Does anyone know if whole life insurance is better than term life?

In: Mortgage protection insurance

20 Mar 2010



Say your in your late 30’s and completely healthy, have a term life insurance for 250k for 20 years and you dont die in 20 yrs, your now close to 60 and have to start over dont you?
Any advice would be helpful! Thanks!

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6 Responses to Does anyone know if whole life insurance is better than term life?

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eric h

March 20th, 2010 at 1:53 pm

Whole life gives you an investment in your life insurance, a nest egg, if you will. Term life is where you pay for the insurance and if you don’t use it (ie, if you don’t die), then there is no residual value. It just expires, like buying a ticket to a game.

If you have a family, whole life is the better deal in the long run.

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ISOintelligentlife

March 20th, 2010 at 2:46 pm

You’re absolutely correct in your analysis of whole and term life.

However, it all comes down to what you wish to accomplish. And there are other options.

I typically recommend one of two options for my clients. The first option is a combination of term insurance (to cover lost income during the earning years) and a small whole life policy that would always be there to cover final expenses.

The second most popular option is to write a single Universal policy. There are different options for Universal policies, too. What I typically do for my clients is to write a policy so that the client pays for a set number of years (usually through age 65) and yet they retain coverage through age 100 (or beyond.) These policies do build cash value for the first several years while you’re paying into them, but they essentialy work like term insurance that never runs out. (And in the end, a lot of people find that very appealing.) I generally write guaranteed death benefit Universal policies (as opposed to those that are designed as more of an investment and may run out of money when you need it most.)

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mbrcatz17

March 20th, 2010 at 3:20 pm

OK, you’re trying to fit your needs to a product – this is completely backwards.

What you NEED to do, is decide what you want the insurance to do for you, and how long you’re going to need it – and then find the product to fit the need.

Whole life is better for maybe 1% of the people – at fitting the pre-defined need. MOST people do NOT need life insurance at the age of 60 – they’ve spent their life building assets and raising children, theoretically are mostly out of debt and own their homes, and have serious retirement savings. The time people NEED life insurance at 60, is if they own a business, and want to keep it in the family when they pass away – then they’ll need the policy to pay ESTATE TAXES. This can be avoided, though, with proper estate planning!

So rather than fit your needs to a product, define your needs, and find the product that fits them.

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J. B

March 20th, 2010 at 3:50 pm

They are for two different purposes.

Term is for temporary needs (replacement of income, paying off debt.) It is very inexpensive because most people do not die at a young age so term insurance RARELY ever pays a death claim to anybody.

Whole life is for permanant needs (buy-sell agreements, passing wealth tax-free to beneficiaries, and often for funeral and cemetery expenses.)

Do not make the mistake of thinking that whole-life insurance means a whole-life payment. Pay your policy in full over the shortest time period possible and you will save a LOT of money in the long run.

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CaseyAngelEyes

March 20th, 2010 at 4:09 pm

Yes, you are correct. But, the person probably would not be able to get coverage at age 60. Also, the thinking is that the person would not need the coverage at age 60 due to savings/retirement accounts. My best advice is to get a cheap term policy (usually around $2/month) and save your money. You may want to try a website that compares multiple companies at once to get you the best price. I am paying less than ½ after I did.

Go to: http://www.insureme.com/landing.aspx?Refby=616164&Type=life

Take care,
Casey

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sahil k

March 20th, 2010 at 4:43 pm

I think at any time in your life whole life insurance will be a better option than the term insurance, provided that the insurance policy you choose is unit-linked. This will enable you to withdraw any lumpsum amount as per your need after the lock-in period (generally 3 yrs) is over. And also you will get the death cover till your life sustains. This will make you and your family tension-free.

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