Life Insurance Premiums

[peggyfromwastate]

Yikes!!! This is scaring me... I hadn't even considered disability. He and I have standard coverage thru the military. $500 for him I think. $250 for me.

Just something else to look into I guess.

[DCJenn]

Peggy- the military disability is pretty good but we did add two riders to the life insurance through USAA- military dismemberment and future insurability. It's a 250k policy and we pay exactly $29.15 for his (total) plan.

J.

[MissCrabette]

We just got off the phone with the AMA insurance people. I wanted to get a general idea of what numbers we were looking at. They quoted $408/year for 20-year term life insurance at 1 million. It would be $680/year for 30-year term life insurance for the same amount.

I'm going to have to look at the wording for the disability insurance again. The AMA says that you can get coverage for up to 66 2/3 % of your monthly income when combined with any other disability insurance plan. The way they worded that, that's the total of all policies, which sucks. The initial quote we got was for 2k (roughly 2/3 of his monthly income), and it was $196/year. Now if you take into account the 1k/month that the program provides, the quote from the AMA should be even lower, but we didn't know that at the time. Ugh! Are there any other companies that allow for more coverage than this? Am I reading this wrong?

Monthly Benefit Amount Up to $12,500
You may apply for up to $12,500 in monthly benefits for total disability. Benefits are payable regardless of whether your disability is caused by accident or illness. Benefits from this plan when added to any other disability insurance in force or applied for cannot exceed 66 2/3 % of your monthly income or $20,000, whichever is less.

[MarissaNicole]

I haven't really considered disability yet because I figured it pays out based on your current income (not potential income).... right now DH makes crap, so I didn't think it would really be worth it until he was out of training? Am I misunderstanding that?

[Vanquisher]

I haven't really considered disability yet because I figured it pays out based on your current income (not potential income).... right now DH makes crap, so I didn't think it would really be worth it until he was out of training? Am I misunderstanding that?

Yes, because you can upconvert coverage with certain plans to buy more later, but the premium will be based on his health and age now as opposed to when he is older and considered a bigger risk.

[Pollyanna]

Yes, because you can upconvert coverage with certain plans to buy more later, but the premium will be based on his health and age now as opposed to when he is older and considered a bigger risk.

Yes, and this is why we have a fancy pants disability policy that allows this. The $150/month hurts but we know we are locked in and will have no problem upping our coverage once dh is done.

[MarissaNicole]

Tara have you had disability all through training?

[Pollyanna]

Tara have you had disability all through training?

Yes, we have actually had it since started his post-doc and was making just under $30K/year.

[SuzySunshine]

So those of you that have disability do you shop for it just like life insurance?

Life insurance premiums depend on the rate class you're classified in to. A rate class determines your risk of dying and allocates a premium based on that risk. Needless to say, the higher your risk of dying, the higher will be the premiums charged to you.

I'd say compare life insurance rates from at least 3-4 different carriers instead of going with the first one you come across. That's the only way to make sure you get the best possible deal as underwriting process and rates vary from one carrier to another.

The other thing I am not sure I completely understand is the basis on which you've selected your term. A lot of couple your age usually select a 25 or 30-year term life plan as that provides them coverage through most of their income-generating and child-raising days when the need for life insurance is at its peak.

Denise

[Deebs]

We used an insurance broker. We pay a fortune because carrying a diagnosis of ADHD makes DH really high risk for disability and life. We also have a mental health waiver so nothing mental health is covered. He just can't get it covered, unfortunately. Disability insurance is not taxable (or so we're told) so it doesn't have to be as high as salary would be.

[HouseofWool]

We used an insurance broker. We pay a fortune because carrying a diagnosis of ADHD makes DH really high risk for disability and life. We also have a mental health waiver so nothing mental health is covered. He just can't get it covered, unfortunately. Disability insurance is not taxable (or so we're told) so it doesn't have to be as high as salary would be.

I wouldn't consider ADHD a mental illness - that sucks.

[DCJenn]

It's a DSM diagnosis though and that's all it usually takes...

J.

[SoonerTexan]

I hadn't thought of this...can you even get it as a med student? I have a policy through work that covers me--enough to pay off all of our expected med school loans or cover living expenses for awhile. But if he died...that would be a lot of loans for me to cover without a higher salary to cover them later. Yikes.

[SuzySunshine]

I would think anyone should be able to get life insurance regardless of their income situation. He should even be able to get one through the AMA I would think.