house and mom can go back to work. Don't forget the cost for MEDICAL insurance, with the rest of your bills.
And don't forget to insure MOM.
You REALLY need to sit down with your own agent - like the guy that writes your house insurance - and let him do a needs analysis for you.
Keep in mind, term insurance is about 1/10 the cost of whole life, so will give you MUCH more value for your money.
I agree you need to determine what all your debts will be
the cost of your mortgage
the cost of education for your kids
the cost of the funeral
and outstanding debts from credit cards or car loans
any loans you still have to pay off
insurance is meant to protect your family from having to incur debts because of the loss of your income or your death
it is not supposed to make them wealthy, just to maintain their current lifesytle and protect them from becoming poor if you die at an early age or unexpectedly
there are tons of products out there from term, whole life, universal life, variable life, all of these might suit your needs but you need to sit down with a local agent to help you work this through
he can tell you what the death benefit will be to your family for each policy, and some of them you can even use for yourself when you retire as a retirement income, just depends on the product
I tend to like the universal and variable products, but term is good cause the premiums are low, whole life is not sold that much anymore
good luck, and speak to an agent that you trust or is referred to you by a friend, if you need one I can refer you to one in calfiornia
Another quick way to estimate how much you need if you are buying life insurance to replace his income if he isn't around is by dividing his salary by your estimated rate of return if you invested that sum. Then subtract any savings you could access.
Let's say he makes $70000 and you could get 8% comfortably in the market and you already have $150000 saved up...
$70000 / .08 = $875000
$875000 - $150000 = $725000
All of these different calculations should get you to about the same number. There is no one right answer to this question.
There are a few ways to estimate how much life insurance you need.
You can use a life insurance needs calculator that tells you how much you should carry after answers several questions.
Or, you could get 7-10 times you and your husband's annual income in order to provide protection for your family should something happen to one of you.
Here is more information for you:
The amount of term life insurance you need will depend on your specific situation and the reasons for buying the life insurance policy.
One way to decide how much term life insurance you should buy is to consider the needs of your family if you were to pass away prematurely.
Term Life insurance may provide financial security to meet many of your family’s needs by providing a fund they can use to:
Pay off an individual’s debts, such as medical bills, funeral expenses and health care costs
Pay for estate taxes and other expenses related to settling their estate
Provide a lifetime income for your spouse
Pay off an existing mortgage on your home
Pay for your children’s college education
Provide retirement funds for your spouse
Provide an adequate income for your spouse to give your family time to adjust to a new standard of living without you or your income
Receive interest to provide money for some special need – such as travel, education or health care costs.
Provide a monthly income until your children are grown up and living on their own.
The future financial needs of your family should be a major consideration in deciding the right amount of term life insurance to provide the financial security they deserve.
Another contributing factor is the amount of your annual salary. In addition, your family’s style of living they are accustomed to, your monthly expenses and future financial goals, such as, college tuition, retirement funding, vacations and living expenses.
I hope that helps.
Here is a calculator that can help you estimate your needs. http://www.term-life-online.com/term-lif...
Best of luck!
You can contact BuyAmericanInsurance.com at http://www.buyamericaninsurance.com/life...
They have licensed agent in most states and they would be able to guide you well.
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