Do we have too much coverage?

Life Insurance Question

Hey Everyone,

I posted this on another reddit thread and got some great feedback. Wanted to post it here too. We still plan on doing our own research, however, I think getting opinions or other people’s perspectives can be extremely valuable.

My wife (31) and I (35) both have life insurance policies at 1.2 million each. Our current monthly premium is at $238 per month. We have a daughter (2) and planning on another child. My premium may be slightly higher because I have mild chronic kidney disease according to my labs, however it’s been stable for at least 5 years. My wife wasn’t a full time smoker but she would smoke on nights we drank. My wife is healthy. She stopped smoking 2 1/2 years ago when she got pregnant and we both have stopped drinking since last November. According to our agent, my wifes premium is higher than mine due to the smoking. I havent logged into her account but mine is $90 a month out of the $238. I mentioned the previous info because I know these are issues which can raise a premium.

We feel this premium is a lot for us to be paying per month and we’ve reached out to our policy provider to see if there are any options for lowering this.

We obviously want to keep life insurance. The following questions are what I could use your opinions on.

Do my wife and I each need a policy of $1.2 million or is that excessive? She is a stay at home mom and I bring in around 80-100K per year and we live in California. Or do we just need a policy on myself?

If it’s just a policy on myself is 1.2 million what the average person has on themselves? Or is 500K sufficient? Or should we have 500K on each of us?

Our policies are both term 80…is this standard?

I appreciate everyone for taking the time to read through this. I can provide any necessary information if needed. Thank you!

GATHERED FROM PREVIOUS THREAD POST:

**Majority have suggested I only need coverage on myself since I’m bringing income while my wife is not. Possibly take out small policy for wife to cover daycare should any happen.

** 1.2 million could be too much but depends on the situation.

** term 80 is something that is primarily offered through Northwestern Mutual, which is what we have….but others have suggested they are not a fan of this model and term 30 could be a better choice.