Well, I am sure I will be judged on this one. Many life insurance companies now offer what is called Whole Life Guaranteed Life Insurance for people age 45 to 85, NO HEALTH QUESTIONS ARE ASKED, does not matter if you or your loved one has Alzheimer, Cancer etc. Usually the policy is for from $5,000 to 20,000, does build cash value however not enough to even consider but the biggie is this.
If the person passes away before 2 years you receive your premiums paid back plus 20%, at age 70 for a man it would take 8 years before you would have paid in more than the face value. In some cases it would be a win win situation. You could name yourself owner and beneficiary, you could purchase this policy using your POA and you could know that if you bought one for $10,000 face value Medicaid would not count it as long as you had no other policies except term life. Even if you did have other policies that put you above what Medicaid does not count, they only count the cash value of the policies and with this it would not be much at all. You could use that $10,000 that you would know you would have at the passing to use to help pay someone to come in and keep your spouse at home the last weeks or months.
It is something to think about. I know I will be judged for even suggesting this but after all you buy life insurance all the time and you Hope nothing happens but if it does you are glad you have it.
Who would have ever thought in a million years you could purchase a life insurance on someone who has already been diagnoised terminal.
I bought one and already have received the policy, agent knew our situation and told me it did not matter.
Zibby, I got ours through Mutual of Omaha. Most Insurance companies sell this policy now, it is rather new but not real new. Be sure you ask for Whole Life Guarantee and not just regular whole life, there in lies the difference.
I have been thinking of the same thing when I see that ad from Mutual of Omaha. My question is...who are you concerned would judge you????? The insurance company?
If I ever become more stable financially, I plan on doing it. I have a life insurance on my husband now that expires in 13 months and when that expires, I will use those funds to do the M of Omaha. I say good for you!
Sheltifan, No I did not feel the Company would judge me, just that there are different people with various opinions and I do feel that some on the forum would feel it would not be the right thing to do, however I also understand their feelings, each person looks at things differently. I myself even felt bad when I bought it for even thinking of doing this but then a person does not feel bad at any other time in life when they buy insurance and this should be no different, my husband would tell me to do this if he were able.
Our Agent told me he just last week sold this policy to a Cancer victim, I wonder how long they will be able to offer these policies when the word gets out that they are available.
I don't have any scruples against this, but when I went over it with my brother in law who is a retired insurance salesman - not connected with any company now - he showed me how it isn't as valuable as it seems to begin with. Do it, but be careful. I know you have been, Jane.
I sold these when I sold insurance in the 1980s. At one point I worked for Mutual of Omaha, but Prudential also sold them. Most of the big companies have these policies. There is nothing morally wrong with your buying one of these policies. These policies are intended to help you pay final expenses. No one is going to make a lot of money out of them.
You and the company are taking a chance that your LO will live at least 2 years. They will return the paid premiums if your LO does not. The company knows that they are selling policies to people who might be uninsurable.
Jane--I think I started an old thread on this a while back. As I recall, I think it was Starling that worked in the insurance field and said these policies have always been around. You might want to search for the thread to see the other postings.
marilyninMD great if they have been around, I did not know that they had so it was new to me, but I am glad I bought one.
BRIEGULL maybe not valuable LET US KNOW WHY NOT??? ?????? Of course no Insurance is valuable except for the security they offer. Term life is no good after x amount of years but then if you have to use it you are glad you have it. Ordinary life is never going to give you back more than you paid in unless you die within the right time. These policies will be valuable to someone who is terminal if they live past two years but not too long past two years.
Bottom line is, no one knows when one will pass away. A terminal diagnosis would be the most likely to benefit but then nothing in this life is certain. Life is a big chance. Most people loose on any life insurance they purchase and hold long term but then those that have it and use it early are glad they made the purchase. I feel with life insurance it is like anything else, get it and hope you never have to use it but then if you do you are protected.
marilyninMD I did just now search the topic and found the posts you started. You had received a card in the mail and wanted to know if it was a scam for just the type Insurance I just bought. No, it is not a scam. There is nothing that says if you knew you had a terminal illness etc. There are no yes and no questions to answer, no health questions are asked, no nothing. Only thing is you must live 2 years and one day to collect the face value, you get back the premiums plus 20% if you die withing the first 2 years etc. Pretty much just as Starling has posted although I did not know they had been around as long as she said. I always thought there would be those yes or no questions to answer but I am so glad I checked into this.
I would not purchase the policy unless we were already in the last stages of the disease because the premium for a 70 year old man on a $10,000 policy is $97.00 per month.
Give Mutual of Omaha a call if you want to look into it. Ask for the ORDINARY GUARANTEED LIFE POLICY.
Had to replace the Lif e Insurqnce Employer carried on DH until he hit retirement age (they had to cover him until then as a term of Worker's Comp. Settlement). Bought $5,000 policy for $36.75 per month. It will become payable i full aftr Nov. 10th. Best I could manage, and it will cover funeral costs.
If you plan small. Cremation --$1190. Church for memorial service and luncheon (some food costs); have plots, cemetery costs get the rest. Some things daughter and I have planned ahead, we can do---Collage, the little memorial programs. Only visitation prior to service, at the church. Private burial later. Also, we plan to get one "urn" (wooden box style). Ashes will remain in the temporary urn from the Crematory, which will be in the "urn" for the service. After service they, still in temporary urn, will go into vault for burial. The wooden urn will be retained to use for me (later, of course) and as a keepsake container. The $5,000 may not cover everything but it will cover nearly all. We can also do the "in lieu of flowers donations...." thing. Best we've been able to plan. Everything is planned plain and simple.
Of course, if he could manage to pass from an accident then the AD&D policy would kick in $25,000. <grin> With him reverting to smoking and possibly going walkabout to get them (crossing 5 lane street)---might happen. Certainly doing all I can to prevent.
Sounds good to me. We want something similar. Cremation here is $3000. Visitation and service at the church. Maybe a reception after the service with donated desserts. Haven't decided about urn or what to with the ashes.
We have planned and paid for both of ours: Cremation for both $3200, which includes announcements, obituary, etc. No funeral service - just a memorial service later on. Interment at our church Memorial Garden, $200 each. We will, of course, pay our priest something and I plan on having food/drinks at our house. DH loved to have open houses, so that's what it will be.
We also have ours paid for. Cremation etc. about the same price as Vickies. My DH does not want a service he would just like the Pastor to say a prayer over him. I hope I will live long enough to take care of DH and whenever I die I don't think I will be worried about a service. LOL.
One other thing about life insurance. DH had an old $5,000 policy and I cashed it in 3 years ago for $4200 - which is what I used to pay for the funeral arrangements. If we needed medicaid, they would have counted it as an asset since it had a cash value. Then, he has a whole life policy, which we changed last year to ME as the Owner and beneficiary (I was already the beneficiary).
No Vickie, Medicaid would not have counted the $5,000 policy unless it along with other Life policies would have amounted to more than $10,000 face value. Of course if you had others not counting term life, then the $5,000 policy plus the other if it made up to more than $10,000 all cash value would have been counted. You could have turned the $5,000 insurance policy irrevocable to the funeral home and it would not have been counted, thereby having already paid $5,000 to the funeral home, you lost $500.00 by cashing it out. Leaving the other one free up to $10,000. You can have $300,000 or whatever in term life and none is counted because there is no cash value.
Jane, DH has a paid up policy from the company he worked for given him at retirement. I know it was included in the Living Trust so I am assuming that it would be counted as an asset. It is only $30,000.
Vicki, Even if he did have more than $10,000 face value you still could have done an irrevocable to the funeral home and received the complete $5,000 in value.
Yes, Jane, you are right - as usual! I appreciate your input on all this stuff. So much stuff to digest on this horrible road! Thanks so much - for your knowledge and willingness to share it.