I put off getting life insurance until I got pregnant, but for $35 a month, it's the best gift I can give my daughter
- Buying life insurance was always on my life to-do list, but I didn't get around to it until I got pregnant.
- My husband and I looked at options from a few different insurance companies and were surprised to find that our regular insurance provider wasn't the company we ultimately chose.
- We now pay $35 a month each for term life insurance - and it's money well spent.
- Looking for life insurance to protect your family? Compare quotes with Policygenius today »
Life insurance is one of those things I always knew I should have. It was on my list of grown-up readiness to-dos, right alongside having a will and an emergency fund, and regularly contributing to a retirement account.
Yet, I always managed to put it off - until I found out I was pregnant. Suddenly, getting life insurance felt more urgent.
A baby uproots your life in the best possible way - re-prioritizing everything from what you spend money on to how you spend your time - but a baby also brings a ton of uncertainty.
Some of it is fun, like wondering what their personality will be like and dreaming about the person they'll become. But some of it, such as how you'll pay for their college to how climate change will affect their future, made me (and continues to make me) anxious. Purchasing life insurance seemed like one way I could take a little control of the future.
How my husband and I decided between whole and term life insurance
Determined to finally cross life insurance off our to-do list, my husband and I started researching and quickly learned that we'd have to decide between buying term and whole life insurance, or a combination of the two.
Our first thought was to buy term because, frankly, whole life insurance is expensive. On average, whole life would have cost us six to 10 times the amount of term life insurance.
Whole life insurance is basically self-insurance - it gives you a guaranteed rate of return, certainty over how much you'll pay into it, and it can serve as an emergency fund, since you're able to withdraw a portion of it or borrow against it.
Term life insurance, on the other hand, is a product you buy for a set period of time, such as 15 or 20 years. After that, if you still feel you need it, you have to renew it at a new rate that will likely increase as you age.
Life insurance will never be cheaper than it is today. Get the coverage you need from Policygenius »
Ultimately, with a new baby on the way, we decided term life insurance met our needs. It was affordable while offering the protection we wanted. Plus, there were a lot of other ways we could use the money we were saving, such as building a college fund or simply paying for diapers.
And though if we purchase another policy in 20 years we'll likely end up paying more for it, a lot can happen in 20 years and we might be in a different place financially anyway.
How we chose a life insurance provider
Despite the overwhelming number of companies offering life insurance these days, we thought picking a life insurance provider would be simple.
All the rest of our insurance needs - car, property - were through USAA, and we assumed we'd use them for life insurance, too. We decided to request quotes from four of the other major companies, though, comparing the reviews, offerings, and prices for 20-year, $500,000 policies.
We eventually decided on a policy from Northwestern Mutual based largely on price, which worked out to less than $35 per month for each of us. (It's worth noting that every company annoyingly tried to sell us on a larger policy but, taking into account the property we own, we were comfortable being on the lower end of the recommended coverage amount.)
The application process
Applying for life insurance is a lot of hurry up and wait. My pregnancy wasn't a factor in getting my coverage, although it did get me out of having to fast for the medical exam. But when you're expecting, you're better off getting life insurance as soon as you can - if you're further along, pregnancy-related health conditions, such as gestational diabetes, can affect the medical exam and can result in you paying higher costs.
After the initial application, which we completed online, we had a phone interview where we had to answer all sorts of questions, from basics, like our driver's license numbers, to the harder-to-remember dates of any surgeries.
It took about 30 minutes to complete the phone interview, at which point we were given the choice of coming to their office to do a medical exam of having them send the tech to us; we opted for the latter.
It was a fairly standard exam - pulse and blood pressure check, height and weight recording, a blood test and urine sample, which if you're pregnant you're used to anyways. About a month later we got confirmation that our policy was in effect.
Now that we have life insurance, it's just one more bill we pay every month. At some point I know we'll have to renew it or think about purchasing an additional policy, but right now I feel at ease that we're covered, giving each of us and our daughter financial stability.
Life insurance can help you rest easier knowing your family is protected. Get a quote from Policygenius today »
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