tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post2439876150843276300..comments2024-03-20T09:32:16.592-04:00Comments on Michael James on Money: Overpaying for “Free” Life InsuranceMichael Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10362529610470788243noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-74711900991785321192010-05-18T08:50:09.272-04:002010-05-18T08:50:09.272-04:00@Patrick: Most recently, I just typed "life i...@Patrick: Most recently, I just typed "life insurance online quote" into Google and pick a promising looking result. I look for 10-year convertible term insurance. Back when I looked into this the first time I actually called various insruance companies and spoke to people. I don't remember which ones I tried. I think London Life was one.Michael Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10362529610470788243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-44941522556027664752010-05-18T07:36:54.174-04:002010-05-18T07:36:54.174-04:00@Michael: can you describe how you went about gett...@Michael: can you describe how you went about getting quotes for life insurance? What kind of plan did you look for, what insurers did you try, etc.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16816252455472704262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-17020563470223823772010-03-02T09:56:30.019-05:002010-03-02T09:56:30.019-05:00Gene: You may be right. Certainly in more recent...Gene: You may be right. Certainly in more recent years of employment I've had savings plan "benefits" where employees are encouraged to buy high MER funds. I'm told that in some instances, some of these fees get kicked back to the company. But I'll stick with my guess that in my case momentum and not wanting to allow something new that adds more complication were the main motivation for refusing to allow me to give up the life insurance.Michael Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10362529610470788243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-53786697642232671642010-03-02T09:51:53.092-05:002010-03-02T09:51:53.092-05:00Big Cajun Man: I think this is part of the proble...Big Cajun Man: I think this is part of the problem. It takes a number of steps including phone calls to human resources to find out what is going on. Few people bother.<br /><br />Mark: In this case, I suspect that I was the first person who ever tried to refuse this benefit that really was free before the tax rules changed. There was no existing mechanism to refuse it, and HR underlings were told by superiors to say no to me. I suspect laziness was the main reason for the refusal. This was a time when HR was a large department rather than just one person who helps to fire people.Michael Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10362529610470788243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-51660620707006345892010-03-02T09:49:59.122-05:002010-03-02T09:49:59.122-05:00Just to pick up on Mark's comment: Perhaps the...Just to pick up on Mark's comment: Perhaps the insurance is compulsory because the company gets a preferred rate if it enrolls all employees.<br /><br />My wife's health insurance through work is vastly overpriced for the services we use, but we are stuck with it, since it is a group benefit. Her employer seems contractually obligated to keep as many employees on the plan as possible.genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05608927986297939720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-8071533676974762812010-03-02T08:26:55.850-05:002010-03-02T08:26:55.850-05:00I find it unfathomable that you were not allowed t...I find it unfathomable that you were not allowed to refuse the benefit.<br /><br />Someone's sales commission is more important than the satisfaction of the customer. Nothing new in that.MarkWolfingerhttp://blog.mdwoptions.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-37296458963409007192010-03-02T08:06:04.295-05:002010-03-02T08:06:04.295-05:00I am still trying to figure out whether I have lif...I am still trying to figure out whether I have life insurance with my new job or not. I asked 2 months ago, since there "seems" to be something on my pay stub, but, no answer yet!Big Cajun Manhttp://www.canajunfinances.com/2010/03/02/belated-happy-saint-davids-day/noreply@blogger.com