Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2011 10:54:35 GMT -5
Life/short term disability insurance?
Thanks to this board and the old one, I got both early on (life insurance after I got married). But a lot of people in my age group are walking around without them because after all we do think we are invincible.
But some of my friends have spouses and kids. Also, a friend is out on disability now and he is getting the max every week which is $270 or so. That is not even half of what he used to get every week and afraid he might lose his car.
So when did you decided it was time for Life/short term disability insurance?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2011 10:56:41 GMT -5
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cael
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Post by cael on Apr 21, 2011 10:58:06 GMT -5
We're going to do that when we're married. I think DF has some small life insurance policy through work, which will end when he gets laid off in August, but we'll both do life insurance after the wedding. Short-term disability I guess I've never thought about... probably a good idea eh?
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jd2005
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Post by jd2005 on Apr 21, 2011 10:58:46 GMT -5
Both are offered by my job, so I guess when I started working ;-)
On a more serious note, I looked into getting Term Life while I was married (i.e., had dependents). Now that no dependents exist...no need for extra life insurance (IMHO).
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Post by soon2bmomof3 on Apr 21, 2011 11:03:38 GMT -5
I have life insurance through work and I also have a spousal policy through DH's AICPA membership. I think we got it when we got married.
For short term disability, I got it when we started trying for kids. My work doesn't do maternity leave, it's covered through short term disability. It pays 60% for 6 weeks (natural birth) or 8 weeks (C-section). It's about $13/paycheck, so I'll probably keep it even after #3 (and my last) kid is born for just in case.
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souldoubt
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Post by souldoubt on Apr 21, 2011 11:06:33 GMT -5
I have both through work. That said when I leave here I will get some kind of LTD coverage and if/when I have a family some day I will get life insurance.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Apr 21, 2011 11:06:47 GMT -5
I've recieved Short term disability thru work for free at both employers. I've had Long Term disability since I started working.
Life insurance I had the bare minimum of $10k given free thru work when I was single, that'd be enough for my parents to bury me.
When I married DH and we decided we'd have kids I got a policy for $250k and I have a $150k accidental death dismemberment policy as well for what I do.
DH drug his feet on getting life insurance until DD was born. He had AD&D because he works in meat production, that to him seemed like common sense.
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jeffreymo
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Post by jeffreymo on Apr 21, 2011 12:52:37 GMT -5
Life - When we had our first child. We didn't get around to buying the policy until a year later. It supplements our work provided coverage which is 1.5x our salaries.
Disability - We're still on the fence. I have Short/Long Term for free through work.
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Apr 21, 2011 12:55:23 GMT -5
I was fortunate when I was working to have very generous disability benefits. But not enough people consider that risk. I think there is probably too much emphasis on life ins and not enough on disability.....
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Apr 21, 2011 13:05:29 GMT -5
I realized we needed it when we couldn't pay all of our bills on both incomes. Any injury would have destroyed us financially. Luckily, we didn't have any problems, and did increase our earnings. But, I bought life insurance minutes after we got married. I knew we were in big trouble.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Apr 21, 2011 13:14:20 GMT -5
Life/short term disability insurance? Thanks to this board and the old one, I got both early on (life insurance after I got married). But a lot of people in my age group are walking around without them because after all we do think we are invincible. But some of my friends have spouses and kids. Also, a friend is out on disability now and he is getting the max every week which is $270 or so. That is not even half of what he used to get every week and afraid he might lose his car. So when did you decided it was time for Life/short term disability insurance? Life insurance/short term disability is not needed at all unless you have financial obligations that your spouse's income can not cover. We did not worry about life insurance until I gave up my career, we had a mortgage, and we had a child.
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Post by bb on Apr 21, 2011 13:21:48 GMT -5
Realized I should have gotten it when diagnosed with colon cancer at age 50. Didn't think I needed it because I never had any health problems.... For what it's worth, get it now if you depend on your income.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2011 14:39:48 GMT -5
My fiance is in the process on getting disability right now and he will be getting life once I get pregnant.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Apr 21, 2011 14:43:43 GMT -5
I get some life insurance (1.5x salary) and STD/LTD through work... the bulk of my debt is SLs, which will die with me, and the life insurance should be enough for DH to pay off the mortgage if he so chooses. If we have kids, I'll probably get a $250K policy.
The disability benefits are pretty generous... I think it costs $1-2 per biweekly paycheck, and covers 2 years at 60% of salary.
I agree with whoever said there is too much focus on life insurance and not enough on disability... I think the chances of me becoming disabled are higher than actually dying (at least, I hope! Although that seems a horrible thing to hope for...)
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formerexpat
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Post by formerexpat on Apr 21, 2011 15:01:23 GMT -5
My company pays for STD and LTD [well, they pay for the LTD but it counts as taxable income so the benefits are tax free]. STD is 13 weeks @ 100% and LTD is 60% up to the age of 67 for up to $15k per month and then reducing benefit after that depending on SS benefits.
I've had life insurance since I was 18. My mother co-signed my student loans, so I had insurance for these to be paid off and for her to bury me in the event of me dying. It was a $120k policy.
Before I had children, I just had the standard 1x salary through work for Life and AD&D. Now that we have children, my wife is insured for $750k and I'm insured for $1.5m.
Disability is very important insurance, especially for people in higher risk careers.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2011 18:57:51 GMT -5
Life/short term disability insurance? Thanks to this board and the old one, I got both early on (life insurance after I got married). But a lot of people in my age group are walking around without them because after all we do think we are invincible. But some of my friends have spouses and kids. Also, a friend is out on disability now and he is getting the max every week which is $270 or so. That is not even half of what he used to get every week and afraid he might lose his car. So when did you decided it was time for Life/short term disability insurance? Life insurance/short term disability is not needed at all unless you have financial obligations that your spouse's income can not cover. We did not worry about life insurance until I gave up my career, we had a mortgage, and we had a child. True but unless some of my friends have wealthy parents or inheritance I doubt any of them could survive if they were to lose their income (case and point my current friend mentioned above) - Most people in my age group (around 25) are just starting out, so may not have enough money to cover 3-12 months being out of work due to a disability (my current friend after a knee surgery will need to be out for 3 months and no he cannot do his job from home). - They tend to be single. If I were to get injured maybe we would cut back and try to live off my wife income (will be hard but we would make it) but again, most of our friends are either single or if they are in a relationship they have their own place/apartment. - Not sure how long you are going to be out. You might have the regular 3 months EF but your disability will require you to be out for 6 or more months (one of my old bosses had some type of brain surgery and was out for 8 months, he was in his 40's) Same for life insurance... maybe when we are 50-60 there will be no need for life insurance because we would hope have enough savings for either of us to live on if one of us were to die. But right now? - For us yes since we only have student loans and they are on each other name so the moment I die or my wife dies... the loans dies with us. - But what about does with homes/condo's, kids to raise? also, how long will the other spouse need before they can get back on their feet? Were they living off both incomes or just one? etc. I will bet that at least 85% of people my age need at least disability insurance, and only the ones with spouse/kids/mortgage would need to life insurance.
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Regis
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Post by Regis on Apr 21, 2011 19:31:21 GMT -5
Basically when we determined we couldn't meet our financial obligations if one of us became disabled or died. Disability was prior to having children as we got married right out of college and had no real savings. Life insurance came when we were expecting our first child.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Apr 21, 2011 19:46:09 GMT -5
Signed up for life insurance when I started my job. Its less than $8/check and its something like $350k. You either sign up when you start or you can sign up if you have a qualifying event. Aside from that they've had one open enrollment in the past decade. As I don't plan on getting married or having a kid anytime soon I signed up when I started.
They don't offer disability, that's why we can bank unlimited sick leave. An Aflac rep comes around about once a month to offer us policies we can purchase on our own. They do offer long term care policies and are currently having open enrollment.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2011 19:58:10 GMT -5
They don't offer disability, that's why we can bank unlimited sick leave. An Aflac rep comes around about once a month to offer us policies we can purchase on our own. They do offer long term care policies and are currently having open enrollment. We have the enhanced short term disability at my job with Aflac. I've talked to a few people that have used it and they were pretty happy with it, while they were out on disability they had no hassle getting a paycheck. It costs me $5/paycheck for it, hoping to never have to use it but sleep better at night knowing we have it.
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Apr 21, 2011 20:06:12 GMT -5
When we had kids.
But we also had no debt, except for the mortgage. We also are a one income family, so it wasn't really like we would have gone from two incomes down to one.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Apr 21, 2011 20:07:51 GMT -5
That is one thing I need to get. I in no way have a sufficient EF to cover such a thing. One of my friends on EE recently broke his leg and his disability policy covered him while he was off. I will have to ask the Aflac rep for information the next time they are in. I don't have much sick leave banked up right now either due to the allergy fiasco I've had this year. I think they might deduct it from our check somehow its just that we have to pay the whole premium.
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Post by dragonfly7 on Apr 21, 2011 20:25:23 GMT -5
Life insurance: About a year into our marriage when we realized that losing one spouse's income could result in homelessness. Through all of the financial ups and downs we have had, this is still one thing we will never cut from the budget. The coverage rises every year, so I'm not certain of the current value, but it started out out high enough to render the surviving spouse debt-free and pay for bare necessities for a year. I know DH also has a small policy fully covered through work, and I think my new position offers one as well.
Disability: I'm strongly considering at least STD for myself and intend to sign DH up for both during his next open enrollment whether he likes it or not. Between genetics and the work/volunteer situations he gets himself into, he needs them.
Also, I know from the old boards that there are differing opinions on getting life insurance for children since they do not provide income. However, I think in most cases the death of a child is unexpected, and the medical bills, funeral and burial expenses, and time lost from work could be financially devastating if you do not have savings to cover them. The generosity of family, church, and Medicaid financially got us through our daughter's death last year (she would have been a year old today), but taking advantage of the 5-10k child rider available to us would have eliminated a lot of the stress I went through in trying to get her medical bills covered. I know a small term policy must not be very expensive because my grandfather, a farmer, maintained them on each of his 11 grandchildren until we reached adulthood.
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DVM gone riding
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Post by DVM gone riding on Apr 21, 2011 22:27:46 GMT -5
My professional program PREACHED constantly the benefits of long term disability so I bought that when I graduated and pay it every month along with my term life policy which I don't really need yet but thought it made sense to get both at the same time (together not cheap but a good policy) I don't have short term (which I consider 8-12 weeks) I believe in self insurance for that.
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❤ mollymouser ❤
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Post by ❤ mollymouser ❤ on Apr 21, 2011 23:37:24 GMT -5
My wonderful DH had life insurance before we got married ~ and now he has even more. I do have a small life insurance policy ($100,000) through the military because I'm a military spouse.
He doesn't have a separate, private short term disability policy since we've not found one that doesn't specifically exclude what he does for a living... and if disabled short-term he would still get paid in the military.
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azphx1972
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Post by azphx1972 on Apr 22, 2011 2:56:00 GMT -5
I think a lot of young workers don't think to protect the biggest asset that they've got: their ability to work, and thus neglect to get long term disability insurance. I had a coworker who bought a motorcycle on his 21st birthday, and got into a severe accident with it (no one else was involved thankfully). Unfortunately he lost a leg and the use of an arm, which prevented him from returning to his job, but the worst part was he hadn't signed up for STD or LTD. We pooled a few thousand dollars to help with his expenses, but his parents had to return to work to support him, and his mother (who had a tough time dealing with the situation) died from heart failure not long after. It's a sad, sad story, and highlights the importance of having long term disability insurance--especially for young people who don't have a lot of other assets or enough working credits to qualify for social security disability insurance benefits.
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Post by illinicheme on Apr 22, 2011 13:55:32 GMT -5
I had some life insurance and some disability coverage as soon as I started my first "real" job out of grad school. DH and I bought term life insurance policies once we were ~30/32 and rates were still low and a 30-yr term covered us nearly to retirement. We probably carry a bit too much life insurance right now because we don't have kids yet (maybe soon - I am off the pill now). But it's pretty cheap peace of mind.
I do need to check whether my short and long term disability coverage through work is sufficient. And I don't know that DH has any coverage (we could survive without his income if we had to).
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2011 15:02:20 GMT -5
DH always had Life insurance at 1.5x salary + disability through work. We bought additional term life insurance from about 1990-2001 so that I could pay off the mortgage if I wanted.
We dropped the additional insurance once we reached a NW milestone. At that point I knew that if something happened to DH I wouldn't need to sell the house.
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Agatha
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Post by Agatha on Apr 23, 2011 7:38:45 GMT -5
My former employer was Social Security exempt, except for Medicare, so long term disability vis-a-vis Social Security is problematical. Short term disability was managed (ie "outsourced") by an independent management concern. I can't say I was happy with them when they cut off my disability pay before I even saw my doctor. My time was up as far as they were concerned and it was "time" to return to work. So I returned to "light duty" with a cane and drugs. I would have been fired if I had not.
That's when I decided I need disability insurance of my own. I simply do not trust an employer to cover me or "have my best interests at heart". I'm sorry but they don't.
Life insurance I have decided I don't really need. I don't have minor children anymore and any funeral expenses or bills can be paid by my estate. No big problem there. I was very glad DH had doubled his a few years before he died. It made all the difference in the world. I know some would cringe at the amount but I also know it allowed me time to breath and regroup without financial stress and worry. It was worth every penny.
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garion2003
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Post by garion2003 on Apr 23, 2011 8:49:53 GMT -5
I've relied on my employers, historically. In the job I started last year STD is an option, and I went for it. I'm not living paycheck to paycheck anymore (thank God) but 6 months of expenses would be tough to swallow. A colleague pointed out that we can bank up to 6 months of sick time so I could drop the STD at that point. It will just take me 10 years or more to get there!
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achelois
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Post by achelois on Apr 23, 2011 14:21:24 GMT -5
If you are a high-income earner, consider a LTD policy with "own occupation" coverage.
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