Life Insurance - Buy now (it's cheaper than it's been for a while) & buy term

Recently, I decided to shop for Term Life Insurance for my wife and me. I've been using my company's group life insurance for a while, but the rates aren't terrific and my wife is limited to $50,000 in insurance without onerous medical testing (which, hey, if I'm going to go through, I'd rather shop around).

So finally, I did. I used Quotesmith, punched in some data, and voila! Instant quotes. LOTS of them. The amazing thing to me is how much cheaper term life rates were then when I last checked a few years ago. I've since learned that increased life expectancy has driven down insurance rates, which is great news for most of us.

For example, I am an overweight (but not obese) 35 year old with a history of bronchitis, but not much else. My cholesterol is OK and I don't smoke.

With the exception of the overweight part, this describe my DW as well.

So what did we get?

Genworth Financial covered me under a $500,000 term policy, 20 year fixed term, for $365 per year. My wife got the same terms for a mere $235.

So instead of having about $500,000 of insurance on me and $50,000 on my wife for around $530 through work, I now have $500,000 each locked in for the next 20 years for $50 a month.

The point of all this: shop for term life insurance now if you have need for it. Rates are at least 20% lower than a few years ago (for those under the age of, say, 45), even better when you consider that you're probably 4 years old since then. :D

Whole life is, frankly, a huge rip-off unless you are worried about estate taxes (in which case, you need to log off and get to your estate lawyer!).