Life Insurance Question

[Sphexi]

Basically, I have a whole life insurance policy out on me that my parents started when I was much younger. It's not large at all, enough that if something were to happen my funeral expenses and whatnot would be covered. I now own it and have for a few years, and pay the premium once a year, and I really have no intention of dying. Metlife recently sent me a letter with a summary of the policy, including a "Cash Surrender Value", which according to a friend who works for them is what they'd pay me if I were to cash in the policy.


This summer I plan on picking up a new vehicle, getting married, doing some travelling, and then next spring I'm moving cross country with my fiancee (then to be my wife) and we'll need money for that as well as a deposit on an apartment/house and all that. As nice as it is to have insurance, the money from cashing it in would be a HUGE help in the next year, I could probably make it work without it but possibly not.


Should I cash it in and then simply restart a new policy once my life is back to being stable again next year, or leave it alone just in case I should need it. There is the possibility of taking out a loan against the value of it, but I'd rather not do that.

 

[olds]

Leave it alone. It cheap insurance/protection for your wife should you die and she has to bury you.

 

[Sphexi]

Perhaps. My concern is that MetLife doesn't do business up in Canada, where I'll be moving to, or that there's some difference in the lawes involving Life Insurance up there. It's all part of what I'll be asking them, but it'd only be for a short amount of time until I get up there and get some sort of a policy with my wife. If something were to happen, my parents would take care of things without a doubt.

 

[JEDI]

whole life is a rip off. they tack on fees and charges that make it a bad investment.

buy term life instead. it's much cheaper and a better value.

as for what to do if u already have whole life, i dont know. i never read much about that area. my best guess would be to cash it and buy term?

edit: also, if you have a baby, dont buy life insurance for him/her. it's a ripoff.

also, life insurance is meant to cover the major earner of the household incase s/he dies. thats why it's not recommended that kids/single adults buy life insurance. (noone is depending on their income to survive.)

 

[Sphexi]

Yeah I'm going to ask if I can cash it in and then put it into a short term CD or something like that, since I don't actually need it for a few months, might as well make it work for me for a bit.

 

[Sphexi]

I talked to them today, the nearest agent is in friggen NH, a good hour and a half drive, it is NOT worth that much to me, so I requested all of the necessary forms to simply cash it out, and I'll throw it into a short term CD or something with a local company or through my employer.

 

[Amplifier]

Remember to negotiate the payout... I hate when people take a first offer .