All Life Insurance Tips

what's best? term life or whole life insurance?

i am a 50yr. old male, healthy

Public Comments

1. Depends on your situation.
2. That depends on what your situation is. Do you need life insurance to cover a temporary need? If so, then choose term. If you will need life insurance for the rest of your life or, at least, the next 20-30 years, then whole life might be the product that best takes care of you. At 50, you are at the age that finding term insurance coverage for more than 20 years becomes increasingly difficult. Find a good agent that has several companies to quote you with. They will be able to analyze your situation much better and in much more depth than we can here. Good luck!
3. Depends on your situation. I know you said you were 50 and all that, but there is much more to it than your age an health. Because insurance deals with covering a financial loss, your financial situation is much more important to figuring out what type of coverage you need. Talk with a few independent agents or fee-only financial planners (depending on your style) to get multiple perspectives and figure out what's best for you. Oh, and there are more than just two types of life insurance.
4. It does depend on your situation...I personally feel that Whole life policies are bad. Most insurance agents sell this type because they get up to 5 times the commission for these types of sales over term insurance. Now, you have to look at your situation. Are you looking for insurance to cover your final expenses (avg funeral costs approx. $10K)? Maybe, you are looking to replace your income for a set number of years after your death, or pay off debt (like a mortgage). You really need to decide what the policy is for. If you want just funeral costs than either type will work. Just don't get caught up in that "savings account" lie that is sold with whole life policies. You know, the one that says you'll accumulate a savings account that you can withdraw from...That is true, you can withdraw. What they don't come out and say is that you when you die, the death benefit will be whatever you signed up for, minus any money you withdrew from your account...You do not get both the death benefit and savings account. There are many companies out there that offer policies to "older" individuals. Right now, I believe you can get a 20 year policy in term insurance. Compare the cost of the two policies. Think about it this way - "Buy Term and Invest the Difference." This is a popular phrase Primerica uses. You may talk with a financial advisor and ask to see an approximation of how much the difference between the two policies (term should be cheaper) if invested every month would be at the end of the 20 years...It may be worth close to what the face value of the policy is. I am somewhat biased here. I feel term is almost always a better deal...But you really need to figure out what you want the policy for as I mentioned earlier. Hope this helps.
5. At your age, term life is probably best. Be sure the term is long enough to support your spouse and/or dependent children later in life, as you may not qualify for a term life policy later, due to age and health. Keep in mind that people are living longer now than ever before, and that trend is likely to continue into the future. If you have to renew your policy at 60, it will cost a great deal more than does now. If your spouse is not dependent on your income to pay all the bills, then you may not need insurance at all. The point of life insurance is to replace the loss of income that accompanies the premature death of a loved one.