My wife asked me about upping my life insurance. Should I be suspicous?

[many a good man]

I never wanted to be worth more dead than alive.

She's out of work and my current insurance will pay off the house plus a little bit more. She wants to pay off off the house, buy a place abroad close to her family, and spending money for years to come. She's suggesting between a half mill and a mill.

I would love to give her these things, but I wouldn't want her to know about it. What should I do?

[suninvited]

1. Is she asking for a policy

with double indemnity for "accidents" ?

[rug]

2. Does your supper smell like almonds?

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. Or is his hair falling out?

[many a good man]

9. Every meal!

She's gone on a health food kick lately, making elaborate meals every night. There are many tastes I'm not familiar with. Almonds and pecans seem to be a staple!

[rug]

12. Ack! Call the cops!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanide

[suninvited]

17. Have you been feeling pretty good?

or do you spend a lot of time writhing on the floor in pain?

[many a good man]

20. Not THAT much writhing in pain

I'm mid late forties and I feel better than I have in 20 years. Lost 30+ pounds recently and exercise a lot - but sometimes with more than a little bit of pain. She recently lost her Mom and her Dad was just diagnosed with cancer, so mortality weighs heavily on her mind. If I die too she will be massively pissed at me!

[Forkboy]

4. Did she also buy stock in Hemlock?

[Mugu]

5. Whatever you do, if you increase the insurance

don't eat the potato soup.

[yellowdogintexas]

25. Sister Julia Child of God ?

[LisaL]

6. She sure wants to do a lot of things. But you aren't dead yet,

and she won't get the money unless you die.
Does she think you will die first? Are you much older than her?

[many a good man]

10. We are the same age.

And there is much more longevity in my family line.

But accidents will happen, you know.

[KamaAina]

7. Tell her "I already upped my life insurance."

"Up yours!" :P

edit: emoticon

[mwooldri]

8. A serious discussion needs to be had - also what about HER life insurance?

Large amounts of life insurance is really only necessary when you have a family and dependents. She may be out of work but if you have dependents and she were to "go home", what would you do?

I'm definitely worth more dead than alive as it is... but that's life. For us, 1/4 mil on me is good for us (and I have about that). My wife has some and yes I need to speak to her about it too. The other problem is getting the life insurance... if you're super fit of course you got the best rates. Take a maintenance medication and see your rates go up.

Mark.

[many a good man]

11. No dependents.

Therefore we need a bundle to bribe nieces or nephews to take care of us. I have family in Ohio and she has family in Spain who are really great people and give us comfort.

Is that 1/4 mill in pounds? Isn't that a good bit more than dollars?

Right now I have death insurance, not life insurance. Death and disability, that is. If I croak tomorrie she gets a check for a quarter mill. I don't know anything about whole or term life insurance, but hear it is a crock.

[Ikonoklast]

13. My sister in Spain told me her neighbors are expecting their rich, recently widowed

sister to stay with them for a year or two, or until "things calm down."

[mwooldri]

21. No, I'm an ex-pat, so that's US dollars.

If you got death insurance for a quarter mill and you have no dependents then I think you probably have plenty to put your affairs in order and plenty left over with that amount.

I have 6x my salary (1/4 mil) through work, a 100k term life policy and a 25k whole life policy.

Whole life is basically a policy that continues throughout your whole life at a set premium and builds equity, though it isn't exactly a stellar savings rate.

Term life gives coverage for X years at a set price, after that the price can increase (often dramatically). It's cheaper than whole for sure, but builds no equity; i.e. you can't sell your term life policy or surrender it for cash.

Unsure how universal life works - I think it's cheaper than whole, builds equity but not as much as whole, and fixes your premium for your life

Insurance through work is often a good deal but then if you lose your job you lose your coverage, so it's good to have some personal insurance too.

I'll probably re-do term life when it matures in 10+ years (I have a 20 year term) but keep the whole for my funeral expenses.

[Shell Beau]

14. All joking aside, what is her insurance plan?

What if she goes first? Y'all both should be well taken care of.

[many a good man]

15. I get nuthin'!

She's my ticket to my adored Mediterranean island home away from home. Do you think I should take out a huge policy on her instead?

[Shell Beau]

16. I think y'all should have the same plan in place for one another.

If she goes, you are well taken care of and bills are paid. Same for her. Makes sense. Are you the breadwinner? That is the only reason I can see her being really adamant about this. Even so, I think a similar plan for both of y'all is fair. As long as y'all are both not left with debt, funeral bills, etc.

[many a good man]

18. Sage advice.

Guess I ought to start looking into the boring intricacies of life insurance.

Honestly, though, I don't think I'd last a week without her in my life. It wouldn't be worth living, no matter how much money or where I could live my remaining days.

[Shell Beau]

19. I hear ya! I would probably die of heartbreak if my husband passed.

:hug:

Life insurance can be such a yucky subject, but with all of the grief and all that goes on with a death, the last thing you need to worry about is money. Really. And funerals cost way too much.

[mitchum]

22. You don't have a new hired man working around your place, do you?

[HopeHoops]

23. Nah, just shut up and drink the nice hot chocolate she made you

:+

[NewJeffCT]

24. I think you both should get life insurance

Get a term policy, though. If you're mid to late 40s, it would be very expensive to get more than a 10 year term policy, though. And, if you're on any sort of long-term medication for high cholesterol or high blood pressure, then you can expect your rate to double or triple.

According to consumer guru Clark Howard, you should get a term policy that pays out 5-10 times your current income. So, if you make $50,000/year, a policy between $250,000 and $500,000 is what your wife would need.

Unless you die within a few years, most non-term life insurance is not worth it and you're better off putting the money in another type of investment.