Does term life insurance take into account the combined income of a married couple?
I have seen around the internet that the maximum term life insurance policy allowed for a person in their 20s is usually 20 times their income. However, I was wondering if there are any policies that take into account the combined household income. If a husband and wife both make $40,000 a year, are they entitled to a policy that is based on $80,000 of combined income, or are all policies handled on an individual basis? -Rocio
Tags: Insurance, Married Couple, Term Insurance, Term Life Insurance, Term Life Insurance Policy
November 24th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
life insurance in on an individual but you should be able to get any amount you desire, policy maximums are not based on income.
November 25th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
A guy that makes $7,000 a year, asking for $800,000,000 of coverage is going to get turned down. But it’s not unrealistic for a person making $40,000 a year to ask for a $1,000,000 policy, or even $2,000,000. No one is going to squawk at that.
It’s not income based. It’s very much a judgement call.
November 29th, 2008 at 4:54 am
You normally buy life insurance to be on the life of a individual not a group. If you die your spouse will still have a income, Life insurance is designed to replace your income in the event of a death.
$ 800,000 should be enough to replace the loss of income of either you or your spouse.
November 29th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
You could each get an individual life insurance policy for up to 20 times your annual income. That should be acceptable to most life insurers, unless you have a health problem.
Term life offers coverage usually for 10, 15, 20, or 30 years.
Level term life insurance offers rates and coverage that are guaranteed to remain level for the entire term of your policy.
November 29th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
their his no price for life. so life insurance is a way to help the people you love most when your gone speak to your local allstate agent an do some insurance planing if you want a 1mill. or 10mill its your choice personally i like universal life ins. read about it in investopedia,com
December 2nd, 2008 at 7:25 am
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December 4th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
The 20 times thing is typically a recommendation or suggestion more than anything.
As long as you can justify the amount that you are applying for then you can get any amount you want. For example, if there is a person in their 20s and they are a student in some kind of medical field or something that persons current income would be maybe $10,000/year. If that person can only get 20x their income at that point that wouldn’t even cover their first years salary when they get out of school. In cases like this a person can apply for a larger amount to lock in the rate at that benefit amount and then they would likely need to include in the application mention something like “this client is currently a student is currently a medical student in the field of brain surgery and while thier current income is low, his income will be $XXX,XXX upon graduation. Given the current demand/shortage of doctors there is little reason to doubt the potential and justification of the amount applied for.”
Example, when I started as a financial advisor I was working straight commission and there was no gaurantee I would be making any money at all. I applied for a substantial amount of insurance and explained my career aspirations, expectations and goals and that while the amount applied for was currently far exceeding what I needed to be covered for, in the long run it would be exactly what I need.
To answer your questions a little more directly, income is a guideline used and EVERY application is handled on an individual basis. If they weren’t handled individually, the advisor themselves would be able to decide whether its approved or declined right there on the spot.
December 5th, 2008 at 6:31 am
In my experience, an insurer will consider any amount that is reasonable. If you are asking for a large amount, explain why. You have a shot at it.
One thing you can do is have a local agent shop the market for you and find the company that will offer you the benefit you want. Fill out a form at and see what someone local can do for you. They will all have different rates. Have them compete for your business.
Sincerely,
Jared B.
December 5th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
There are a lot of factors that affect the maximum amount an insurance will give you. They will probably take both your individual and household income into account. While you may only earn $40K in money for your family you also may provide another $40K in value to your spouse. My wife stays at home with our children and earns $0, but we have a life insurance policy for her because she provides other types of financial value to the household besides income.
Now if your spouse earned $400,000 and you still earned $40,000 are they going to let you have a $5 million life insurance policy? Probably not. But in your situation most insurance companies are not going to hesitate to letting you purchase more than $800,000 in term life.
They will also look at your age and health history to see if they are willing to take on the risk of a high face amount policy.