Life Insurance question

[pontifex]

My dad says he got life insurance for me and my sister at the same time, when we were really young. He says we both have the same amount.

When we turned 18 or so, he told us if we wanted to keep the policies, we had to take over the payments.

My sister hasn't received a bill for a long time, yet I keep receiving them. I should mention that the bill comes in my dad's name, not mine.

I did call the company its through and told them what I told you guys in this post and asked why but they couldn't tell me anything because it was in my dad's name or something. I assume my dad never called them or if he did, they didn't give him any info either, otherwise I wouldn't be asking this question.

Any ideas why I'm still paying and she isn't? I have no idea how life insuance works though, so is it like car insurance or what? Maybe my sister just stopped paying for it and lied about not getting a bill any more?

 

[MrDudeMan]

You need to call and ask for the policy to be transferred. Go to a local agent and say you want to do this, and they will take care of it for you if you can provide them with a phone number and a policy number and/or your name. I did this last week.

It depends what kind of life insurance it is. Presumably you have term insurance, and if you have whole/universal/etc., you should cancel it, take the cash and invest it somewhere else (unless you aren't a very disciplined saver, then it's not a terrible idea). You don't really gain anything though by taking over the policy he got for you. You could get your own policy (and you should, especially if you have kids or you are married) for pretty cheap depending on your health.

How old are you? What is your living situation? Do you rent or own your property? Do you have any other debt? Spouse? Kids? Job? Can you afford $15-20/mo? How much is your current life insurance? How much coverage do you currently have?

 

[pontifex]

27
live with parents
other debt - yes
no spouse or kids
I have a job.
I can afford $15-20 a month
currently pay 123.99 every 6 months
no idea how much coverage I have

 

[MrDudeMan]

Not a bad start then. You should investigate the policy as it may be useless to you now because the coverage might not be what you want/need.

Find out how much coverage you have and who the money goes to if you kick the bucket. Then come back and I/someone can help you figure out if it is a good deal.