Haven Life Insurance Review: Eliminate a Danger to Your Family

If you’re reading this as a professional with significant student debt, there’s a very good chance you don’t have enough financial protection for your family in the event you died tomorrow. It's tough to think about, I know. 

The good news is that you can eliminate this danger very cheaply with minimal effort. I initially bought a $1 million, 10-year term life policy on myself with Haven Life insurance. However, when I shopped around, I realized I was paying too much.

We’ll go through what I learned during the shopping process, what motivated me to get the coverage I did, and how to see how much it would cost you. If you need a quote for term life, check out SLP Insurance. We shop over a dozen companies to try to find you the best rates.

I ended up replacing my 10 year, $1 million policy for a 20 year policy with better coverage for a much better price through that link above. If you have a spouse, partner, or kids depending on your income, you need this coverage.

There’s a Good Chance You’re Dangerously Uninsured

If you have kids or are trying for kids, you could be running a huge risk without even thinking about it. Professionals have higher incomes that usually come with higher mortgages, car payments, college tuition, and more.

If you don’t have at least five times your income in term life protection, it’s probably not enough if you’ve got a graduate degree.

Let’s look at an example.

Dan the Veterinarian Relying on His Employer’s Term Life Policy

I’d first like to introduce you to Dan the veterinarian. Pretend he earns $110,000 a year and has 2 kids. His wife works part-time, making $30,000 a year. Dan has $250,000 of student loans all with the federal government. He has a $350,000 mortgage and a car note of $300 a month.

Dan works for a corporate chain and has an employer-provided term life policy that gives him coverage of 2 times his income. Sadly, Dan passes away prematurely.

The bank that owns Dan’s mortgage lent it to him with the idea that there would be a joint income of $140,000 a year to support it. Now that income is only the wife’s $30,000. Obviously, there’s no way that Dan’s wife could handle a big mortgage payment and the car payment.

Dan’s insurance with his employer kicks in and his family gets $220,000. That’s enough to pay off the car and some of the mortgage, but what about college for the 2 kids? With Dan, they were looking at years of 529 contributions. Without him, they will have to rely on loans and financial aid.

Even with the big mortgage prepayment, the house is going to have to be sold as there is no way Dan’s wife can afford it anymore. The only silver lining is that Dan’s debt is forgiven due to death and his wife is not going to be responsible for it.

Still, it’s clear that Dan’s group term life insurance didn’t cover his family adequately.

Why Did I Feel the Need to Buy Term Life Insurance?

With our current net worth, we cannot provide the lifestyle I would desire for our child were we to have one absent financial support from family. That is the primary reason I decided to get life insurance protection with my wife as the beneficiary.

I decided to do this prior to thinking about having children so that everything is in place when the time comes.

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How Does Having a Lot of Student Debt Affect the Need for Life Insurance?

Most professionals with student debt will have that forgiven in the event of early death. The main exception is if you have a loan with a cosigner on it or someone who took out more mortgage debt to pay educational costs.

Federal loans are the easiest to deal with in that the government is unlikely to give you any trouble once your surviving spouse or parents show the needed documentation. For private student loans, it depends on the lender.

All the private lenders that I partner with forgive loans in the event of the borrower passing away prematurely. However, that protection does not necessarily extend to cosigners. Spouses who cosign to get a lower rate should be extra careful to have enough coverage to pay off the student loans they signed for.

By investing in your career, you have higher expected earnings in the future than your average American. I suggest having eight to ten times your salary in term life coverage to protect this investment for your family.

Why Did I Choose Haven Life Over Other Companies for My Policy?

When I started my search, I found an online comparison company for term life and entered some info and it spit out projected rates. Only two companies were cheaper than Haven Life. The main reason for the lower cost was due to the lower financial strength of the insurance companies offering the policies.

If all you need is a small policy, then they're a good option. However, as my business produced more income, I realized I was leaving my family underinsured and I wanted to do something about it by going through an online broker that could shop multiple companies instead of just one.

Is It Difficult to Qualify?

Most likely, you’ll be able to get instantly approved for up to $1 million in coverage. This only happens if nothing in your application sets off red flags. Unfortunately for me, I did have some that came up because of my unusual travel habits. My wife sometimes goes to Africa for medical mission trips and I’ve traveled to some unusual places (Ukraine, Nicaragua, Morocco, Palestine, South Africa, etc.)

Because of these trips, I had to go through a medical exam for a Haven Life policy. While this involved me giving a blood sample, it wasn’t as bad as I would’ve thought. A nurse scheduled a time to come to my house at my convenience.

I want to say again that I think my experience was atypical from what I’ve heard. Most people just get instantly approved through Haven Life’s website. That said, if you don’t it’s not too scary to go through full medical underwriting.

How Much Am I Paying for My Haven Life Policy?

This is the best part. When clients say they have whole life insurance policies, they might be paying over $100 a month for very little coverage. Whole life and term life are the two types of life insurance policies and nine times out of ten, whole life insurance is a terrible idea for anyone with student loans.

In contrast, I’m paying just under $22 a month for a 10-year term life insurance policy with $1 million in coverage. While there is a low probability someone my age dies, they’re still on the hook for a bunch of money in case something terrible happens to me.

The Term Life Insurance Definition Informed My Policy Choice

I chose that very short term deliberately for my own situation. Most people should go for the 20-year term policy instead. For me personally, I expect my wife and I will hit financial independence within a decade. That’s mainly due to our high savings rate.

The definition of term life insurance is a flat amount of coverage for a fixed premium over a defined period. That period should align with your greatest financial vulnerability in life. For most, that comes during the years when your kids are young.

The 20-year term would not be renewable once the term expires. That means the shorter the term, the lower the price, and the longer the term, the higher the price. I want to pay for value, hence the shortest term possible made the most sense.

Next Steps if You’re Curious to See What Rate You’d Get

If you click on the form below, it should only take you a couple of minutes to see what deal you’d get. I encourage you to shop around with other insurance companies to compare quotes. I suspect most of you will find what I did –  it’s very easy to apply with Haven Life and they offer an easy-to-understand product at a good price.

Click the button below to check your rate using the SLP Insurance quote tool.