35yo, smoker (1 cigg a day), on H1b - term life insurance quotes coming up like: Coverage: 1m Term: 30yrs Cost: $320 per month (totals about 115k for 30yrs) Coverage: 3m Term: 30yrs Cost: $930 per month (totals about 335k) Are these rates notmal or too high? Any advice?
That is quite high. How are you coming up with the 1 and 3 million dollar benefit amount? I’m a Financial Advisor. I take my clients through a process to figure out how much they actually need for life insurance then compare the cost across all insurance carriers. I can help you out.
I’m an employee there, and happen to know way too much about life insurance as a result. Some insurers will look at you and say “they smoke, so a little more risky to insure” and others are better with giving smokers cheaper rates. Ultimately Policygenius is quoting you what you’ll pay with each insurer. If you go straight to the insurer and apply, you’ll end up paying the same thing. Policygenius doesn’t (and isn’t allowed to) mark up the price in any way. The benefit you get is that they’ll help you pick the best insurer for your case, and go to bat for you / negotiate on your behalf to get you approved at the lowest possible rate. They also do all the paperwork / annoying back and forth with bureaucratic insurance companies. If you were to stop smoking, ~13 months from now, an insurer might take another look at your case and give you a little break. So some people do apply for life insurance and then get re-evaluated if they lose weight or quit smoking or something like that. Re: how much do you need - the $ amount as a rule of thumb should be 10-15x your annual income. (Obviously could do a more precise calculation, but start there). The term length should get you till the “end of your financial obligation” - so ifyou have a 2 year old, get them to age 25 (or whatever you choose) or till the end of a montage. AND some would advise you to also get yourself to retirement, so your spouses retirement saving plans wouldn’t be derailed
Life insurance companies have a financial incentive to price your rates accurately. If it’s too low, they lose money. If it’s too high, you switch to a competitor. Yeah those rates are high. Stop smoking.