Are you properly insured?

[Ice Water]

Originally Posted by shady

So... I have a little one on the way! I have good health ins through the wifes work and some life ins. Thank god for the health ins this summer, I broke my shoulder and had to see the good Dr. What is the "standard" that I should carry now that I have a new boater comming? Any advice would be very helpful. Thanks Happy boating

If you were to talk to a life insurance sales person, they say the standard in the US is $100,000. When I was studying insurance (a bad idea on my behalf) it was figured that after all final costs, and mortgages, and college - that amount is what it takes to actually make an impact. Remember too with life insurance, if you purchase it when you are young and healthy, it is cheaper - however, just because inflation exists - your policy doesn't adjust.

[possumturd]

While I am being Mr Grim boy:

Do a living will that covers all the details of when to pull the plug in case you end up a veg. It's a pain in the a$$ but worth the trouble. Cover what happens to the munchkin if you and your spouse die within a short period of time.

One of my daughters friends dad ended up being a junkie and died of an overdose. With 2 years her very responsible hard working mother was dead of some totally weird blood disease. lucky for the kid she is in great hands with her grandparents. If something happens to the grandparents she comes to us. This is very important if you have family issues of where the kid will go by law. The document should be updated as family circumstances change.

It can be a touchy subject even with your own spouse. My wife and I have been considering changing ours as our child has grown older. It's a debate.

It's bad enough to get killed but don't be dead and a schmuck.

[shady]

Thank you all for your advice there are some very good points in this thred. I have a 100gs of life and I am in the process of making a living will. My dad died a c2 quad it was 7 years of hell for my dad my mom and my self. Luckley I was in my mid 20s and was able to take care of bolth of them until my dad passed. With my luck I have better read the fine print Im all ways breaking something. Thanks again.

[cstork]

My wife told me that life insurance was a condition of having a kid. Fair enough.

I think of it as a worthwhile bet. With my kayaking and other stuff, I'm perhaps 10x more likely to die than the average guy, so the payoff on my $400 may be real big. It makes me feel much better when I'm being beat down in a hole.

[JBL]

The formula that I used to determine how much term life insurance was 10X current earnings. One other thing to remember: avoid whole life policies. They are a TERRIBLE 'investment' and a rip off. The Truth About Life Insurance

[lhowemt]

I recommend you look at your debt load. do you have a house, how much do you owe? If you don't, do you want your family to be able to buy a house in the clear? I look to leave enough that the debt can be paid off, so that leaves the family with those burdens removed. If you have kids, I'd leave enough to pay for college, and some amount of living costs until they get there. Since we don't have kids, we don't worry about that, just pay off the debt with a bit to spare.

Originally Posted by shady

So... I have a little one on the way! I have good health ins through the wifes work and some life ins. Thank god for the health ins this summer, I broke my shoulder and had to see the good Dr. What is the "standard" that I should carry now that I have a new boater comming? Any advice would be very helpful. Thanks Happy boating