I’m starting to run and swim again after a serious bike crash last summer.
My wife is threatening to divorce me if I get back on a bike.
That said, after she calmed down, she said I could ride my bike if I got a million dollar life insurance policy or something with long term care.
Funny how I didn’t freak out out like this when she totaled her car. But that’s me.
Anyone do an insurance or long term care policy after a crash ?
I’m starting to run and swim again after a serious bike crash last summer.
My wife is threatening to divorce me if I get back on a bike.
That said, after she calmed down, she said I could ride my bike if I got a million dollar life insurance policy or something with long term care.
Funny how I didn’t freak out out like this when she totaled her car. But that’s me.
Anyone do an insurance or long term care policy after a crash ?
Damn man… I’m thankful to have a wife that pushes me to race and get out there and train. Sorry that some have the lack of support from spouses. Good on you for wanting to do something that you like.
I do have a 500k life insurance policy through the school district that I work for. I think that I do go out there and risk it a lot and I do think it’s right to have this in case something were to happen. I’m 31 years old and have a family… It’s the least I can do and it’s pretty cheap too.
Why wouldn’t you get one? How much would it be?
I worked at a life insurance brokerage throughout college. The fact that you’re (probably) fit and healthy will lower your premium, so it’s a no brainer. The chance of something happening is extremely low, but I remember we’d hear about the freak accident stories at work, and the families were always so grateful for there to be insurance to provide for them. Just find a good broker, since a $1M policy is higher than normal.
Just my two cents, but why would you not have a life insurance policy? The crash should have nothing to do with it. You could be injured or killed in any number of ways every day. I’m looking out my office window right now at a scaffold of window washers on the 20th floor. It’s certainly possible that they mistakenly drop a tool that is not tethered & someone walking by gets hit in the head.
Unless you are rich enough to self insure, you should have insurance. Not for you, but for your wife and kids (if you have any) so they are not bankrupted in the event they have to pay for your funeral or (even worse) your long term care in a hospital or care facility.
And tell your wife what is good for the goose is good for the gander & make sure she gets a policy as well.
Just my two cents, but why would you not have a life insurance policy?.
If you have a wife and / or kids it’s a must. If you’re healthy a good policy should not be expensive.
Just my two cents, but why would you not have a life insurance policy?.
If you have a wife and / or kids it’s a must. If you’re healthy a good policy should not be expensive.
It’s not. My wife & I each have $1M policies & the expense is negligible. Hell, I even got the policy before I was in the shape I am in today and the premiums are not bad.
My two cents: Be sure to get a term life insurance policy, whole life insurance is a ripoff. Your wife’s “million dollar policy” seems arbitrary, and your life insurance value should be based upon the reality of things that need to get paid if you die, ie. mortgage, kids college, etc. I think that typically folks use a multiplier of 7-10x their salary, though I don’t have a source for why it ought to be that range.
Disability insurance is a must as well (I suspect that’s what she/you meant by “long term care”), and should very well be avaialble through your employer in most cases. If not, I’m sure the same phone call about life insurance can get you an appropriate disability policy as well. Again, the goal here is to replace your income should something bad happen so that your family doesn’t go broke.
Further, be sure to work with an independent insurance broker, one that is not beholden to any particular company so that this broker can shop around for the best price.
//The above advice pretty much all comes from The Dave Ramsey Show Podcast//
Gilly
Ya I got a 500k 30 year fixed term policy at age 30.
Since I make 90% of the cash for the family, it is reasonable to have something. An insurance salesman will say you need 2-3 million, but the goal isn’t really to replace my earnings for the next 100 years, but give my wife a bridge to get things figured out. 1 mil could work if your wife has a higher standard of living than my family I suppose… my wife would be pretty happy living on 40ka year/ which would last quite a while on a 500k policy with correct investing.
By 60 will have plenty of retirement money to “self insure”, so no longer need the coverage.
Avoid whole life or anything complex. Term is where it is.
I pulled two policies when I started training for IM. My wife was preggo and fit dudes die all the time in the sport.
I had to up the policy when the second kiddo came around. I want to make sure that the house is paid for and the kids can go to school. That is a lot of cheese. It’s not that my wife will be independently wealthy, its that the big things will be taken care of and she will have time to worry about raising the kids and making good work decisions based on that, not based on losing the house.
it’s been a bunch of years and even though i’m worth more dead than alive i’m still kickin. Lady must actually like me or something.
Yes - have both. If you have wife and kids you need it, in my opinion.
I also do virtually all (99.9%) of my riding on the trainer and only go outside for races. That’s just me and I’m not saying it’s something you have to do, but I think the risk of cycling on roads in a major metropolitan area are just too high. Drivers are crazy and careless and it’s too great a risk, unfortunately.
You could ride on the trainer and run and swim outdoors. It’s a nice mix.
Well, first off, I hate betting that I’m gonna die before the actuarial tables say I will. And, being in Canada I don’t have the same issue with medical expenses costing millions for long term care.
Having said that, I always made sure that my wife and I were both insured to the level where if either of us died there was enough to pay off all debt and give the other a good start. So ther wouldn’t be a financial hit and someone else put it , “bridge” insurance. I’ve pretty much always had Disability insurance through work (long term) and when I didn’t have life insurance through work, I got term insurance.
Although I could have gotten Mortgage insurance, the rates are worse than whole life. As someone else mentioned that is a major rip off.
Now that the kids are out of the house and the wife is retired, she no longer has any insurance although her pension income is guaranteed for 15 years. While I’m working I have life insurance but disability insurance ceases at age 65. When I retire most of my income is from RRSPs which she’ll (or the kids) will inherit if I die before I spend it 
.
Price is dependent on age and health. Some of the life policies have an accelerated benefit for cancer, terminal diagnosis, inability to perform 2 of the 6 activities of daily living. I bought 500K at age 55 for $100 a month. If you are in your 30’s it will be around 30-40 a month.
I specifically was worried about getting hit or crashing on the bike and becoming a vegetable.
My insurance(Safeco) gives me the ability to sue myself if the person who hit me doesn’t have sufficient insurance. I(or my spouse) can sue my home(or auto) policy and then sue my $1M umbrella.
This would cover me in almost all cases of triathlon related injuries.
Make sure your insurance policy has that option. From what I have seen Allstate does not have this option, but AAA and General Casualty do. Some provide it free, while others charge a few hundred per year.
Yes to both. And I’m starting to investigate a type of long term care insurance in which you pay a lump sum at the beginning, it grows at a certain interest rate, and if you end up not needing it (get hit by a bus, struck by lightening), the full amount (lump sum + growth) goes into your estate. Sounds interesting, but my advisor is researching whether these policies are available for 40 y.o and up only.
I’m a big fan of LTC insurance, though. My grandmother ended up needing 3 caregivers for a couple of years before she died. She was fortunate to have the money to pay for them, but I’m sure she’d rather have had the insurance pick up the tab!
I carry it.
At M40-45, it’s not so negligible a cost. Like $700-$1100/yr even if you’re totally healthy and in shape for $1million of coverage.
I’d only get it if I had dependents
Yes to both. And I’m starting to investigate a type of long term care insurance in which you pay a lump sum at the beginning, it grows at a certain interest rate, and if you end up not needing it (get hit by a bus, struck by lightening), the full amount (lump sum + growth) goes into your estate. Sounds interesting, but my advisor is researching whether these policies are available for 40 y.o and up only.
!
Don’t do lump sum stuff with a refund.
ANytime you bundle insurance + investment you lose.
For example… compare whole life insurance… vs term life insurance (+ putting all saved money in the stock market)… you could out WAY ahead. Same for long term care.
Get long term care if you think you need it, but get the “cheapest” possible plan with no refund. Invest your saved money.
Long Term Care insurance covers you if or when you need assistance with the activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, cognative imparement)…
Disability coverage kicks in when you can not work.
These are both important for different reasons. If I get hit by a car and can’t work there is no income, my family suffers. Life insurance does not pay out and LTC may or may not kick in to cover the new household cost of taking care of me. How do I pay the mortgage, water bill etc? This is why disability insurance is so very important. AFLAC is not disability insurance, get a true disability policy. If you can get disability coverage via your employer that is usually the most cost effective. If your employer does not offer it you can get a stand alone policy. The last thing I want to do is piss my wife off by laying around the house, not working, and have a life insurance policy that only pays out when I die…
Long Term care rates have gone up singnificantly in the last 18 months. You can either self insure or get insurance. Medicare doesn’t cover LTC (with a few minor exceptions). Medicaid does but that means you have no assets (under $120k if married and under $2k if single, and yes it includes your house and your bike). If you look at average usage periods 1-2 years worth of coverage may be sufficient.
Everyone’s situation is different… TERM life insurance is a good value and is a place to start. Disability insurance is probably more relevant between age 20 and 50 as you have had less time to accumulate assets and pay down the mortgage. LTC becomes more important around 40+.
You need to have these policies in place BEFORE you have a health issue or your cost will be higher or you will not be able to get coverage.
A comprehensive financial plan will be able to identify your risks and then you can determine if you want to self insure or mange the risk with insurance.
I am in the financial services business, and these types of policies have existed for a while. What your advisor is looking for is Lincoln’s MoneyGuard policy. It is a single-pay, Universal Life insurance policy, with Long Term Care benefits.
It works like this:
Single Premium: $25,000 - whatever you want (within reason)
Long Term Care Benefit: ~5x single premium, so roughly $125,000
If you never use the policy for long term care expenses, the policy passes tax-free to your kids, wife, estate for ~ $35,000 - $45,000 (depending on your age when you apply)
If you use all of your $125,000 long-term care benefit, there is still a residual death benefit for your family…probably $3,000 - $4,000.
Lastly, if you decided you didn’t want the policy anymore, you get a full refund of premium after 5 years. Less than 1% of these policies are ever surrendered.
Tell you advisor I just made him $3,000 in commissions.
If you are in Michigan, let me know and I will write it for you.
Good luck.
Single Guy / No Kids / 46 years old / homeowner in Los Angeles (read:big mtg house poor)
I work for a large company and they provide Long Term Disability policy for 60% and Life Insurance in case of Death.
Last year I got a supplemental policy Long Term Policy to add to my work policy. I got this because:
*I had a nasty bike crash in 2013. Yep you know the kind. Riding in a straight line, with one around me on a smooth road. I woke up just in time to be put into the Ambulance.
*I am in a Large Tri Club and it seams like every year someone either crashes or gets sick. Then does not have insurance or enough insurance and the club needs to do a fund raiser to help them out. I do not want to be this guy.
So long story short, I want to be able to cover my mortgage in the event of an accident or illness. If I had a family I would increase my life policy in case of death. However, at this time it is just me so I only need enough to payoff my debt final expenses.
$1m 30yr term for $83/mo. And then another $500k thru work. Never thought twice, seems like a logical choice if you care about you family and their life without you. Plus it’s a small cost to pay for your wife’s approval. Just do it and move on, what’s the fuss? Will be the best money I spend it I never have it cashed in.