Seeking lightning-fast laddered term life insurance for busy couple: Time crunch and unique needs

Hey everyone,

I’m looking into purchasing laddered term life insurance for myself and my wife. We’re both 41 years old. Here’s the structure I’m considering (we’d have two policies, one for her, one for me each with the following):

$250,000 for 20 years

$250,000 for 15 years

$250,000 for 10 years

$250,000 for 5 years

This would give us $1 million in initial coverage for each of us, decreasing over time as our kids get older and become more mature and closer to the point where they can support themselves.

I have a few questions:

What’s the fastest way we can get a good deal on such a policy?

How can we get identical policies for both of us? Should we apply separately or is there a joint policy option?

Are there insurance companies known for offering this type of laddered coverage?

Any tips for getting the best rates?

Are there any potential pitfalls we should be aware of with this approach?

The key point is that I’m just insanely busy at the moment with work and a graduate program and three kids and I’m really looking for the simplest and fastest way. I have to take a month long trip for work in about 10 days and I won’t be able to purchase anything during that trip. After that I’m back in my grad school classes in Sept and time will be even tighter. I just want to find a simple and fast way to sign us up for life insurance.

We are both in good health. The only thing I could consider pointing to for either of us is that my BMI probably puts me in the overweight (but not obese) category. Besides that my health is perfect, I haven’t been on a prescription drug my whole life. My wife is the same but her BMI would be in the normal range. Otherwise neither of us take any medicine or have any known medical conditions.

I realize this is not a lot of money but we’re not looking to replace all possible lost income if something happens to one of us but instead just looking to provide a bit of a buffer in the worst case scenario. We realize this amount of money won’t return our family to the same situation we would otherwise be in, but it will provide a little buffer.

Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!