Insurance question

Not a direct answer, but to younger people, please don’t depend on company life insurance. Get your own for situations like the OP. OP would have prob saved $$$ in the long run had he purchased a 30 yr 15 years ago.

To the OP, plan on getting your life insurance policy until you are out of debt and nobody depends on your income.

A 10 year policy would work in many cases to cover risk for a 55 year old. A 15 year policy would get you to age 70 which is usually ideal. Going with a 20 or 30 year ( there are carriers that will offer 30 year term at age 55 believe it or not) term at 55 I would not normally recommend. Ask yourself - do you really want another monthly bill at age 73 or 74 ? Regardless, at age 55, the cost between a 15 year and a 20 year is not that much different for most people. So just compare the monthly premium and make the call.

The 10 times income approach at age 55 is going to be EXPENSIVE . Particularly factoring in premium payments after retirement ( say age 68 ). 55 in a large majority of cases is an age to cover Risk, not decade long income replacement, because of most people’s inability to pay premiums as they get older and are retired. A huge amount of term life policies placed in a person’s mid/late 50’s lapse after retirement because of inability to pay. You want to purchase a policy you can afford the premium on without effecting your quality of life in during those retirement years. In the vast majority of cases that means smaller face amounts and affordable premiums.