Do you need life insurance? Think about it! on clarkhoward.com

Are you aware of the responsibility you have to protect your family? It’s called life insurance. Now, if you have no family and no one who depends on you, you can stop reading now. But if you have dependents and you have no life insurance, you’re putting your loved ones in a tough spot. Almost half of Americans either have no insurance or are woefully underinsured. So, this being “Life Insurance Awareness Month,” Clark feels compelled to remind you to buy life insurance. What kind of insurance should you buy? Well, you don’t want “permanent insurance” and that is what the salespeople will try and sell you. The three kinds you want to avoid are whole life, variable life and universal life. You want to buy the kind of insurance that is not considered permanent. It’s called “term” insurance and it’s based on the length of time you want to provide for your survivors. Usually ten times your income is the right answer. The good news is that term life insurance is cheaper than it’s been in a long while, so it’s also a deal.

What others are saying

Whole Life Insurance
I've lived by the rule that if you can afford it get it. Term insurance is just that. It lasts for a "term" of years (ie 10, 20 30 years). While this is good when insuring against big purchases (knowing the house is paid off after you die) term is not good for the long run. What happens after the term period? Well the premiums increase to their guaranteed maximum. If you can't pay those, then the policy lapses. What happens at that point if you are now uninsurable? While I do believe term insurance does play a part in any financial plan, I think it is good to look at whole life insurance (or any permanent insurance) as well. Since there is no cash value with a term policy the whole life offers you something that term doesn't. Living benefits. You can borrow from it to purchase a car, fund a child's college (life insurance is not counted when applying for financial aide), fund your retirement tax free. It's a great vehicle to accomplish these tasks that life throws at us. Don't listen to everything Clark has to say. He's good but take advice from a professional.
By Chris @ 03/09/10 12:48:34 PMreport abuse
Whole life Policy/ Ethics
An insurance agent sold my father, who was 78 at the time, a whole life policy with a benefit of $2000. My father is still paying on this even though he has paid more than 3 times the death benefit. Something should be done to ensure that the insurance industry establish some sort of guidelines to prevent this sort of thing from happening.
By R Powell @ 02/10/10 12:58:20 PMreport abuse
life insurance
I need some life insurance. I have six children ages from 13yrs to 3yrs. I have something at my job but I need some insurance that with or without a job they have something.
By michelle smith @ 09/29/09 11:40:19 AMreport abuse
Life insurance
Clark! Don't tell people that if they presently don't have a family or dependents, they don't need life insurance! I was told that...and when I was 45 I got married and had a kid and but by that time I developed diabetes and then I cost me over $300 a quarter to buy only a $100,000 policy! If I had bought it when I was younger and healthier, it would have been cheaper!
By Rick Archambault @ 07/01/09 09:32:27 PMreport abuse
Buying Life Insurance
It is nearly 100% impossible to know what kind or how much life insurance to purchase without doing the necessary information gathering and analysis before you buy. You can not just go out and get a random quote from some crappy unethical company, just because the quote seems low. If you are shopping life insurance based on quotes your shopping for the wrong reasons. As a ChFC, I have seen many people get burned buying ALL types of insurance based on quotes. Rule #1 Look at the companies financial stability. I know benefits are insured, but do you really want to go through the headaches of collecting your benefit in small chunks over years because you didn't do your research. Trust me I have seen it before. the better companies are a little more expensive, but your paying for piece of mind. #2 do a complete analysis on yourself or have a professional do one on you. I know they get paid a commission, but you have to interview different planners and find the one you TRUST, and go with him or her. #3 Make the decision for YOURSELF, not because Clark said so, if you want to OWN or RENT your insurance. If you need this the rest of your life and want to leave something to your heirs, it's hard to argue against permanent insurance. Remember if your need is for life and your insurance runs out before you die, good luck funding any reputable insurance company that will underwrite you, and if they do it will be incredibly more expensive than before. Just an opinion, but you will do what every you feel is best I'm Sure.
By Wayne B @ 05/21/09 12:14:34 PMreport abuse
Term vs. Permanent Life Insurance
It's been my experience that Financial Professionals (salespeople) will often take the time to explain the differences between various types of products and recommend the product that meets the indivduals needs the best. Regarding life insurance, often times term insurance is the better choice. However, there are occassions when permanent insurance may also be a good option. I think it's wrong that you dismiss permanent insurance as a viable option for some people. Yes it is more costly than term, but there may be cash accumulation and other value that may be realized from this type of life insurance.
By TH @ 06/10/08 05:10:20 PMreport abuse

Whole Life Insurance

I've lived by the rule that if you can afford it get it. Term insurance is just that. It lasts for a "term" of years (ie 10, 20 30 years). While this is good when insuring against big purchases (knowing the house is paid off after you die) term is not good for the long run. What happens after the term period? Well the premiums increase to their guaranteed maximum. If you can't pay those, then the policy lapses. What happens at that point if you are now uninsurable? While I do believe term insurance does play a part in any financial plan, I think it is good to look at whole life insurance (or any permanent insurance) as well. Since there is no cash value with a term policy the whole life offers you something that term doesn't. Living benefits. You can borrow from it to purchase a car, fund a child's college (life insurance is not counted when applying for financial aide), fund your retirement tax free. It's a great vehicle to accomplish these tasks that life throws at us. Don't listen to everything Clark has to say. He's good but take advice from a professional.

By Chris @ 03/09/10 12:48:34 PMreport abuse

Whole life Policy/ Ethics

An insurance agent sold my father, who was 78 at the time, a whole life policy with a benefit of $2000. My father is still paying on this even though he has paid more than 3 times the death benefit. Something should be done to ensure that the insurance industry establish some sort of guidelines to prevent this sort of thing from happening.

By R Powell @ 02/10/10 12:58:20 PMreport abuse

life insurance

I need some life insurance. I have six children ages from 13yrs to 3yrs. I have something at my job but I need some insurance that with or without a job they have something.

By michelle smith @ 09/29/09 11:40:19 AMreport abuse

Life insurance

Clark! Don't tell people that if they presently don't have a family or dependents, they don't need life insurance! I was told that...and when I was 45 I got married and had a kid and but by that time I developed diabetes and then I cost me over $300 a quarter to buy only a $100,000 policy! If I had bought it when I was younger and healthier, it would have been cheaper!

By Rick Archambault @ 07/01/09 09:32:27 PMreport abuse

Buying Life Insurance

It is nearly 100% impossible to know what kind or how much life insurance to purchase without doing the necessary information gathering and analysis before you buy. You can not just go out and get a random quote from some crappy unethical company, just because the quote seems low. If you are shopping life insurance based on quotes your shopping for the wrong reasons. As a ChFC, I have seen many people get burned buying ALL types of insurance based on quotes. Rule #1 Look at the companies financial stability. I know benefits are insured, but do you really want to go through the headaches of collecting your benefit in small chunks over years because you didn't do your research. Trust me I have seen it before. the better companies are a little more expensive, but your paying for piece of mind. #2 do a complete analysis on yourself or have a professional do one on you. I know they get paid a commission, but you have to interview different planners and find the one you TRUST, and go with him or her. #3 Make the decision for YOURSELF, not because Clark said so, if you want to OWN or RENT your insurance. If you need this the rest of your life and want to leave something to your heirs, it's hard to argue against permanent insurance. Remember if your need is for life and your insurance runs out before you die, good luck funding any reputable insurance company that will underwrite you, and if they do it will be incredibly more expensive than before. Just an opinion, but you will do what every you feel is best I'm Sure.

By Wayne B @ 05/21/09 12:14:34 PMreport abuse

Term vs. Permanent Life Insurance

It's been my experience that Financial Professionals (salespeople) will often take the time to explain the differences between various types of products and recommend the product that meets the indivduals needs the best. Regarding life insurance, often times term insurance is the better choice. However, there are occassions when permanent insurance may also be a good option. I think it's wrong that you dismiss permanent insurance as a viable option for some people. Yes it is more costly than term, but there may be cash accumulation and other value that may be realized from this type of life insurance.

By TH @ 06/10/08 05:10:20 PMreport abuse

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Sep 19, 2006 -- Do you need life insurance? Think about it!

What others are saying